More Africans are starting to see their continent as a “developed and worth discovering” tourist destination, a shift noted in international reports that speak of a rising domestic travel market, though it still faces an old barrier: the visa. Africa was the fastest-growing region in global tourism, with international arrivals rising by about 8% to nearly 81.3 million visitors in 2025, compared to 75.4 million the year before, according to tourism organization data. This growth is more than double the global average of 4%.
According to Africa.com, a platform focused on African affairs, the African middle class is expected to exceed 500 million people by 2030, potentially fueling a growing domestic travel market. The platform adds that over 60% of the continent’s population is under 25, and these young people have increasing spending power, with travel being an essential part of their lives.
A report describes a growing influx of African visitors coming for tourism rather than work, linking it to a generation of millennials and Gen Z who are reshaping views on travel and leisure. The report quotes the CEO of the non-profit organization Eden Africa, saying, “Travel is now seen as part of identity and daily life, not a luxury.”
However, the same report notes that flight prices within Africa are among the highest globally, with few direct flights, though this is improving with the rise of new airlines. In Lagos, Nigeria, for example, weekend getaways to neighboring Benin are now offered for around $150.
In the latest development along this path, Togo announced in May 2026 that it would exempt citizens of all African countries from entry visas for stays of up to 30 days, provided they submit an electronic application 24 hours before arrival. Togo thus joined a narrow club of only six countries that have fully opened their borders to African citizens: Rwanda, Seychelles, Gambia, Benin, and Ghana, with Kenya nearing the list by only excluding Somalia.
However, this openness remains an exception in a continent of 54 countries, as about 48 still adhere to traditional visa systems. The African Visa Openness Index, issued by the African Development Bank and the African Union, shows slow cumulative progress: Africans traveled without a visa in 28% of mobility scenarios in 2024, compared to only 20% in 2016. But the 2025 edition of the index recorded a setback, with the share of trips requiring a prior visa rising from 47.1% to 51.1%, exceeding half of cases, while visa-on-arrival dropped to 20.4%, its lowest level, after four countries—Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, and Somalia—switched from granting visas on arrival to requiring prior visas.
The institutional framework remains stalled. The African Union protocol on the free movement of persons, adopted in 2018, has only been ratified by four countries, while its entry into force requires 15 ratifications. The unified African passport, symbolically launched in 2016, remains limited to diplomats and senior officials, making current exemption decisions unilateral sovereign steps that can be reversed, not binding legal commitments.
These restrictions reflect weak economic integration itself; intra-African trade volume does not exceed 16%, compared to over 60% within other regions, according to a report by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). Countries rejecting openness cite real security concerns, especially in the Sahel region, but observers see these intersecting with economic calculations, including some countries’ reliance on visa revenues as a sovereign resource, and fear of labor
