INFORMAL BUSINESS TOURISM IN CAMEROON

Abstract

The uniqueness of business tourism in the African context is argued to be an amalgam of several clusters of activities manifested in both the formal and informal sectors. In this study, business tourism in the global south, with a specific focus on the informal sector in Cameroon is analysed. Using data that was collected from a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with three hundred and seventy-seven business travellers, the study reveals that informal business tourism includes domestic business travellers classified into five distinctive categories: (1) informal salespeople (2) shopowners (3) herdsmen (4) local farmers and (5) wholesalers. The study concludes that informal business tourism represents an important sector that contributes to tourism development and if well harnessed, its multiplier effect could be widespread amongst the different economic sectors of Cameroon.

Keywords

• informal business tourism
• cameroon
• informal business traders
• domestic tourism