Abstract
This article introduces a theme issue of Urban Forum on the topic of urban
tourism in Africa. A context is provided for the issue by an overview of key themes which
have been represented in a decade of African urban tourism research. Although most
extant research is on urban South Africa, there is an emerging literature on other African
cities. The major themes of research have surrounded tourism and urban economic
restructuring with the establishment of new products for leisure tourism; slum tourism
and pro-poor tourism; the role of the accommodation sector; African cities as non-leisure
destinations; and, informal sector tourism. It is argued that within the evolving international
scholarship on urban tourism, aspects of African urban tourism research exhibit distinctive
features and offer challenges to Northern conceptions of urban tourism and urban tourists.