Southern Europeans have long treated the Mediterranean as their holiday backyard, hopping between Spain, Italy, Greece and the Balearic or Canary Islands. But a growing number of travelers from Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece are now looking south across the sea. From Morocco’s Atlantic surf towns to Tunisia’s whitewashed villages and Cape Verde’s volcanic isles, African destinations are drawing record numbers of European visitors. A mix of soaring prices and overtourism at home, cheaper flights, relaxed visa rules and year round sunshine is rapidly pushing North Africa and parts of sub Saharan Africa into the mainstream of Southern Europeans’ holiday plans.
Record Tourist Numbers Put African Destinations on the European Map
Tourism figures across the continent show just how rapidly Africa has moved onto Europeans’ radar. Morocco became Africa’s most visited country in 2024, recording a record 17.4 million arrivals according to its tourism authorities, overtaking Egypt, which welcomed about 15.7 million visitors the same year. North African destinations now dominate continental rankings, with Tunisia, South Africa, Algeria and Tanzania all drawing well over a million international tourists annually.
Regional data underline the North African surge. Tunisia drew more than 10 million visitors in 2024, and officials there say they are targeting around 11 million arrivals in 2025, placing the country neck and neck with South Africa in the race for the continent’s third most visited spot. Tourism analysts note that a large share of these visitors come from nearby European markets, with France, Italy and Spain among the most important source countries for Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt.
The shift is not confined to the Mediterranean fringe. South Africa topped 8 million foreign arrivals in 2023 and is projected by researchers to exceed 10 million in 2024. Industry reports describe a robust rebound in European demand, drawn by the rand’s weakness against the euro, the appeal of safari and wine tourism and the perception of South Africa as a relatively affordable long haul destination. Similar trends are emerging in East African countries such as Kenya and Tanzania, where European bookings for safaris and Indian Ocean beaches have climbed since international travel restarted at scale.
Behind the headline numbers sits a clear pattern. European visitors, including many from Southern Europe, are increasingly splitting their annual travel between traditional trips inside the European Union and one longer break in an African country, attracted by prices that often undercut Spain, Italy or Greece in high season. For African destinations, this marks a structural shift from dependence on a few Western or regional markets to a broader base of middle income European holidaymakers.
Price Pressures and Overtourism Push Southerners to Look South
One of the biggest drivers of this reorientation is cost. Across Southern Europe, hotel rates have risen sharply since the pandemic, pushed up by high demand, inflation and tighter accommodation supply in cities that are capping short term rentals. Industry data from European capitals and coastal hotspots show nightly rates well above 2019 levels, while new tourist taxes and airport charges have become politically popular tools to address overcrowding and fund local infrastructure.
Those pressures are particularly acute for Southern Europeans, whose wages have not kept pace with the post pandemic travel boom. Italian, Spanish and Portuguese families who once booked a week in the Balearic Islands or Sardinia now find that all inclusive resorts in Tunisia, Egypt or Morocco can come in several hundred euros cheaper, even after factoring in flights. Travel companies operating out of Spain and Italy report that price sensitive customers are asking explicitly for “alternatives to the usual Mediterranean islands” and comparing package deals across the whole south Mediterranean basin rather than within the European Union alone.
Overtourism is another push factor. Cities such as Barcelona, Venice and Dubrovnik have become emblematic of tourism saturation, with residents organizing protests over rising rents, crowded public spaces and strain on services. Local authorities across Southern Europe are responding with stricter rules on cruise ships, caps on visitor numbers at popular sites and higher levies on overnight stays. While many travelers continue to flock to these destinations, others, particularly repeat visitors from within Europe, are starting to look elsewhere for a less congested experience.
For that cohort, African destinations promise something that feels both familiar and refreshingly different. Coastal towns in Morocco or Tunisia offer the same combination of sea, sun and leisurely evenings in café filled squares that Europeans expect from Mediterranean holidays, but without the same intensity of visitor numbers in peak months. In parts of Cape Verde, Senegal and the lesser known stretches of Morocco’s Atlantic coast, Southern Europeans can still find wide beaches and walkable historic districts that have not yet been overwhelmed by cruise crowds or mass market tourism.
