Sustainable development goals and socio-economic development through tourism in central Africa: Myth or reality?

The realisation by many developing countries in the last two decades that tourism can be an important tool in achieving the sustainable development goals of poverty elimination, environmental sustainability and decent work and economic growth in general has led many governments to introduce measures aimed at promoting the development of the industry. However unlike many countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, countries in the biodiversity rich Central African sub-region only recently started to adopt measures aimed at the sustainable development of the industry geared towards the realisation of these goals. The travel and tourism industry here is still at an embryonic and chaotic stage of development, plagued with a multitude of challenges contributing less than 3% to GDP and employment. Using qualitative research methods i.e. semi-structured interviews and field observations, the paper examines the role of the tourism industry in the attainment of these goals and consequently tourism's contribution to local economic development in Cameroon. It highlights the country's diverse potentials as well as some of core challenges which are presently being encountered. The paper concludes by proposing a framework within which all stakeholders can actively work together towards the realisation of these goals.