Opinion

Opinions

2026-07-282026-07-28By Correspondent

Tourism is growing rapidly across Southern Africa, East Africa, and the Indian Ocean islands. Rising international visitor numbers, expanding air connectivity and significant investment in hotels, resorts and tourism infrastructure are creating new employment opportunities across the region. However, this growth is also exposing a critical challenge. Developing the skilled workforce needed to sustain it has become just as important as attracting investment.

“We see these countries as forming what we call Africa’s hospitality triangle,” said Viren Sookhun, Managing Director, Workforce Staffing Africa. “These are distinct tourism markets, but they are becoming increasingly interconnected through visitor movement, investment, and hospitality development. They also face many of the same workforce challenges, which means there is an opportunity to approach skills development on a regional rather than a country-by-country basis.”

Workforce development is falling behind