Last year, it was higher for all destinations in Africa, with flights across the continent reaching pre-pandemic levels. Safari camps from South Africa to Kenya were fully booked, with travelers staying in popular destinations such as Cape Town and Zanzibar long after the peak season. What does this mean for next year?
A wave of long-awaited luxury resorts, many of which were already in the works long before stopping due to the pandemic, are nevertheless in a position to open their doors, new air routes are making parts of the continent are more available. and more popular than ever. Various events and festivals encourage visitors to explore spaces they may not have explored in the past. Yes, there are plenty of interesting safari camps in the pipeline that we’re excited about, from iconic corners of Botswana to a less-visited park in Mozambique, but there’s also a compelling food motion in Accra, a landmark anniversary in Rwanda, a monumental new cultural landmark in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, and much more to look to the future. Could this be the year Johannesburg lures visitors away from Cape Town with a trendy new city hotel and colorful food scene, or the year sun seekers check out Mauritius instead of the Maldives ? Could you sail to Madagascar on a new adventurous cruise itinerary or add Sierra Leone to your travel plans? Frankly, the hardest thing will be choosing. Below are the most productive initiatives taking place in Africa in 2024. — Sarah Khan
This is a component of our global consultant for put options in 2024. Find our lists of selling options in Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, Central and South America, Europe, North America and the Caribbean.
Opt for: the center of a pan-African cultural renaissance, indigenous pop-up dinners, Afrobeats
Accra continues to attract travelers with a wave of new pop-up restaurants, museums, and the pilgrimage-worthy music festival, AfroFuture (formerly Afrochella).
Accra has continued to cement its reputation as the continent’s cool capital, and a reinvention of Pan-African heritage has ignited the city’s foodies. At the forefront is the Ghana Food Movement, a network of food changemakers committed to highlighting the attractiveness of sustainable food. Opening in May 2024 of its Link-up Kitchen in the colorful Osu district, this gathering station and check kitchen will host the Movement’s popular Dine and Dance series, where young chefs highlight local ingredients in multi-course dinners before getting into the rhythm. from local DJs. The center will also host pop-ups showcasing up-and-coming chefs and indigenous menus, such as those presented by Abena Offeh-Gyimah, whose food tours highlight ancient ingredients and a “reconnection with ancestral eating tactics. ” This year, Chef Selassie Atadika of Midunu also resumes her nomadic dinners celebrating African ingredients, as well as quarterly chocolate tastings of her enchanting confections enlivened through flavors such as beriberi chili and Cape Malay spices. After dinner, find the West African capital’s laid-back electric club scene offering plenty of options. And while the Grammys have just arrived at the party (the awards will recognize a Best African Musical Performance category for the first time in 2024), locals are coming to life at festivals like Chale Wote Street Art Festival (August) and AfroFuture (formerly Afrochella; December ) during years. If you have time to sleep, the December 2023 opening of the 145-room Hilton Accra Cantonments marks the brand’s debut in Ghana.
Looking to the future, a cultural establishment is also springing up on the outskirts of the city. Enriched through the voices of the diaspora, a zeitgeist that vindicates African narratives discovers a physical position in the Pan-African Heritage Museum, whose structure has begun and will open in 2025 or 2026. Located on 10 lush acres in Winneba (65 km from Accra), the space’s first offerings will include a musical amphitheater, a youth innovation center, and a food court. Like all planned exhibitions (you can digitally preview the collection), these will showcase and unite the continent’s rich history and cultures to its newfound global power. -Lee Middleton
Opt for: hot tables, a downtown, and new hotels from beloved brands
The Voco Johannesburg is one of several high-end design hotels in the South African city, and in 2024, it will join through the Park Hyatt Johannesburg.
