Instagram launches the Visa to Africa campaign, featuring ten content creators to promote travel to Africa.
Instagram is today launching Visa To Africa, a campaign that harnesses the power of social media platforms to showcase Africa's tourist treasures. Supported by the World Tourism Organization and the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure of Côte d'Ivoire, the initiative, which comes amid the Covid-19 pandemic, aims to encourage economic recovery through tourism while highlighting the incredible attractions of the African continent.
Ten creators from Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the diaspora will use their content to take the public on a virtual journey through the unexplored landscapes and little-known cultures of French-speaking Africa. They are Sandy Abena, Lee Litumbe, Fader Nakhry, Nkeng Stephens, Chouchou Mpacko, Travel with Ziggy, Cheikh Moustapha, Mariam N'Diaye, Laëtitia Kandolo, and Peintre Obou, who designed a dedicated Instagram filter.
A new generation of Africans has emerged, embracing Instagram tools to show a new, authentic, and appealing face of Africa. At Meta, we are proud to host this momentum on our platforms and thus help propel the narrative power of the African continent
,
"
said Olivia Nloga, Meta's Communications Manager for French-speaking Africa.
Tourism is an important economic sector for many African countries. In 2019, 9% of the African continent's total export earnings came from international tourism, amounting to US$40 billion.
For Elcia Grandcourt, Director of the Africa Regional Department at the World Tourism Organization, "new information technologies, particularly Facebook and Instagram, have helped to popularize certain tourist and cultural attractions on our continent of Africa, through the phenomenon of selfies, stories, and challenges that are sometimes shared hundreds of times. At the UNWTO, we are extremely encouraged by this energy and new momentum to showcase Africa's diversity to a global audience."
After two consecutive years of crisis, African governments are rolling out new economic recovery policies. Alongside the first promising results, experts agree on the considerable contribution of social media in ingeniously popularizing tourism offerings. In November 2021, the World Tourism Organization and Instagram joined forces to produce a Tourism Recovery Guide
to help destinations and businesses harness the power of digital and visual storytelling to reach new audiences and return to growth.
This is in addition to localized initiatives, such as the publication of the Johannesburg City Guide
in December 2020, followed in June 2021 by the Abidjan City Guide
, which aimed to support SMEs in the tourism and hospitality sector, particularly affected by the slowdown in activity linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Instagram is a powerful tool for all areas of the travel and tourism industry. With initiatives such as Visa To Africa, we want to encourage businesses, entrepreneurs, communities, and content creators to share the gems of French-speaking Africa," concluded Caroline Drucker, Director of Partnerships at Instagram for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region.
Press release