| Summary: | This study examines six niche market sectors (Adventure, Sports, Wildlife, Arts & Crafts, Culture/Heritage/History, and Gemstones & Gold) in five countries (Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, and
Sudan) along the Trans-Saharan Trade Routes. Whereas the largest tourism promotion Internet sites in the assessed nations are similar, Egypt receives the largest revenue from tourism, followed by Morocco and Nigeria which weigh in at 2nd and 3rd places and they in turn each earn more than three times the
annual tourist revenues of Ethiopia and Sudan. The preliminary data-base analysis of niche-market opportunities across these five countries suggests a combined thematic approach to Trans-Saharan Tourism could significantly enhance tourism revenue in all five nations due to unique resources in each country which share a common bond of being part of the ancient Trans-Saharan Trade Route given that tourism resources are not homogeneously distributed. Preliminary results suggest combining niche
markets, bundling two or more nations in a tour, and bundling different niche market interest areas, e.g. Golf-Wildlife-World Heritage Sites, Sports - Adventure - Wildlife, and Gemstones - Wildlife - World Heritage Sites, may hold the greatest promise for increased tourist revenue in all five nations studied. Security issues (measured by intentional homicide statistics) are also examined in the five target countries along the TransSaharan Trade routes which all appear to be relatively safe compared to some more popular tourist destinations in Africa and around the world.
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