Johannesburg is a gold rush city, built on a sense of determination and unbridled optimism. And while the city struggles with infrastructure issues and social inequality, it is necessary to forget about the positive power that permeates South Africa’s economic capital. This is evident in the resurgence of the food scene that is temporarily giving Cape Town a run for its money. Pot Luck Club, the mainstay of Cape Town, has expanded with a new location here in 2023, as has British café EL
Rosebank is less than 30 minutes from the overseas airport via the high-speed Gautrain. Cathay Pacific and LATAM have relaunched flights in 2023, and Air Algérie and Saudia offer completely new routes to the city. In June 2024, Lufthansa will ramp up a direct flight from Munich, and in July 2024, Qantas will fly its A380 from Sydney to the city for the first time, virtually doubling its capacity. —Richard Holmes
Opt for: biodiversity, shipwrecked environment and water sports
Miavana in Madagascar exemplifies the island’s charm with its water sports, adventures, baobab forests, and breathtaking views.
By 2024, it will be less difficult to travel between remote destinations in Madagascar thanks to a new air loop and cruise itineraries.
An otherworldly land of unknown species and strange biological riches, the wild and remote island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean has promised to revolutionize the senses and logistical prowess of visitors. Fortunately, the latter are becoming the guilty pioneers of some of the most productive activities on the continent. Conservation tourism offerings raise the bar on the world’s fourth largest island. Located within the largely pristine Namoroka National Park, the opening of Namoroka Tsingy Exploration Camp in mid-2024 will see seven luxurious safari tents your portal to a baobab landscape. Trees protruding from limestone razor formations known as tsingy and populated by lemurs that have not learned how to do so. Fear of people.
More of a coastal explorer? Look no further than Masoala Forest Lodge, which recently announced an expedition to the Blue Lagoon in 2022. Paddling through the beautiful Antongil Bay covered in rainforests and mangroves, kayakers heading to a campsite on a magical island will share crystal clear waters with migrating humpback whales and schools of reef fish. . If that’s too difficult, Time Tide’s Miavana, arguably the platonic ideal of exclusive island luxury, is launching a kitesurfing medium and new mainland tours (think quad biking through baobab forests), in January 2024 and March 2024 respectively, for those enjoying an adrenaline fix in their cocktail of happiness.
Last but not least, in 2024 access to Red Island will be expanded. Masoala Forest Lodge and Madagascar Classic Collection are launching a new flight circuit that will link remote destinations such as Andasibe, Namoroka and Masoala parks, and luxury cruise lines such as Silversea, Lindblad, Swan Hellenic and Seabourn have added the country as a port. Stopover for new journeys. —Lee Middleton
Opt for: Indian Ocean waters, a museum, and dazzling villas
The island country of Mauritius is entering a new golden era, with expanded cultural offerings and the opening of renovated resorts, such as Lux Belle Mare, enticing travelers to return again and again.
Mauritius’s heyday as a destination in the 1980s conjures up photographs of scratched parasols, a tanned Stephanie of Monaco on water skis, and the entire European jet set sheltered in the few, but fabulous, Array hotels. Three decades later, the Indian Ocean island has even more to put on your travel list: a colorful cultural scene and a new wave of hospitality are developing on its shores. In the capital, Port Louis, the Intercontinental Slavery Museum, housed in a restored 18th-century military hospital, opened in September 2023, marking the country’s first monumental step in repairing its long colonial history. Cultural enthusiasts are also drawn to the recently opened House of Digital Art (HODA) – old meets new at this historic Port Louis building, which houses a diversity of innovative and cutting-edge art installations. Mauritius has been famous for its dreamy beach hotels, but the next Tribeca Partner will inspire visitors away from the beaches in late 2024, announcing the launch of a new hotel logo from Lux Collective, which promises to be a hotel new and impressive. with his finger on the pulse of the island. Muse Villas, a newcomer looking to offer a better hotel experience, allows travelers to stay on their own personal island. Meanwhile, the legendary Lux Belle Mare and Paradis Beachcomber hotels have just unveiled major restorations in October, and the Riu Palace Mauritius hotel, a paradise for kitesurfers, will emerge from its own facelift in May 2024. But beyond the very frequented by Mauricio, this may be the year in which his little sister, Rodrigues, a little piece of island an hour and a half flight to the east, receives what is due to her. It’s long been a well-kept secret, even among the most discerning travelers, but now a series of renovated homes are adding a touch of luxury: the island’s two historic hotels, Play Mourouk and Cotton Bay Resort & SpaArray, are reopening after months of renovation. and reinvention (the first from November 1, 2023; the moment in 2024). -Anissa Macaulay
Opt for: Epic Restoration, Pristine Coastline, Extraordinary Safaris
As Mozambique enters a new era as a destination, Gorongosa National Park has followed suit thanks to the rebuilding efforts that travelers can witness at Muzimi Lodge, the region’s first and only luxury tented camp, which opened its doors in 2024.
