ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses how regional integration and cooperation can contribute towards the development of tourism in Africa. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement signals a new milestone in the history of regional integration in Africa, in principle creating a single market for goods and services and the free movement of people and businesses. But can regional integration usher in a new phase in tourism development in Africa? Existing evidence suggests that regional integration can drive a new tourism development model for the region, one that exploits complementarities across African destinations to create unique tourism brands. The success of such a model would be predicated on the implementation of common regional tourism development strategies and the development of regional tourism value-chains. Entire sub-regions can be marketed as unique destinations. Tourism clusters should also be fostered nationally to support the regional tourism industry. Regional solutions could be designed to tackle common competitiveness challenges across countries.
