Scaling Up African Tourism: Fixing Execution, Hotel Supply, and Investment
Photo Credit: Skift Megatrends event in Cape Town, South Africa. January 27, 2026. skift
Skift Take
Africa’s tourism growth challenge isn’t demand — it’s execution: scaling reliable operations, mid-market infrastructure, and globally exportable talent to turn world-class assets into sustainable volume growth.
Africa’s tourism sector is shifting from broad discussions about long-term potential to grappling with the execution challenges standing in the way of real growth.
“If there is no operating capability, you have a fundamental challenge…” said Millat Group CEO Hamza Farooqui at Skift’s Megatrends event in Cape Town. “You will be able to deal with risk if you have operating capability. My view is that that is going to be the engine of growth for Africa.”
Farooqui argued that the biggest constraint is not demand or branding but the region’s uneven ability to consistently deliver tourism experiences at scale. That execution gap is reinforced by the way investment flows within African m