While the past few years of fighting and COVID-19 have wiped out this southern African gem (known for its 2,400 kilometers of pristine coastline, vast nature, and colorful Afro-Portuguese culture), Mozambique will bounce back in 2024.
On the mainland, the country’s rebirth is being celebrated to the fullest in Gorongosa National Park, where reconstruction efforts resulted in a more than 700% increase in the number of giant mammals between 2008 and 2018, restoring ecological and economic hope to this magical land of feverish trees. and winding rivers. Experience a conservation success story from the comfort of Muzimu Lodge, the park’s first and only luxury tented camp, whose official opening in 2024 will be accompanied by the arrival of a new safari camping experience: a walking flight to the peak of Gorongosa Mountain. For those on a tighter budget or schedule, head south to Ponta Membene where you’ll find 24 new self-catering chalets (superbly situated on the edge of the coastal dune forest less than 3 hours from Maputo) and bike safaris electricity along the coast, lately in the testing phase. In this phase we hope to expand access to the impressive Maputo National Park. Finally, die-hard travelers can head to the Niassa Special Reserve, where Anderson Expeditions embarks on a life-changing seven-night adventure (by foot, safari and canoe) within a personal concession with one of the most productive guides. in the industry. The expedition, which supports the Niassa Carnivore Project’s Mpopo Trails camp, represents the long term of sustainable network tourism. The upcoming opening of Banyan Tree Ilha Caldeira, offering sea views from the island’s personal sanctuary’s 40 pool villas; snorkel with manta rays; and an award-winning logo spa (official opening date to be announced).
To top it all off, Mozambique’s once-obscure access needs have been drastically simplified with the addition of 28 countries to its visa-free list.
Opt for: Off-the-beaten-path accommodations
In the east of the country, the Babanango Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, home to the Big Five, is a less-visited option than South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Madwaleni River Lodge, opened in September 2023 in Babanango in KZN, is just one of the reasons for next year’s destination.
This year brings plenty of new reasons to overlook South Africa’s iconic Kruger National Park and head to the picturesque hills of Zululand, north of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the country’s easternmost province. If you’ve ever traveled here, you’ve probably visited the personal game reserve of
Opt for: A Make-or-Break Moment for Exclusive Camps in a Landscape
African Bush Camps opened Khwai Lediba last year, a drop in the ocean of new safari lodges that make visiting the Okavango Delta more than ever.
In 2024, the North Island Okavango team (pictured), which has just 3 suites located on an island in the Delta, will add new construction to its portfolio.
Ve. Ve now. Because if you’ve ever dreamed of finding Botswana’s Okavango Delta, where seasonal flooding turns dry sands into a filigree of glistening canals, you’re now spoilt for choice. Increased demand, coupled with a proactive technique for the development of networked concessions, has led to a wave of new accommodations in the world’s largest inland delta.
Take for example the personal island of Sitatunga or the natural selection island of northern Okavango, where only three tented suites rest on an island under wild ebony. Natural Selection will join its portfolio in May 2024 with a new build: Tawana. Located in the wild. Rich Moremi Game Reserve, this partnership with local Batawana tribal leader will offer 8 thatched-roof suites amidst the grasslands bordering the perennial Gomoti River. Each remains measures at least 93 square meters and includes a private pool and terrace.
Water is gold in the Delta, and last year, African Bush Camps (ABC) opened the Khwai Lediba across the river. But our eyes are on Atzaro Okavango, which will debut in March 2024 – it’s ABC’s third Icon camp in the Delta. with 10 lagoonside suites that promise impressive degrees of Delta luxury and a strong sense of belonging through design (the two markers of the Icon portfolio).
