​​Results Highlights

• Private Investment Mobilization (2017-2024): Over $600 million in new private tourism investment was mobilized across Cabo Verde, Senegal, Ghana, and The Gambia between 2017 and 2024. In Cabo Verde alone, $ 230 million, about 9 percent of its 2024 GDP, was mobilized.
• ​Climate Resilience and Environmental Protection (2016-2027): In Saly, Senegal, 325,000 square meters of eroded beach were restored between 2016 and 2023, stabilizing the coastline and protecting a key tourism asset. Saly is the main destination along the Petite Côte, attracting over 60 percent of international leisure tourists and sustaining livelihoods for around 65 percent of the local residents. The project helped hotels stay open and reinvest, catalyzing $ 350 million in new investment. In The Gambia, $ 50 million is being invested in shoreline protection, targeting 280,000 square meters of coast. Women are being prioritized for climate-resilient grants and training as part of the effort.
• ​Heritage, Nature, and Site Development (2016-2027): Over 20 cultural, historical, and natural sites across Ghana, Senegal, and The Gambia have been renovated, including UNESCO World Heritage locations. In Ghana, visits to the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum rose from 555,000 (2019) to nearly 850,000 (2023), creating more local jobs and raising incomes.
• ​Micro, Small, and Medium Entreprises (MSMEs) Support & Empowerment (2016-2027): In Ghana, Senegal, Cabo Verde, and The Gambia over 20,000 MSMEs received grants, certifications, and training across tourism, hospitality, crafts, food production, and transport. More than half were owned or managed by women, helping drive inclusive growth and innovation.​

Development Challenges

Across West Africa, tourism growth was constrained by distinct challenges. In Cabo Verde, tourism accounted for about 40 percent of jobs, but the country did not have a dedicated tourism authority or clear zoning for tourism areas, making it hard to attract investment. In Senegal and The Gambia, coastal erosion, up to 6 meters per year, threatened popular beach destinations that attract more than 60 percent of international tourists. In Ghana, key heritage sites were chronically underfunded, even though tourism supported more than 700,000 jobs. Across the region, thousands of small businesses struggled to get financing and access to markets.

World Bank Group Approach

​​​The World Bank Group addressed tourism constraints in West Africa by focusing on the most critical barriers, using a combination of investment lending, policy reforms, and advisory services. Where weak governance kept private sector participation away, support from the World Bank Group helped establish dedicated tourism institutions, strengthen land-use and zoning rules, and improve investment promotion to reduce risk and attract private capital. Where environmental degradation, especially coastal erosion, threatened tourism, efforts focused on protecting natural resources and building climate resilience to safeguard jobs and maintain investor confidence. In cities, investments in major cultural and heritage attractions boosted year-round tourism demand and visitor volumes.

​Projects supported tourism value chains to benefit businesses and workers. Locally tailored public funds and subsidies were used to attract private investment and build business capacity, helping small businesses upgrade, formalize, and connect to tourism markets. Close collaboration with the IFC, particularly in The Gambia, linked public action with MSME financing and supply-chain development, while partnerships with the European Union, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and climate programs strengthened resilience and sustainability across the sector.

Contribution to World Bank Group Targets and Jobs

In West Africa, tourism operations have attracted over $ 600 million in private investment across Cabo Verde, Senegal, Ghana, and The Gambia and are expected to create up to 45,000 jobs directly and across the value chains, such as food production, transportation, or handicrafts. Tourism has strong ripple effects: for every job created in tourism, another 1.5 jobs are created in supporting sectors. While the regional totals may look modest, the local impact can be transformative. On Sal Island in Cabo Verde, the estimated 6,000 direct tourism jobs equal about one in six residents, but through wider economic ripple effects they support roughly one in ten people in the national workforce, showing how tourism investment in small islands can lift livelihoods across the broader economy.

Beneficiary Quotes

Lessons Learned

First, focus on tourism sites and regions as a whole, not just isolated projects. Investments work best when they tackle the most important barriers in a given destination — such as strengthening institutions, protecting natural and cultural assets from environmental and climate risks, and upgrading flagship attractions. This approach attracts sustained private investment, protects jobs, and strengthens local livelihoods. Second, pair location upgrades with support for small businesses. When improvements are combined with better access to finance, skills training, and quality standards, more tourism spending stays in the community. This turns tourism revenues into local jobs and more resilient, inclusive growth.

Next Steps

​​Tourism accounted for 10 percent of global GDP in 2024, supporting 357 million jobs worldwide and is one of five sectors identified by the Jobs Council with potential to generate local jobs at scale. With 66 active tourism projects as of 2025, the World Bank Group's tourism strategy operates through three complementary channels: developing tourism destinations through heritage conservation and natural resource management; investing in and providing guarantees to private-sector companies that develop accommodation capacity and enhance service quality; and easing regulatory barriers to tourism sector development. These interventions stimulate private investment and expand tourism revenue, creating impacts through supply chain expansion and consumption spillovers that translate into increased employment and labor income. Sustainability remains central—leveraging eco-tourism, preserving heritage, and building climate-smart infrastructure. The quarterly Tourism Watch publication monitors sector performance and policy impacts. In the months ahead, working with the Jobs Council, the World Bank Group will design sector, developing solutions such as blended finance for tourism infrastructure, digital platforms connecting small operators to markets, and circular economy approaches that ensure tourism development is both scalable and future-proof.​