Africa has become a favorite destination among adventurous Chinese holidaymakers. Le Monde magazine says travel to the continent has recently picked up by 50 percent. The good weather, natural beauty, wildlife and rich cultures are the main draws. But South Africa, the most popular market, has seen a drop in arrivals. CGTN's Julie Scheier explains.  

Chinese tourists are the world's biggest spenders, forking out $260bn in 2017. Often drawn to more adventurous holidays, African countries like South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Tanzania seem to be ticking all the right boxes.  

LUPING ZHANG GENERAL MANAGER, UNION PAY INTERNATIONAL AFRICA "The habits of Chinese tourists are also changing, from only going shopping to a trip with more experiences. So, I think Africa has become more and more interesting to these kind of Chinese tourists. Safaris, animals, wild animals are one of the things they most want to see in Africa. And also they want to see a variety of cultures in Africa."  

Initiatives to attract Chinese tourists and a relaxing of visa regulations in countries like Tunisia and Morocco has paid off. So, has the development of more convenient financial services which makes travelling easier.  

LUPING ZHANG GENERAL MANAGER, UNION PAY INTERNATIONAL AFRICA "These people needed to take cash to travel to Africa. That's very inconvenient and it's also high risk to take a lot of cash. Now Union Pay is developing our network. So, that means customers don't need to take a lot of cash with them. And also they enjoy very convenient and smooth payment experiences when they want to buy things, which also increases purchase volumes."  

JULIE SCHEIER JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA "African countries still rate highly as holiday destinations for Chinese Tourists. South Africa, however, has seen a drop off in growth since visitor numbers peaked in 2016."

South Africa still remains the most popular market. But in the face of stiff competition and stringent visa rules, there was a 17% decline in Chinese travellers last year.  

TERRY FENTON WELLS MANAGING DIRECTOR, SOUTH AFRICA MAGIC TOURS "We are at the moment losing a fair chunk of business to Egypt and Turkey, Egypt particularly is a 100% geared for tourism. Targeting the mass markets and China obviously being the main one. And offering very, very competitive packages, and the visa requirements are either nil or very, very simple and straightforward."  

Tourism is an important economic vehicle. It contributes 8% of Africa's GDP and accounts for 6.5% of the workforce. There's potential to grow it further by tapping into China and other lucrative markets. JS, CGTN, JHB, SA.