What Kind of Travel Do Tourists Want?
Top travel trends in Africa 2024. Fewer hotels, more connections, meaningful experiences & wellness. Sustainable travel with a purpose.
Africa is one of the most exciting destinations in the world for top safaris, wildlife, open spaces and dramatic landscapes. Tourists want different kinds of travel which drives tourism trends globally. Voyage2Africa leads top travel trends in Africa in 2024. Travelers want fewer hotels, more connections, meaningful experiences and wellness. Sustainable travel and meeting indigenous cultures are top of the itinerary these days!
Different kinds of travel appeal to different kinds of travelers and most tourists travel according to their preferred interests, budgets, and dreams. People have always traveled for leisure, business, adventure in new places, and to meet different cultures. Some tourists travel to Africa to learn about its history, to sample its delicious food, and to revel in beautiful environments.
Family travel, large group travel, and honeymoon holidays are top travel trends in 2024. This is also the age of solo travel, finding silence on a digital detox, and sustainable environmental tourism. Tourists want exotic wellness travel, culinary safaris, and going off the beaten track on remote quests. Camping in nature, finding cool countries to escape a warming earth, and traveling out of season drive travel trends in 2024.
These are the main travel trends in Africa for 2024:
Solo Travel
It’s still possible to travel solo in Africa where most countries remain safe and their people friendly. Traveling alone involves a bit of planning and a lot of positive thinking. More women are traveling solo in Africa which on one hand is eye-catching and attention-grabbing but on the other hand is peaceful and anonymous, less stressful and easier.
Start a solo journey in Malawi, a warm, hospitable African country and feel safe. There is something for everyone in a land where smiling faces are the norm. There is so much to see and do in Malawi, one of the world’s least-developed countries that boasts an enormous lake, stunning mountain forests and several highly acclaimed game reserves.
From here, slip alone to the never-ending openness of Namibia where Sossusvlei features some of the highest and most famous mammoth red dunes in the world. Safaris in Sossusvlei traverse nearly 50,000 square km of the mighty Namib-Naukluft Park, one of the oldest deserts ever. Meet other keen sunrise photographers, desert worshipers, and those who prefer tranquility alone in nature.
Women love to travel solo in Africa
Remote Off the Beaten Track Quests
Pop north to Capri, a tiny corner of Namibia where the glorious Hakusembe River Lodge hosts solo travelers on cruises, tiger fishing forays, wave boarding, water skiing, breakfast cruises, speedboat fun, and awesome game drives. From there, don’t miss Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park for world-class 4×4 game viewing, and walking safaris in a private and secluded destination packed with elephants and predators. Not far away lies the stupendous Zambian Kafue floodplains, an iconic conservation area renowned as the largest national park in the country. Kafue National Park covers an incredible 22 400 square km of wilderness, home to 152 different species of mammals and extraordinary birds.
Explore more of remote Zambia in a 4×4
Nature Conscious Travel
In Namibia, the best kind of conservation tourism is the Damaraland Rhino Walking Safaris with the legendary Desert Rhino Camp. Get out on foot and track the rare free-roaming black desert rhino in a fascinating rocky desert landscape with Namibia’s Save the Rhino Trust NGO which has trained local people to patrol and monitor the rhino in this semi-desert ecosystem.
In Mozambique, the Gorongosa African Wild Dog project invites guests to learn how a pack of African Painted Dogs was released into Gorongosa National Park in 2018 in partnership with the Endangered Wildlife Trust, after their absence of more than 25 years. Over 40 wild dogs now roam the Park and guests are encouraged to become friends of the Park and lifetime supporters of responsible tourism in Africa.
African Wild Dogs are thrilling to see in action!
In Uganda, further north, an unforgettable nature conscious travel trip is the Mountain Gorilla trekking safaris. Don’t miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime chance to hang out with these rare and gentle apes. Visit the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with a permit that allows tourists but one hour with the gorillas – intelligent beings that are sadly at risk from poachers and habitat destruction of pristine rainforests in Africa.
