Why dont you visit Africa?

It sucks to be the unpopular kid

THE UN WORLD TOURISM BAROMETER says that Africa came stone last as a popular destination for foreign visitors last year. Putting this into perspective, Europe gets something like ten times as many visitors in a year to a geographic area around the size of both the Sudans and Algeria glued together.

That leaves 52 (depending on your politics) countries worth of African space that adventurous travelers could explore. Yet, for the most part, very few do.

Sure, a fair number of visitors come to South Africa, Morocco and Egypt (yes, you are actually a part of the continent), but comparatively few in global terms go anywhere else. Like Zanzibar. Or Madagascar. Or the Bazaruto archipelago and Timbuktu.

So why is that?

The continent is frequently criticized for corrupt and undemocratic governments, yet places like China, Laos and Cambodia remain darlings of backpackers year after year. Is it because it is seen as an unsafe destination? Then why flock to Mexico, Colombia and Brazil? If its tough going, its certainly no tougher than Nepal or India?

So why the double standard? If you havent traveled to an African destination besides Egypt, Morocco or South Africa lately, have you ever considered it?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Worlds Oldest Maps

Image
Man has been carving symbols in to stones as well as upon cavern walls for thousands of years so it was usually a make a difference of time before maritime inscriptions would arise to assistance guide a hunting as well as foraging patterns. From cavern drawings as well as Babylonian clay tablets to mill carvings as well as papyrus text, here are a little of a worlds oldest maps (in no particular order). 1418 Ming Dynasty Map The map graphic upon top of is pronounced to be a copy of an strange 1418 Ming Dynasty Map, that potentially proves that in a 15th century, a Chinese were already exploring a shores of modern-day North America. This chronicle was copied in 1763 by artist Mo Yi-tong as well as was sold for $500. Read A Review of a Historical Importance of Oldest World Map by Gunnar Thompson, PhD for some-more information. atalhyk 6200 B.C. Babylonian Clay Map During a 1963 excavation in Ankara, Turkey, British archeologist James Mellaart unearth what is pronounced to be one of a be
Keep reading

How meditation relates to happiness

Image
Meditation leads to mindfulness Studies point out how valuable meditating can be to overall well-being. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN meditating for thousands of years, but it seems only recently that its gaining credibility by the scientific community. The shame is that many wont even give things a second thought unless some researcher or scientist proves its benefits, choosing to ignore the wisdom of experience. An article at Forbes discusses research done that correlates meditation and happiness . First, a Harvard University study has shown that wandering minds are an attribute of unhappy people. 2250 volunteers (ages 18-88, from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and occupations) were used in the study they were contacted at random intervals by the researchers and asked what they were currently doing and what they were actually thinking about. almost half of the time (46.9%) people were thinking about something else. They were then asked whether what they were thinking about
Keep reading

Travel Photographer Interviews: Glenna Gordon

Image
All photos courtesy of Glenna Gordon In a brand new series upon Notebook, we talk veteran photographers as good as photojournalists, as good as plead their opposite perspectives upon transport photography as good as tips for receiving improved pictures. Photojournalist Glenna Gordons work has appeared in a New York Times Magazine, Time, Newsweek, London Times, Foreign Policy, Observer, BBC, Reuters, AFP, Guardian, Christian Science Monitor, MS Magazine, Walrus Magazine, Marie Claire (CZ), Associated Press (AP), usually to name a few. She continually photographs for ubiquitous nonprofit organizations such as UNICEF, USAID, as good as UNESCO. She has been living in Africa (primarily Uganda as good as Liberia) since 2006 as good as maintains a blog, Scarlett Lion. In Oct 2009, Glenna along with colleague Jina Moore received a grant to work upon a plan about renewed justice, including an inquisitive square about a copyrighted law code, a cover story for Christian Science Monitor about lan
Keep reading