Low Cost Flights and Easier Access Transform the Short Haul Map
The rapid expansion of air links between Southern Europe and Africa has made this shift possible. Budget and charter airlines have added dozens of new routes from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese airports to North African and Atlantic destinations. Travel industry figures say flights from the United Kingdom and mainland Europe to North Africa have nearly doubled since 2019, with large tour operators and low cost carriers opening new services to cities such as Agadir, Marrakech, Enfidha, Djerba and coastal hubs in Cape Verde.
For Southern Europeans, that means African holidays now fit neatly into the “short haul” category. Flight times from Madrid or Lisbon to Morocco’s Atlantic coast can be similar to journeys from those cities to the Greek islands, while departures from Rome or Milan to Tunis, Djerba or coastal Algeria take little longer than a hop to the Balearics. As more direct routes launch, competition has brought prices down, putting long weekend city breaks in Marrakesh or Tunis within reach of young professionals and budget conscious students.
Visa policies are also evolving in ways that favor tourism. Morocco and Tunisia have long offered visa free entry to visitors from most European Union countries for stays of up to 90 days, and various African states have introduced simplified electronic visas or visa on arrival for Europeans. Travel agents say the absence of onerous paperwork is a selling point for Southern Europeans who increasingly see bureaucracy and appointment bottlenecks when they try to obtain visas for certain long haul destinations beyond Europe.
Infrastructure investment on the ground has kept pace with the airlift. Many of the African destinations attracting Southern Europeans have spent the past decade building or modernizing airports, roads and seafront promenades. International hotel brands are expanding in Morocco, Egypt and South Africa, while local and regional chains have upgraded beach resorts and riad style guesthouses to appeal to European tastes. That combination of better connections and improved accommodation gives travelers used to European standards greater confidence in trying African destinations for the first time.
Year Round Sunshine and Climate Conscious Travel Choices
Climate is another powerful magnet. Southern Europeans are already familiar with hot dry summers, but extreme heat waves and wildfires in recent years have made some peak season travel less attractive. Authorities in Greece, Spain and Italy have periodically closed hiking trails and archaeological sites during the hottest hours, and travelers have faced evacuations from island resorts during forest fires. As a result, more Europeans are shifting their main holidays to spring and autumn, and looking for winter sun options that provide pleasant conditions without the intensity of midsummer heat.
North Africa, the Atlantic islands off West Africa and Southern Africa fit that bill. Coastal Morocco and Tunisia enjoy mild temperatures in winter, with plenty of sunshine and sea warm enough for hardy swimmers. The Canary and Cape Verde islands have built a reputation as year round escapes, and similar climatic advantages are drawing Europeans to Senegal’s Petite Côte and to beaches in Gambia. Farther south, Southern Africa’s reversed seasons make South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique appealing for December and January getaways, when much of Europe is dark and cold.
Environmental awareness is also shaping decisions. While long haul intercontinental flights remain a significant source of emissions, traveling within a radius of three to five hours by air is often seen as a compromise by climate conscious tourists who are not ready to give up flying entirely. For Southern Europeans, African destinations on the opposite shore of the Mediterranean or in the nearby Atlantic fall into that intermediate band. Some are combining rail journeys within Europe with a single short flight across the sea, positioning an African break as part of a broader low impact itinerary.
On the ground, several African destinations are promoting themselves as leaders in sustainable tourism. Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania highlight conservation projects and community led lodges around national parks. Coastal initiatives in countries such as Mauritius and Seychelles emphasize coral restoration and marine protected areas. Although these are not yet mass markets for Southern European tourists, they are gaining visibility among younger travelers seeking experiences that align with their environmental values.
Cultural Proximity and Deepening Historical Ties
Cultural connections help explain why African destinations feel accessible to Southern Europeans. Centuries of trade and migration across the Mediterranean mean that Spanish, Portuguese and Italian coastal towns share architectural and culinary echoes with cities in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Travelers from Andalusia describe walking through the medina in Tangier or Tetouan and recognizing design elements from old quarters of Seville or Granada, a testament to shared Moorish heritage.