If you’re feeling adventurous, look east to the Mababe Marshes and the new Wilderness Mokete (opening in mid-2024) for a fresh look at exploration under canvas, with sumptuous rustic-style furnishings, geometric lines, and all-new décor. But hurry: Mokete will only last two years before being replaced by a new permanent camp that will open in 2026. — Richard Holmes
Opt for: New Cultural Centers, a Music Festival, and Chic Hotels
Cool festivals? Famous architecture? Luxury hotels?Rabat, the capital of Morocco, has all this and more, and 2024 brings a wave of news
Morocco’s capital, Rabat, may be one of the country’s four imperial cities, but it has long been overlooked by travelers drawn to the ancient beauty of places like Marrakesh, Fez and Tangier. That may replace this year as well, as the city is in the midst of a cultural and artistic reinvention. One of the most talked about attractions: the upcoming Mohammed VI Tower, designed to receive LEED Gold and HQE certification and projected to be the tallest and only spire of its kind in Africa. But even more exciting is the inauguration of the new Grand Théâtre de Rabat, which is located nearby. One of the unfinished masterpieces of the legendary architect Zaha Hadid, it will have a 1,800-seat theater, an experimental functionality area and an amphitheater for 7,000 people, as well as green areas and a restaurant. It will be the largest hall of its kind in Africa and the Arab world and will host symphonic, ballet, opera and philharmonic performances (all of the above are planned for late 2023). Another highly anticipated cultural foray is the 2024 return of the Mawazine festival, which dates back to this summer after a hiatus caused by COVID-19. It’s not yet clear what the lineup is, but in the past, Africa’s biggest festival has attracted stars like Rihanna and Mariah Carey.
A series of high-profile hotel openings will allow you to enjoy a comfortable landing in the city during your stay: the new Fairmont La Marina Rabat Salé and the Conrad Rabat Arzana usher in a new era of trendy luxury in the historic city; Now, the focus is on the highly anticipated Four Seasons Hotel Rabat in Kasr Al Bahr, which is set to open in late 2023, as well as the Ritz-Carlton Rabat Dar Es Salaam project. -Harriet Akinyi
Opt for: an anniversary, gorilla walks, and culinary innovation
Meza Malonga in Kigali is an Afrofusion birthday party, fostered by chef Dieuveil Malonga’s travels to 48 African countries.
In addition to the Meza Malonga restaurant, Rwanda promises new hikes, houseboat cruises, and even craft beer in 2024.
Beyond the famous gorilla treks, 2024 is the year Rwanda reveals lesser-known adventures and many new reasons to rent a guide, hop in a Land Cruiser and tour all four national parks. Recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Nyungwe National Park is one of the oldest rainforests in Africa and is noted for its hiking, cycling and chimpanzee walks. The new Cyinzobe trail, an exciting 3-day, 25km hike, shows amazing perspectives of 3 waterfalls and the Kamiranzovu River. With accommodation limited to six A-frame cabins, have the rainforest almost to yourself. Spend your days searching for wild orchids, spotting silver monkeys and grey-cheeked mangabeys, and marveling at some of the 345 species of birds within the park, 30 of which are endemic to the Albertine Rift. Kingfisher Journeys invites adventurers to explore Rwanda’s unexplored whitewater rivers for the first time (there are 30 intermediate grade rivers in the country for pioneering rafting) under the guidance of expert rafting guides. In November 2023, the Mantis Kivu Queen uBuranga launches a luxury barge cruise with a 3-day journey across the emerald waters of Lake Kivu, one of the African Great Lakes. Kayaking, swimming, cycling, hiking and cultural immersion in the local villages of the small islands await.
And at Meza Malonga in Kigali, Congolese chef Dieuveil Malonga will offer Afro-fusion cuisine fostered through his travels in 48 African countries. The culinary marvel, voted Champion of Change among the 50 best in the world, will open a large innovation laboratory in Musanze. in August, where it will train young chefs and offer exclusive accommodation to gastronomy enthusiasts. The new Kweza Craft Brewery, Rwanda’s first craft brewery, is exclusively owned by women and operated with 85% locally sourced ingredients, with the goal of empowering women to get back to work. in what is traditionally a profession run by women.
As Rwanda marks the 30th anniversary of the devastating genocide against Tutsis in 2024, marked by the poignant lighting of the flame of remembrance on April 7 at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, these new openings and reports show how the country has arrived. —Alicia -Rae Luz
Opt for: ecotourism, glamping, and bird watching.
