Travelport has unveiled its investment plans for east Africa, in response to projected 7% growth in the region’s GDP.

According to recent research from Euromonitor International, the GDP growth in east Africa is set to peak at 7% by 2017, making it the fastest growing regional economy in Africa.

Subsequent research (‘Tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa to Continue to Enjoy Robust Growth’) also indicates that the tourism industry in sub-Saharan Africa continues to develop fast, with a 4.7% increase in arrivals in 2012 – higher than the global average of 4.3% and second only to Asia Pacific with 5.1%. By 2017, the number of tourists travelling to sub-Saharan Africa is expected to reach 42.6 million.

According to Euromonitor International, this growth has been fuelled by strong economic improvement and rising disposable incomes, with business and leisure visits to domestic and regional destinations growing in number, alongside an increase in the number of arrivals from BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries.

In light of this growth, Travelport has emphasised its focus on Africa as a strategic investment region by unveiling a robust business strategy for the country based on Travelport’s four pillars of investment – Unrivalled Content, Intelligent Search, Empowered Selling Experience and Open Platform.

“Travelport has a long history in Africa spanning over 20 years and this remains a strategic investment region for us,” said Mark Meehan, Managing Director, Travelport Africa. “We have continued to grow our footprint across the continent and in the last 18 months alone we’ve added ten new countries to our African network.  We now operate in 47 countries with more in the pipeline.”

“We will therefore continue to invest in Africa – and the east Africa region – through a solid product and business stagey in 2013/14, continuing to grow our regional presence and addressing the evolving needs of our customers. The recent positive feedback we received from our customers, who attended our first ever east Africa customer conference in Zanzibar, indicates we’re definitely on the right track in this region.”