Listings tripled in the last year in South Africa for Airbnb, a website for people to list, find, and rent lodging.
More than 130,000 guests stayed in accommodation they found on Airbnb in South Africa in the last year, and many guests said they stayed longer and spent more in local shops and restaurants as a result of the sharing economy, Traveller24 reported.
The way people travel is changing, driven by a new economy where people place greater value on experiences over ownership, said Nicola D’Elia, general manager for Airbnb Africa and Middle East.
Airbnb has grown the tourism pie in Cape Town, attracting guests who might otherwise not have come, the company said.
Encouraging the idea of openness, hospitality and service across the city — not only in the heavy tourist areas — is important in Cape Town, which has an reputation for being rather “insular and closed off,” said Tim Harris, CEO at Wesgro, the tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape.
Airbnb listings allow visitors to book accommodations online and stay in their hosts’ homes. Based in San Francisco, the website was founded in 2008 and has been available in South Africa since 2009. It is privately owned.
Airbnb has more than 1.5-million listings in 34,000 cities and towns in 190 countries. South Africa has the highest number of listings in Africa and the Middle East, with 20,000 of 50,000 listing. Morocco is No. 2. Of South Africa’s 20,000 Airbnb listings, half are in Cape Town, BusinessDayLive reported.
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How Airbnb Is Changing Tourist Behavior In South Africa’s Sharing Economy
Listings tripled in the last year in South Africa for Airbnb, a website for people to list, find, and rent lodging.
More than 130,000 guests stayed in accommodation they found on Airbnb in South Africa in the last year, and many guests said they stayed longer and spent more in local shops and restaurants as a result of the sharing economy, Traveller24 reported.
The way people travel is changing, driven by a new economy where people place greater value on experiences over ownership, said Nicola D’Elia, general manager for Airbnb Africa and Middle East.
Airbnb has grown the tourism pie in Cape Town, attracting guests who might otherwise not have come, the company said.
Encouraging the idea of openness, hospitality and service across the city — not only in the heavy tourist areas — is important in Cape Town, which has an reputation for being rather “insular and closed off,” said Tim Harris, CEO at Wesgro, the tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape.
Airbnb has more than 1.5-million listings in 34,000 cities and towns in 190 countries. South Africa has the highest number of listings in Africa and the Middle East, with 20,000 of 50,000 listing. Morocco is No. 2. Of South Africa’s 20,000 Airbnb listings, half are in Cape Town, BusinessDayLive reported.
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Turning The Lights On, Africa’s Energy Investment Opportunity
A two-to-three hour drive outside Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé, French energy giant Électricité de France is building a hydroelectric dam along the Sanaga River.
The buzz in the town of Edea is the near $1 billion in investment expected to arrive soon.
An accompanying 40-mile transmission line will transport the energy produced to the main grid in Yaoundé. The plant enables a five-fold increase in the country’s aluminum production for the state-owned company in Edea and, with 420 megawatts of electricity expected by 2019, adds significantly to the country’s power generation, which is barely above 1,000 megawatts today.
Power production, transportation and sales were liberalized in 2001 in Cameroon with the privatization of the state-owned power utility SONEL under a 20-year concession. SONEL—renamed ENEO Cameroun S.A. in 2014—monopolizes transmission and distribution, purchasing electricity from private producers through power purchase agreements with explicit governmental licenses and controls for private commercial producers.
Sub-Saharan Africa, with a combined population of nearly 1 billion, produces approximately the same amount of power as Spain, population 45 million. Power consumption, slightly over 120 kilowatt hours per capita per year, is only a tenth of that found elsewhere in the developing world and barely enough to power one 75-watt light bulb per person for four hours a day. All these statistics highlight the opportunity to power Africa.
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The AirBnb Revolution Hits Africa
The AirBnb revolution has hit Africa. Though its offerings are still quite small compared to Europe or North America, the popular home-sharing site is rapidly gaining ground, allowing travellers to see a different side of Africa, save money, and make friends.
Instead of checking into an impersonal hotel in Lagos, Nigeria, try a private room in a houseowned by Jerry and Eva. Their thoughtful attention and local knowledge instantly makes this chaotic city feel less daunting.
If Cairo’s calling, get a room with a view in the Pyramids Loft owned by Thomas, Zizo and Ahmed. Their apartment sharing a communal rooftop lounge is just 50m from the entrance to the pyramids at Giza. “Loved my stay there! The hospitality, the advice and the laughs!” wrote one delighted guest.
Jerry & Eva’s Lagos rental (Courtesy of AirBnb.com)
So far Airbnb.com only has about 60 listings in Egypt, including Ayman’s offer of a spare bedroom in Cairo, with a scooter thrown in.
Great swathes of Africa are yet to be reached at all, but more houses, flats and bedrooms are going online every day.
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While the rich still prefer SA, African countries are catching up
Cape Town – In spite of the current economic challenges, South Africa is still an attractive destination for wealthy individuals on the African continent and other global markets, according to Eric Enslin, CEO of FNB Private Wealth.
Enslin said on Wednesday that evidence of South Africa’s standing among wealthy individuals can be seen in the findings of the Africa 2016 Wealth Report, which found that the country is still the preferred private banking hub among the continent’s high net worth individuals (HNWI).
“This may come as a surprise in light of our seemingly deteriorating economic fortunes; however, South Africa remains a sophisticated market in comparison to most areas in the region.
We have a world-class financial services sector that is strictly regulated and provides a greater degree of financial security for high net worth individuals.
“That said, there’s no room to get comfortable, especially after suddenly becoming the third-largest economy in Africa, losing our leading position to Nigeria and Egypt respectively.
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