Sierra Leone is a booming country, with new flights, a first ecotourism tour, and national park accommodations in 2024. Visit before everyone you know knows.
The small country of Sierra Leone in West Africa is implementing a new vision focused on tourism. A recent visa-on-arrival program has already simplified the procedure for getting there. And, in 2023, a solar-powered airport near the capital, Freetown, opened a new terminal whose capacity increased fivefold. New foreign air routes are expected to make the country even more accessible next year, particularly flights to Nigeria and South Africa.
Perhaps the most exciting development is Sierra Leone’s push to safeguard and showcase its varied wildlife, with new reports for travellers. Led through the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, adjacent to Freetown, the initial phase of the country’s first eco-hiking tour will open in 2024 (keep an eye on Tacugama’s online page for more details). It will offer accommodation in two main sites for the first time: two one-bedroom eco-lodges will open on the southeastern river island of Jaibui, home to the elusive pygmy hippopotamus, through spring 2024, and remnants of tents will be offered in Loma Mountains National Park. Loma is home to Mount Bintumani, the highest peak in West Africa west of Mount Cameroon, with an astonishing variety of rare animal and bird species, including white-necked waterfowl, “the avian holy grail” for birdwatchers. In 2024, the structure will break ground on a world-class research and innovation center in Tacugama, with an exhibition hall dedicated to Sierra Leone’s national animal, the chimpanzee.
A slew of new hotels in other parts of the country will offer access to Sierra Leone’s coastline. Jethel Garden Eco-Resort will open in December 2023 near Freetown on Tasso Island, an important stop on the country’s historic slave industry route. Farther south, a chain of remote, previously inaccessible sand islands in the Atlantic, the Turtle Islands, is adding new accommodations and increased boat transfers with the Tomatribe project, which includes glamping-style tents set to open through early 2024.
Other projects to be implemented in Sierra Leone in the coming years include The Peninsula City, a public-private partnership in collaboration with W Hotels, which is building a hotel and marina just south of Freetown, and Sherbro Island City, a long-term initiative. Funded through Sierra Leone’s logo ambassador, Idris Elba, it plans to turn the tropical island into an “Afrodynamic ecological city. ” — Yulia Denisyuk
Opt for: Rich History, Scuba Diving & Enhanced Access
Just because the island of St. Helena is isolated doesn’t mean you can’t find remnants of skyscrapers — grab a room at the Mantis St. Helena in Jamestown
Greater air connectivity means there will no longer be a need for a grueling boat ride to reach the island, nor for world-class snorkeling and diving.
St. Helena, a volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean, is a British Overseas Territory just like Walt Disney World Orlando, with a population of less than 4,500.
Until the first advertising flights landed on the island in 2017, the remote island was only available through a five-day boat holiday from South Africa. Weekly flights from Johannesburg finally made this holiday less difficult, despite a pandemic lull that ended in 2022. From November 2024, departures from St. Helena will become even more frequent, taking off twice a week from Cape Town. summer and thus making the holiday less difficult. island much less difficult to visit. The explanation for why you spend there? To achieve that remote island feel, while enjoying an infrastructure that rivals the neighboring islands of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
There’s a rich history to notice once you land. Uninhabited when the Portuguese arrived in 1502, St. Helena later claimed through the Dutch before becoming British territory. Today, the inhabitants, known as Santos, have ancestral ties to Britain but also to China. , Madagascar, India and West Africa. Tours detail the island’s past, from its enslaved African population to the exile and death of Napoleon Bonaparte. In the historic capital, Jamestown, the Mantis St. Helena remains the most elegant hotel on the island. Whale sharks scale in the clear waters of St. Helena from December to March; Tour operators like Sub-Tropic Adventures organize trips to swim with the gentle sea giants. Divers will be able to spot turtles and devilish rays, and there are several wrecks to explore while snorkeling. On land, the trails pass through lush forests and climb steep mountain ranges; In the end, you might find a unique British red mailbox with a notebook to leave a comment. -Heather Richardson
By NTC editors
By NTC Editors
By NTC editors
By NTC Editors
By NTC Editors
By Sara James
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