SA Becomes Most Attractive African Country for Trade, While Egypt Most Tourist-Friendly
14:07 26.06.2024 (Updated: 14:20 26.06.2024)
© AP Photo / Nardus Engelbrecht
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Based in Madrid, Bloom Consulting specializes in nation and city branding and space creation since 2003. It publishes a biannual Country Brand Ranking for trade and tourism, analyzing the brand performance of nearly 200 countries using proprietary tools. Bloom Consulting partners with the World Economic Forum to assess country brand attractiveness.
South Africa became the most attractive African country for trade, while Egypt took the top spot for tourism, the most recent research by Bloom Consulting revealed.
“South Africa reclaims its leading position from Nigeria in Africa's trade rankings, primarily driven by a substantial increase in FDI [foreign direct investment], particularly marked in 2021 due to significant technology investment. This surge in FDI, which was ten times higher than in 2020 and quadrupled that of 2022, underscores South Africa's growing appeal as an investment location,” the paper read.
However, there are some obstacles too: a decline in social media and online performance shows that the country isn't making the most of its improved economic situation.
The greatest improvements were achieved in these countries:
1.
Morocco rises into the top three at the regional level for the first time, supported by robust FDI, D2 digital demand, and online performance. Morocco's improved rating score and social media presence reflected Morocco's growing influence and strategic position in African trade, according to Bloom Consulting.2.
The advancement of Senegal is one of the big news stories. The nation moved up 11 spots on the continental level to seventh position, marked by one of the highest FDI growth rates in the world.3.
Burkina Faso also showed significant progress in its digital trade representation. This, coupled with stable performance in other areas, underscored Burkina Faso's evolving trading environment. Like Senegal, Burkina Faso introduced an online presence that was not present in previous Bloom Consulting editions.The largest declines were observed in two countries in West Africa and one in the east of the continent.
Nigeria's decline, characterized by decreased FDI, social media, and online performance, has prevented it from maintaining its previous leadership position.
Ghana's ranking also fell, primarily because its stable performance in various sectors couldn't match the significant progress made by Morocco and Egypt, underscoring increasing competition in African trade.
Tanzania saw a decline of five positions due to a relative downturn in FDI and D2 digital demand in key sectors such as business and environment.
Talking about tourism, Egypt maintains its leadership position for the third year in a row.
“For the third year in a row, Egypt maintains its position as the leader in Africa's tourism rankings [...] Egypt's online performance and social media presence have notably strengthened. Climbing six positions in the global rankings, Egypt now proudly stands within the global Top 25. This solidifies a rebound for the country [...],” the research pointed out.
The agency also ranked Morocco, Ethiopia and Uganda among the countries that have seen the most significant positive changes, while South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria have lost ground in the tourism sector more than other countries on the continent.
