Africa rides business tourism boom as South Africa hosts historic G20 Summit

Africa’s business tourism sector is gaining strong momentum, boosted by South Africa’s successful hosting of the continent’s first-ever G20 Summit last week.

Travel management company FCM says 2025 has emerged as a standout year for Africa’s economic expansion, second only to Asia and now exceeding global growth averages.

According to the African Development Bank Group, 11 of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies are African.

These include Niger (11.2%), Senegal (8.2%), Libya (7.9%), Rwanda (7.2%), Côte d’Ivoire (6.8%), Ethiopia (6.7%), Benin (6.4%), Djibouti (6.2%), Tanzania (6.1%), Togo (6%), and Uganda (6%).

FCM noted rising aviation activity across the continent, with major carriers such as United Airlines, Delta and Air France launching new routes to key African cities, including Dakar, Accra, Marrakech and Lagos.

Combined with the G20’s global spotlight, the company says optimism around business travel is growing as passenger volumes rise and countries ramp up investment in meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) infrastructure.

Mummy Mafojane, General Manager of FCM South Africa, said Africa is on the cusp of significant shifts in how business travel is conducted over the next five years.

“The G20 effect (including sharpened international focus), post-COVID recovery figures and investment in Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) all bode well, but challenges remain,” Mafojane said.

“According to the GBTA, the Middle East & Africa – as a region – has recovered to 111% when compared to 2019’s business travel spend. Saying that, recovery is uneven, there are still capacity constraints, and travel managers need to navigate challenges that are perhaps unique to the continent.”

Mafojane added that air service agreements were a high priority on the G20 agenda.

“It’s one of the top four tourism priorities, but there’s no doubt that new, strategic routes and seamless travel are critical in terms of economic growth and sustainable development.”

Mafojane said that volatility in pricing, with demand outstripping supply, flights into Africa remain expensive.

“There are other factors at play, including lack of competition, high operational costs and high government fees and taxes. “Hopefully, the next five years will see more regional cooperation. “We need strong intra-African routes with more choice and competition, safe, reliable carriers, and far less volatility.”

Mafojane added that we’re seeing massive airport projects happening across southern, eastern, western, central and North Africa.

“All focused on modernising and streamlining the traveller experience, facilitating the passage of millions of travellers per year, and creating more jobs and opportunities on the continent than ever before.”

Mafojane said that the Flight Centre Travel Group’s 2025 State of the Market survey is really encouraging.

“It shows that 46% of companies in EMEA plan to increase their travel spend in FY26, with 36% expecting increases of up to 20%. I think we can anticipate further growth, new direct routes, positive policy shifts and more investment in aviation infrastructure off the back of the G20.”

BUSINESS REPORT