1. Introduction and Background：

Africa, a continent full of mystery and charm, is gradually emerging on the global economic and tourism map. In recent years, its accommodation industry has shown a booming trend as a key support for economic development and tourism reception. From star-rated hotels in bustling cities to characteristic homestays near the seaside, jungle and grassland, the African accommodation industry provides a diverse habitat for visiting business people and tourists, and has become a cutting-edge window for Africa’s foreign exchange and local culture.

However, the rapid development of the accommodation industry in Africa also faces many serious challenges（Sotiris F，2020）. Therefore, the practice of sustainable development has become the only way for the African accommodation industry to break through the difficulties and achieve long-term development. For Africa, a sustainable accommodation industry can help protect precious natural resources, inherit and promote local culture, narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, promote social harmony and stability, and inject lasting impetus into Africa’s economic diversification. From a global perspective, the sustainable transformation of Africa’s accommodation industry is an important part of the global sustainable development process, providing unique experience for other developing regions and the world, and is of great significance for promoting the global response to climate change and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Peter J, 2014).

2 Market size and growth trends

In recent years, the size of the African accommodation industry has shown a steady expansion trend. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and relevant market research agencies, the number of hotel rooms in Africa has grown at an average annual rate of about 5% over the past decade, and the total revenue of the tourism and accommodation industry has grown at an annual rate of nearly 7%. This growth momentum is closely linked to Africa’s overall economic development and the prosperity of the tourism market (Zibanai Z, 2014). On the one hand, the GDP of many African countries has maintained a medium-high rate of growth, such as Ethiopia, Rwanda and other countries, and economic development has generated a large number of business travel demand, which has promoted the boom of the urban business hotel market. On the other hand, the international tourism market’s preference for Africa’s pristine natural scenery and unique culture has led to a continuous increase in the number of tourists, from about 50 million in 2010 to nearly 70 million in 2019 (fluctuating in 2020-2022 due to the pandemic), injecting strong impetus into the accommodation industry. 

From a regional perspective, North Africa has a mature tourism and accommodation industry with historical and cultural treasures such as the pyramids of Egypt and ancient cities in Morocco, as well as the seaside resort resources along the Mediterranean coast, with a market size of about 30% of the total in Africa, and high-end hotels and holiday villas are gathered to meet the needs of long-distance tourists in Europe and the United States; In East Africa, due to the great migration of animals from the Masai Mara in Kenya and the Kilimanjaro Mountains in Tanzania, eco-tourism and hunting tourism are prevalent, and the development of characteristic tent camps, homestays and chain hotels has been developed, and the regional market growth rate has exceeded 8%, making it more and more dazzling in the map of Africa’s accommodation industry. As an economic leader in Africa, South Africa has a complete infrastructure, rich in diversified accommodation formats such as city hotels, golf resort hotels, wineries and homestays, attracting business, MICE and international tourists from Africa, accounting for about 25% of the market size and growing steadily (Van Z, 2019). Although West Africa and Central Africa started slowly, with the economic rise of Nigeria, Ghana and other countries, the increase in oil and mining business travel, coupled with the development of local tourism resources, the accommodation industry is also growing at a rate of 5%-6% per year, with great potential. 

Looking ahead, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) optimistic outlook for the African economy and the UNWTO tourism outlook, without the impact of a major global crisis, the market size of Africa’s accommodation industry is expected to increase by another 30% to 40% in the next five years.

3.Environmental challenges and response needs

The African continent faces a number of serious environmental challenges, which are a direct driver of sustainable development in the accommodation sector. From a climate perspective, Africa is the hardest hit area by climate change, with rising temperatures, disrupted precipitation patterns, and frequent extreme weather events. In East Africa, for example, prolonged drought in recent years has caused lake water levels to plummet, and water shortages have seriously threatened local ecosystems and people’s livelihoods. In this context, the accommodation industry, as a major user of water and electricity, has to take measures such as energy conservation, emission reduction, and water resource protection to reduce the pressure on the fragile ecology of its own operations and avoid exacerbating the water crisis and energy dilemma. In terms of ecological resources, although Africa has rich biodiversity and unique natural landscapes, its ecosystem is extremely fragile. Large-scale tourism development and accommodation construction, without reasonable planning, can easily destroy wildlife habitats and cause soil erosion. For example, small hotels built illegally around some national parks interfere with animal migration routes and destroy vegetation cover. In order to achieve long-term survival and development, accommodation companies have introduced the concept of ecological protection, from building site selection, design to operation, to reduce the disturbance to the natural environment in an all-round way, strive to live in harmony with the surrounding ecology, and protect Africa’s precious natural assets. 

4．The practice of sustainable development case analysis

Hemingways Nairobi is located near Nairobi National Park in Kenya, with abundant local solar energy resources, vigorously developing solar energy applications and energy management systems. The roof of the hotel is equipped with large-area high-efficiency solar photovoltaic panels with a total installed capacity of 500 kilowatts, which can not only meet the hotel’s basic electricity needs such as daily lighting, air conditioning system, hot water supply, etc., but also store excess power in the smart battery pack for use at night or on rainy days. 

Its energy management system is a highlight, which monitors the electricity consumption of each region in real time through intelligent sensors and accurately regulates energy distribution. For example, when the guest room is unoccupied, the power of non-essential electrical appliances can be automatically turned off; Automatically optimize the operation mode of air conditioning and lighting equipment according to outdoor temperature and light intensity. According to actual calculations, compared with traditional energy-powered hotels, Hotel A can reduce electricity procurement by about 80% per year, save more than $300,000 in electricity bills, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 900 tons, achieving significant energy saving, emission reduction and economic benefits.

5. Talent shortage and training needs

Lack of professionals has become a key factor restricting the sustainable development of the accommodation industry in Africa. There is a huge gap in all aspects, from technicians who are proficient in the operation and maintenance of renewable energy systems, to management talents who are well versed in ecological protection planning, from creative talents who can integrate local culture and sustainable concepts to create unique experiences, to marketing talents who master green marketing and promote the concept of eco-friendly accommodation. 

In the African education system, the relevant majors are lagging behind, and the vocational training system is not perfect, which cannot continue to provide suitable talents for the accommodation industry. The internal training of enterprises is limited by factors such as cost and teachers, and it is difficult to carry out it on a large scale and systematically, and the talent gap makes the accommodation industry often encounter bottlenecks due to lack of professional knowledge and skills in the process of promoting sustainable practices, such as the unreasonable design of eco-tourism routes affecting the experience of tourists, and the frequent failure of environmental protection facilities due to improper operation.