According to a recent report by Airbnb, the year-on-year growth in guest arrivals in Africa is strong in countries like Kenya at 68 per cent, South Africa at 65 per cent, and Rwanda at 73 per cent.

The top three countries with the highest growth in guest arrivals include Mozambique at 136 per cent, Ghana at 141 per cent and Nigeria at 213 per cent. In South Africa, Cape Town is the most popular destination on Airbnb followed by other destinations such as Pretoria, Durban, George, Johannesburg, Hermanus, and Plettenberg Bay.

The report reads in part:

“Since Airbnb was founded, 3.5 million guests have arrived at listings across Africa as a whole with roughly half of these arrivals occurring in just the past year.”

Airbnb is a company based in San-Francisco that offers an online marketplace and hospitality services through its websites and mobile applications.

In 2017, Airbnb announced an investment of $1 million through 2020 to promote and support community-led tourism projects in Africa.

Airbnb also launched an Africa Academy in South Africa that offers “information and tools to support aspiring entrepreneurs from rural and under-resourced communities across” the country. The Academy will be introduced in other parts of the continent according to the report.

Host Earnings

In November 2016, Airbnb introduced Experiences, activities designed and hosted by locals. Experiences are different from typical tours because they allow tourists to dive deeper into the world of the locals through their passions. Hosts provide guests with knowledge, skills, and access to local places that guests would not find on their own.

From 500 Experiences in 12 cities in 2016, the number has grown to more than 15,000 Experiences in 800 cities across the globe as of August 2018.

According to the Airbnb report, typical host earnings in Kenya in the past year stood at $920. 55 per cent of these hosts use Airbnb earnings to make ends meet while 57 per cent use the Airbnb earnings to afford staying in their homes.

Since Airbnb was founded in 2008, hosts in Africa have earned more than $400 million in income.