Trends, Opportunities and Challenges of the Tourism Industry in the Republic of Guinea

Babady Diakite¹, Ma Bao Jian^1, , Mukete Beckline², Lilian Duyile³, Kang Kerian⁴ and Bakia Samuel⁵

¹School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China

²School of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China

³Faculty of Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Bülowsvej, Copenhagen, Denmark

⁴Institute of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Sunderland, Chester Road, Sunderland, United Kingdom

⁵Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Boulevard de la Plaine, Ixelles, Belgium

Cite this paper:
Babady Diakite, Ma Bao Jian, Mukete Beckline, Lilian Duyile, Kang Kerian and Bakia Samuel. Trends, Opportunities and Challenges of the Tourism Industry in the Republic of Guinea. Social and Economic Geography. 2020; 5(1):7-14. doi: 10.12691/seg-5-1-2

Abstract

This paper examines the trends, opportunities offered and challenges faced by the tourism industry in the Republic of Guinea. The paper examines Guinea as a tourist destination, it identifies the main tourist destinations, and how these if harnessed may impact local as well as national growth and development. To achieve this goal, a comprehensive review of published literature was performed using Web of Science, Semantic Scholar, Researchgate and Google Scholar. It was found that, although the tourism industry is still in its infancy, underexploited and recovering from shocks such as the Ebola and conflicts in the Sahel region, the sector is a source of employment for individuals. The tourism industry is also a major source of financial returns for the state having generated over 416 million US$ in 2018. This study concluded that, the tourism industry’s contribution to the nation’s economic growth and infrastructural development can be attained if appropriate management strategies are properly and judiciously implemented. This is because economic growth and infrastructural development do not only increase state income through taxes but also serve as a means for the rural and urban poor to escape the poverty trap.

Keywords:
tourism industry economic growth guinea poverty alleviation

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