Language offers another bridge. French remains widely spoken across much of North and West Africa, making communication easier for visitors from France and francophone regions of Belgium, Switzerland and Italy. Portuguese speakers from Portugal and Brazil find familiar vocabulary in Cape Verde, Mozambique and parts of Angola. In turn, tourism authorities in these African countries are investing in Italian and Spanish speaking guides and signage, reflecting a growing flow of visitors from Southern Europe.
Shared religious and culinary traditions also resonate. Christian pilgrimage routes in Ethiopia or shrines in North Africa attract visitors interested in early church history, while Islamic heritage sites in Morocco and Tunisia draw Southern Europeans curious about the roots of the cultural influences they see in their own cities. Food plays an equally important role: couscous, tagines, grilled fish and spiced stews feel familiar yet distinct to Mediterranean palates, blurring the boundary between “home” and “abroad” in a way that makes first time visitors comfortable.
These soft connections are being reinforced by cultural diplomacy. Festivals that pair African and European artists, film co productions and university exchanges are slowly building a shared cultural space around the Mediterranean and beyond. Tourism rides on the back of that exchange, as visitors follow music, cinema, literature or gastronomy they have discovered at home to its source in African cities and villages.
From City Breaks to Safaris: What Southern Europeans Are Booking
Travel agencies and booking platforms report a diversification in the types of African trips Southern Europeans choose. At the entry level, city breaks in Marrakesh, Casablanca, Tunis and Cairo are emerging as weekend options, much like Prague or Lisbon are for Northern Europeans. These trips typically revolve around old town exploration, street markets, café culture and a short excursion to nearby beaches or mountains.
Beach holidays remain the mainstay. Five star all inclusive resorts in Tunisia’s Hammamet and Djerba, Morocco’s Agadir and Saidia, and Egypt’s Red Sea coast cater to families and couples seeking predictable sunshine, package prices and limited logistical hassle. For Spanish and Italian visitors in particular, these resorts resemble the coastal complexes they know from the Balearics or the Adriatic, but with a stronger focus on value for money and slightly more exotic scenery.
A growing niche involves adventure and nature experiences. Southern Europeans are booking guided treks in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, desert camps in the Sahara, kite surfing weeks on the Atlantic, and safaris in Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa. For many, these trips are their first encounter with Africa beyond news headlines, and tour operators say repeat rates are high, with customers returning to explore different regions or combine African countries in multi stop itineraries.
There is also evidence of more Europeans visiting Africa for cultural and heritage reasons. Events such as Ghana’s “Year of Return” placed West African history in the global spotlight, and while those initiatives targeted the African diaspora above all, they also piqued the interest of Europeans drawn to transatlantic history. Meanwhile, museum exhibits and television documentaries on topics from ancient Nubia to Great Zimbabwe are adding to the sense that African destinations offer far more than sun and sand.
How You Can Ride the Same Wave
For Southern Europeans considering their next holiday, the choices their compatriots are already making offer a template. One option is to replace a traditional Mediterranean beach week with a North African resort stay, trading crowded European shorelines for quieter stretches of sand, often at a lower price. Another is to bolt a short African leg onto a trip within Europe itself, for example combining a few days in Seville with a ferry and train hop to Tangier and Fez, or pairing a visit to Lisbon with a flight to Cape Verde.
Travel specialists recommend starting with destinations that already have strong air links and established tourism infrastructure. Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Cape Verde occupy that category for many Southern Europeans, as do South Africa and Mauritius for those willing to travel further. Once comfortable with those hubs, it becomes easier to explore less visited regions such as Senegal, Namibia, Mozambique or Rwanda, where tourism is growing but still relatively small scale.
Practical considerations are broadly manageable for citizens of European Union countries. Passport validity and basic insurance remain essential, and travelers should check health and safety advisories before booking. Many African countries with significant tourism sectors have well developed hospitality industries and dedicated tourist police or visitor support services in major hubs, although conditions can vary markedly between urban centers and remote rural areas.
Beyond logistics, the main adjustment for first time visitors is mental. Africa is not a single destination but a vast mosaic of countries, cultures and landscapes. Treating it as an extension of Southern Europe misses the point; what makes these trips rewarding is precisely the encounter with something different. For those willing to cross the Mediterranean or venture further south, the emerging trend among Southern Europeans to look to Africa is less a fashion than a sign of a broader recalibration of where the continent’s travelers feel at home.