Industry experts say, the up coming 2010 FIFA World Cup and the “Obama effect” as U.S president of African heritage has sparked a surge in interest in much of Africa as a tourist destination. 

The Un Secretary General also observed that “Africa was the only continent where tourists increased in the year 2009. However, Rifai said that “Africa’s share of the tourism market still accounts for only 5%, receiving about 50 million tourists only of the worldwide 900 million”.

Industry experts now believe that the 2010 World soccer tournament, due to be hosted by South Africa in June with 32 participating nations, is set to help push the number of travelers to Africa even higher.

On his part, Nigel Vere Nicoll, the head of the Africa Travel and Tourism Association (ATTA), predicted that, “The World Cup is certainly the most exciting thing to happen to Africa, not just southern Africa, all Africans are very proud that it's going to be there".

World Cup organizing Chief Danny Jordan said South Africa hopes the competition will help promote the country's tourism industry in new markets, especially in the Americas.

But the tourist industry in parts of Africa is also seeking to attract more US visitors in a very different way.

The "Obama effect" has helped bring the number of Americans visiting Kenya back to around what it was in 2007, before arrivals plummeted in the wake of the riots that followed disputed elections in December of that year, according to Marathi New, managing director of the Kenya Tourist Board. The 2008 election of President Barrack Obama, whose father was an immigrant from Kenya, already appears to be encouraging African-Americans to trace their roots.

Many African countries are also seeing a surge in arrivals from major emerging markets such China and India, which have trade links with the continent.

But the UNWTO chief cautioned that, “The potentials for growth in Africa are and will continue to be big until Africa really fills up the space that it deserves in terms of its share of the market".