Cultural Tourism Experiences
Culture junkies can choose a safari tour to the central Kalahari Desert in Botswana, and the adjacent Mkgadikgadi Pans. Explore a sweeping region that was founded in 1961 as a sanctuary for the indigenous San people to preserve their traditional hunter-gatherer way of life which hasn’t changed for the past 20,000 years. The origins of all mankind radiate from the ancient Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana, also one of the flattest places on earth. Modern Homo sapiens first began to evolve in this region some 200,000 years ago, when it was a massive, remarkably fertile area of lakes, rivers, marshes, woodlands and grasslands.
Enter South Africa to meet diverse tribes and cultures – the spirit of Ubuntu permeates South African lives. Ubuntu is when individuals are recognised for being who they are as unique persons, and when individuals come together in a community, the power is effective: we are because you are, and since you are, definitely I am. The Zulus believe that behaving with ubuntu, or showing respect and generosity towards others, enhances one’s moral standing or prestige in the community, one’s isithunzi. Tour the picturesque landscapes of the Eastern Cape to meet the AmaXhosa people who speak IsiXhosa, a language adorned with distinctive click sounds, and their traditions are laced with storytelling, a vibrant thread that binds generations. Dance, particularly the mesmerizing ‘umtyityimbo,’ sees dancers quivering in harmony with the music, narrating tales through movement.
Read about these tribes and the Himba in Namibia here
Wellness Tourism in Silence
There is a noticeable rise in wellness travel, also dubbed wellness tourism, sports travel, endorphin travel, and nature pilgrimages. From the outdated spa movement to the updated outdoors movement, travelers are seeking rewilding holidays, yoga and meditation retreats, healing, detox and nutrition escapes. Silence is golden on hikes in the great outdoors of exotic destinations. People want their health back and millennials are driving wellness trends to be healthy and experience fitness, health and well-being.
One of the best African destinations for wellness tourism is Mount Kenya and a few nights at the beautiful Elsa’s Kopje. Ideal for travelers who need a break from the rat race, don’t want to see too many tourists and who enjoy a subtle sense of luxury where sufficient game and birdlife fill their days with pleasure. Finch Hattons in Tsavo National Park also offers privileged guests the Chyulu Spa and state of the art raised yoga deck with views of the Chyulu Hills, two open air massage rooms, an infinity pool, a hammam and a fitness center.
In Mozambique, the best wellness spas can be found in the Bazaruto islands – the Anantara Bazaruto Island Resort and Spa is the best island retreat to find a well-equipped fitness center, with weight training, cardio equipment and a full fitness circuit to keep those holiday calories in check! The mesmerizing Spa features five treatment rooms, a hydrotherapy pool, and a health bar. Ocean safaris, swimming, snorkeling or diving with dolphins.
The Anantara Resort and Spa is ideal for a wellness retreat
Longer Holidays Fewer Things to Do
One of the top travel trends this 2024 is the longer safari or vacation with fewer things to do on a shorter itinerary. Longer holidays with less to do offer more time for relaxation, for wellness and for immersion in cultures and nature. In fact, longer holidays in one place offer a chance to explore all of the top travel trends listed here!
We care about our tourists who book tours and safaris in Africa, and we have handcrafted a wonderful collection of special packages for your perusal. Would you like to go gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda, for example? We recommend the four-night Uganda safari as a starting point which invites tourists to traverse dense thickets and bamboo forests to find gorillas. Then travel across the border into Rwanda and another four days gorilla trekking adventure in the inspirational Parc National des Volcans (PNV), Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park!
Botswana safaris to Chobe for a few weeks, or the Okavango Delta for a few weeks count in terms of relaxation and special immersion in nature. Consider a longer walking safari in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe or Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique to fulfill any wanderlust and treat stress or fatigue.
Browse our special packages and travel into Africa in 2024
Contact Voyage2Africa for all your longer safaris and tours, with less stops on the itineraries! Discover the top travel trends in Africa in 2024 and become part of the movement to stay in fewer hotels, to make more meaningful connections, to experience real wellness while contributing to sustainable travel ethics.