Africa: the Land of Opportunity
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Africa: The Land of Opportunity January 30, 2018 By Sofie Otto , Tim P. Smith 2017 was full of triumphs and disappointments on the African continent. Some countries that Summary had a positive outlook at the beginning, turned into the problem children of Africa and countries that seemed hopeless in the beginning, surprised us in the end. A review of the highlights and hotel openings 2017 in This article provides a brief summary of some of the most significant events of 2017 and Africa and a preview of what commentary on how 2018 may evolve in the fast‐developing world that is Africa. Africa has in store in 2018. Trump’s remarks have shown the need for Africans to independently take responsibility for their actions, resolve issues, help each other and above all, not rely on others who do not truly understand the continent. There were 1 Comments plenty of examples of just that last year: Highlights of 2017 The biggest surprise of 2017, was the removal of Africa’s longest serving dictator Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. While his exit was forced by a military “non‐coup” with popular support and tacit approval from China and regional leaders, it does not guarantee a reform, because interim ﴾and probable future﴿ President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been deputy president under Mugabe for the last decade. For now, the fact that a man who thought himself as untouchable as Mugabe was placed under house arrest and given an ultimatum by his own party to resign, sends a message to the Strong Men of Africa that their time may be up. The fact that this was achieved without a shot being fired, sends a message to the people of Africa that their time may have come. The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has recently slammed many existing hotels as “filthy…don’t change the linen” whilst launching a new US$15M tourism fund. It is encouraging that Mr Mnangagwa has identified tourism as a key industry to revive the economy, but it seems, in his opinion, there is much to do with the existing stock. Kenya’s judicial system flexed its muscles annulling the first presidential vote in August after finding evidence of serious irregularities. Unfortunately, the second vote was also marred by irregularities after the opposition boycotted in fear that the electoral commission had not done enough to address the problems of accountability in the first poll. At the end of November 2017, Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second five‐year term as president of Kenya pledging to work for national unity. His pro‐business and pro‐international investment approach is likely to continue in 2018 and the World Bank projected a GDP growth of 5.5% for the year to come. Several projects and investment opportunities that lay dormant last year are already showing signs of life. A strong year of recovery is predicted for the hotel and tourism sector. The new supply entering the market, including the Mövenpick, will suppress occupancy but new routes from Kenya Airways and improved visa processes should attract more visitors. Nigeria is finally out of recession and investors’ interest is picking up. GDP is expected to grow by 2.5%, according to the World Bank, which will heavily depend on oil production and global commodity prices. Expect political campaigning ﴾and the threat of violence from Boko Haram﴿ to increase exponentially in the run up to presidential elections, due at the beginning of 2019, hopefully this will not deter investors. We are seeing projects that were postponed in 2014 coming back and the announcement of the partnership between Avalon Intercontinental and Radisson Blu Hotel, rebranding the former Renaissance Hotel Ikeja as the new Radisson Blu Hotel, Lagos Ikeja is a positive start to the year. In South Africa the ANC presidential race and allegations of state capture dominated the headlines. As independent media continued to publish leaked emails, civil society and opposition parties ramped up pressure to oust President Jacob Zuma through an eighth Motion of No‐confidence in parliament. The motion was defeated, but exposed a deep divide within the ANC after several Members voted with the opposition for the first time. This divide only widened in the run up for the ANC presidential elections. Cyril Ramaphosa took a hard line against both corruption and state capture, saying “the ANC is in need of a renewal”. After Ramaphosa won the Rand immediately rose against the US Dollar and several rating agencies commented favourably on the result. This is a huge relief for South Africa who faced possible junk status and a two‐quarter recession in 2017. Despite the severe drought, Cape Town International Airport recorded a 11.5% increase in tourist arrivals in December 2017 from December 2016, according to Airports Company South Africa ﴾ACSA﴿. Tsogo Sun bet smartly on this