The African Travel and Tourism Association’s monthly global survey revealed that international arrival numbers in October reached their highest monthly level so far during 2021.

ATTA’s survey also illustrated an increase in confidence about travelling to Africa, with 45% of operators saying their clients were now confident to travel to the continent – up from 32% in September.

The vast majority of operators (90%) said they received new enquiries last month, which was another high for 2021, with Tanzania the most popular destination, followed by Kenya, South Africa and Botswana.

The UK was the second-strongest market for Africa holiday enquiries, behind the US, and ahead of continental Europe, with the Christmas and New Year period in “strong demand”. 

The key destination of South Africa was removed from the UK’s red list in early October, while Kenya dropped its requirement for UK visitors to quarantine on arrival in September.

The number of deferred holidays from 2020 has reduced for Africa specialists but they still make up a “significant amount of business” for both operators and DMCs.

In another positive development, October also marked the first month of the year when suppliers reported an increase in funding for their community and conservation projects. But this financial support is still below 50% of pre-Covid levels for the majority of the trade.