Big Moments: How 2025 Reshaped Tourism, Culture in Africa and the World
As 2025 draws to a close, it is clear that travel and tourism did more than rebound this year.
It recalibrated. Across Africa and globally, the sector moved from post-pandemic recovery into a more confident phase of growth, reform and redefinition, shaped by connectivity, culture, policy shifts and leadership change.
According to UN Tourism’s World Tourism Barometer (November 2025), international tourist arrivals grew by five per cent globally between January and September 2025, surpassing pre-pandemic 2019 levels by three per cent. More than 1.1 billion people travelled internationally in the first nine months of the year, despite inflationary pressures and geopolitical uncertainty.
Africa stood out as the best-performing region worldwide, recording a 10 per cent increase in arrivals, with both North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa achieving double-digit growth.
These figures matter because they frame 2025 not as a year of caution, but one of regained momentum. And across the continent, tourism’s revival has been inseparable from culture.
Africa’s cultural capital comes of Age
Culture was not a side attraction in 2025. It was central to how Africa positioned itself to the world.
From Ghana’s continued evolution of December in GH to Benin’s cultural heritage push, Sierra Leone’s attempt to connect to the African diaspora through music and Rwanda’s creative economy to Senegal’s arts and fashion ascendancy, cultural tourism gained fresh relevance.
The growing appetite for authentic storytelling, festivals, music, food and heritage-based travel reflected a global shift away from volume tourism towards experience-led journeys.
This was evident in the rise of major cultural events across the continent.
Africa hosted two Global Citizen Festival editions in 2025, in Lagos and Kigali, signalling the continent’s growing stature as a destination for global cultural mobilisation.
Kinshasa staged the Democratic Republic of Congo’s maiden World Music and Tourism Festival, blending soft power, creativity and destination branding in a city long overlooked by mainstream tourism narratives.
These moments underscored a broader reality. Africa’s culture is no longer simply being consumed. It is being curated, exported and monetised with intent.
Aviation, connectivity and the movement of people
None of this growth would have been possible without improving connectivity. Aviation remained a critical enabler in 2025, with international air traffic rising seven per cent globally in the first nine months of the year, according to IATA.
Across Africa, conversations around the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) gained renewed urgency.
While implementation remains uneven, there was visible progress in regional aviation dialogue, route expansion and airport modernisation. Events such as AVIADEV Africa, hosted in Zanzibar, reinforced the central role of secondary airports, regional carriers and air service liberalisation in unlocking tourism flows beyond traditional gateways.
Zanzibar itself offered a compelling case study. A mature leisure destination that continues to invest in aviation connectivity, conference infrastructure and product diversification, it reflects how island destinations can balance volume with sustainability when policy and private sector alignment work.
Africa’s quiet growth engine
While leisure travel dominated headlines, business events and MICE tourism quietly delivered structural value in 2025.
Cities such as Kigali, Nairobi, Cape Town, Addis Ababa, Abidjan, Accra and Dakar continued to position themselves as regional convening hubs. Conferences, expos and creative economy summits not only filled hotel rooms but sustained year-round demand, supported airlines and generated spillover benefits for local SMEs.
The growing integration of creative economy events into business tourism was particularly notable. Platforms such as Afrexim Bank's Creative Africa Nexus (CANNEX) and AfCFTA’s Creative Connect Afrika demonstrated how conferences can double as trade, culture and youth employment drivers, reinforcing tourism’s role beyond hospitality into broader economic ecosystems.
Tourism, youth and jobs
Tourism’s relevance to Africa’s youthful population became harder to ignore in 2025.
UN Tourism estimates that tourism accounts for one in ten jobs globally, with a disproportionate share of youth and women employed across value chains.
Africa’s rebound translated into tangible opportunities.
Destinations experiencing double-digit growth, such as Morocco, Ethiopia and South Africa, recorded strong employment recovery in hospitality, transport, guiding, events and creative services.
The sector’s ability to absorb young talent, especially in content creation, gastronomy, events production and digital marketing, positioned tourism as a critical bridge between culture and livelihoods.
The heart of global tourism
Perhaps the most symbolic shift of 2025 came not from arrivals data, but from governance.
In May, at the UN Tourism Executive Council meeting in Segovia, Shaikha Al Nowais of the United Arab Emirates was elected to succeed Zurab Pololikashvili as Secretary-General of UN Tourism. Her nomination was formally ratified by the General Assembly in November in Riyadh, clearing the way for her to assume office in January 2026.
Her election marked a historic first. She becomes the first woman to lead UN Tourism in over 50 years, signalling a generational and philosophical shift in global tourism leadership.
The symbolism matters for Africa, where conversations around inclusive growth, sustainability, climate resilience and community benefit are no longer optional.
Her tenure begins at a moment when tourism is being asked harder questions about equity, environmental impact, sustainability and value distribution. For Africa, that alignment could not be timelier.
A personal lens
This year, my personal travels reinforced these shifts in practical ways.
From Zanzibar to Sierra Leone, Kinshasa to Nairobi, Lagos to Accra, the story was consistent. Africa is travelling, hosting, creating and repositioning itself with confidence.
In Sierra Leone, destination storytelling is gaining traction as heritage, beaches and local culture are reframed for international audiences.
In Kenya, the scale and ambition of the Magical Kenya Tourism Expo reflected East Africa’s maturity as a tourism marketplace.
In Lagos and Accra, the fusion of creativity, policy and business underscored tourism’s expanding role in Africa’s future economy.
Looking ahead
With Africa posting the strongest regional tourism growth globally in 2025, the outlook for 2026 is cautiously optimistic.
UN Tourism forecasts continued global growth of three per cent to five per cent, with Africa well positioned to outperform if policy reforms, connectivity and investment momentum hold.
The challenge now is not demand, but delivery. Infrastructure, visas, air access, skills and governance will determine whether this growth translates into lasting value.
As the year ends, one truth stands out.
Tourism and culture are no longer peripheral to Africa’s development conversation. In 2025, they moved decisively to the centre.