rise, opening a new 504‐bedroom hotel complex in September last year. Hotel Openings And they weren’t alone: a myriad of new hotels opened across the continent, many to great acclaim on the regional and global stage. The Royal Portfolio The much‐anticipated Silo, Cape Town, South Africa opened its doors in March 2017 alongside the Zeitz Museum .of Contemporary Art Africa ﴾MOCAA﴿ and has enjoyed impressive of publicity since The Signature Lux Hotels opened their first hotel in South Africa ﴾Sandton, Johannesburg﴿ in June 2017 with 218 rooms. Luxury group The Capital Hotels & Apartments has opened in Umhlanga, between King Shaka International Airport and Durban. The Capital Pearls Resort Hotel offers 140 apartments and extensive conference and meeting facilities in December 2017. Carlson Rezidor opened a Park Inn by Radisson in March in Polokwane, South Africa. In Cape Town the former Triangle House was transformed by developer Signatura and land owner Stonehill Property Fund into the Radisson Blu Hotel and Residence, 5* hotel. The 166 apartments and penthouses opened in April 2017 and the first Radisson Red in Africa was opened in September in the Silo district with 252‐keys. The hotel group also presented their second hotel in Dakar in December, the 152‐room Radisson Hotel Dakar Diamniadio, close to Dakar’s newly‐opened Blaise Diagne International Airport. At the end of September 2017 Protea Hotel by Marriott announced the opening of Protea Hotel by Marriott Owerri Select in Owerri, South East Nigeria with 90 rooms developed by African Capital Alliance and Kunoch. AccorHotels signed management agreements and relaunched the Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech in May 2017 with 134 rooms and the Tune Hotel Westlands, Nairobi was relaunched as ibis Styles during the second half of 2017. Hilton proudly released their first hotel in Cape Verde, the Hilton Cabo Verde Sal Resort in October 2017 with 241 rooms. InterContinental Hotels Group signed the first Holiday Inn in Cape Town in partnership with Leisure Hotel Holding at the end of last year. The former Strand Tower Hotel has been rebranded already, marking the brand’s debut in the Mother City. Onomo Hotels opened a 155‐key hotel in Conakry, Guinea in December, called ONOMO Conakry Hotel. Earlier in the year Onomo Hotels fully took over Inn on the Square, which has been fully integrated into the hotel’s portfolio and rebranded as ONOMO Hotel Cape Town. Four Seasons Hotel Tunis opened its luxurious doors in December 2017 with 203 accommodations. Leeu Collection renovated and re‐opened Le Quartier Francais, a 21‐room boutique hotel in Franschhoek, South Africa, in July and their flagship property Leeu Estates was named South Africa's leading Wine Country Hotel 2017 at the World Travel Awards in October. On the 1st of January this year, Constance Hotels & Resorts opened the Constance Aiyana on the island of Pemba, in Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago with 30 villas. The Pearl of Africa Hotel finally opened on 1 October with 296 rooms, managed by Sovereign Hotels in Kampala. It is expected to boost Uganda’s level of quality hotels, making Kampala more attractive for the MICE sector. Time + Tide’s Miavana Island Sanctuary on Nosy Anko Island Madagascar opened with 14 villas in April 2017. Over the last year a number of stunning safari lodges and camps also opened their doors for business: The Duba Plains Camp by Great Plains Conservation in the heart of the Okavango Delta, Botswana. .King Lewanika Lodge ﴾Zambia﴿, Liuwa Plain National Park’s first and only lodge Jabali Ridge, Ruaha National Park, Tanzania Sanctuary Kichakani Serengeti Camp, Serengeti, Tanzania Wilderness Safaris’ Classic Camp, Qorokwe, situated in the private Qorokwe Concession, bordering Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta, Botswana 2018 - What is in Store After the impact of the Kenyan elections last year we all hope 2018 is more straight forward electorally. The world will certainly be watching Egypt and Zimbabwe, although perhaps the bigger political news will be the run up to both the South African and Nigerian elections in 2019. Recovery of the Oil and Gas Industry While it has been a tough three years, some analysts at RBC Capital Markets believe that the energy cycle has reached a low point and is now entering a second full year of recovery. On a macroeconomic scale global stock piles are decreasing and oil prices have started to react to the new supply‐demand dynamic. We are already seeing the benefit to hotel industries in Mozambique and Angola. 5,000+ visas have been issued in Pemba alone to oil workers and oil companies. These countries are even considering purchasing hotels to house their employees. We can already see the incredible growth potential in Africa predicted for this year by the World Bank. Tourism, Visas and Connectivity IATA estimates that eight out of the ten fastest growing aviation markets will be in Africa by 2034.