Tourism and Development Relations in West African States

Özet

Tourism is considered a factor of development, and it indeed represents a significant share of the GDP of some countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Tourism has already generated more than 3 million jobs in the ECOWAS region and more than 3.73 billion US dollars in 2018. The regional tourism policy emphasizes local development, in particular by creating skilled jobs and unskilled for marginalized groups and regions and integrating local communities as custodians and beneficiaries of natural and cultural resources. However, it was adopted in a context of major challenges that affect both tourism assets and the safety of tourists and therefore limiting access to certain tourist sites. It is between climate change, armed conflict and terrorism. This paper focuses on Tourism movement and Development relations in the Economic Community of West African States. It is concluded that tourism has multiple effects on development.