Critical Views on Tourist Attractions in Yaounde’s Real Estate Landscape

Critical Views on Tourist Attractions in Yaounde’s Real Estate Landscape

Dr. Amougou Judith Virginie

Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Geography and Impact Assessment in the University of Ebolowa, Cameroon.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2024.916SCO0008

Received: 04 May 2025; Accepted: 08 May 2025; Published: 10 June 2025

ABSTRACT

The tourist attractions of Yaounde’s real estate landscape, particularly accommodation centers, have often mobilized international and internal migration. The political capital of Cameroon, considered an “Africa in miniature,” particularly Yaounde, is expected to attract more foreign tourists as part of international tourism. The objective is to study the socio-economic markers, the urban planning policy and the traditional cultural identity values in terms of shaping tourist attractions.. Ethnographic, quantitative, and qualitative surveys made it possible to map tourist flows to Yaounde and to compile descriptive statistics on arrivals and overnight stays by non-residents and residents. Field observations were conducted in the hills, marshy lowlands, and traditional chiefdoms of the Mfoundi division to assess the interactions between populations and their environment. The results revealed a greater number of residents than non-residents by over 80%, and a significant participation of Cameroonian nationals. The spontaneous occupation of marshy lowlands and hills hinders ecotourism. The lack of cultural promotion of traditional chiefdoms represents a loss of revenue for tourism. The aim of this paper is to develop tourist attractions in traditional chiefdoms, and to shape Yaounde’s marshes and hills for sustainable tourism.

Keywords: Tourist attractions, real estate overview, flows, traditional chiefdoms, Yaounde.

INTRODUCTION

The “Africa in miniature” label that characterizes Cameroon often attracts the interest of foreigners seeking new discoveries. However, Cameroon is far from being one of the most visited countries in the world. The ranking of international tourist destinations by number of visitors in 2023 places France in pole position with a number in millions of 100, followed by Spain (85.17), the United States (66.48), Italy (57.25), Turkey (55.16), Mexico (42.15), the United Kingdom (37.22), Germany (34.8), Greece (32.74), Austria (30.91) and Thailand (28.15), the United Arab Emirates (28.15), Saudi Arabia (27.42), Japan (25.05), the Netherlands (20.3) according to Gautier (2025). Furthermore, the fame of the rich cultural and landscape heritage attracts tourists from all over the world, the most famous countries in 2024 are: Egypt (15.7 million), Morocco (17.4 million), Algeria (3.5 million), Tunisia (10.5 million), Kenya (2.4 million), Tanzania (2.14 million), South Africa (8.92 million), Senegal, Seychelles (1.4 million), Reunion (Avygeo, 2025). In addition, a particularity emerges from the African continent in 2023 in that there are three African countries that welcomed a number of tourists greater than their population. These are Seychelles, Mauritius and Cape Verde, small island countries whose tourism is the main activity (Moussa Diop, 2024). In Cameroon, the goal of reaching 6.5 million tourists by 2030 remains a goal, according to Mfouapon Alassa, Director of Tourism Promotion at the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure (MINTOUL). Cameroon welcomed 1, 151,846 tourists in 2020 and 2, 428,177 tourists in 2021, the year of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) and preparations for the African Cup of Nations. Statistics for the last two years have not yet been made official. Observations of tourism statistics in Cameroon reveal a low appeal compared to the other African countries mentioned above. The interest in this study emerges from this low appeal. The overall objective is to explore the reasons for low tourist motivation in Cameroon, taking the city of Yaounde as a case study. Why does Cameroon generate low interest since it is Africa in miniature? In other words, does Yaounde’s real estate landscape offer significant tourist attractions? Interest in studying tourism in Cameroon or in the city of Yaounde is not a new field. Tounoke Nkouanga (2016) just  highlighted social and infrastructural failures by linking infrastructure to the contribution to economic development from revenues generated by tourism activities. That research was very limited. His study overlooked the role of urban planning and the promotion of the capital city’s cultural heritage through the landscape of traditional chiefdoms and the development of sustainable tourism. Moreover, that study  that study did not emphasize on the  geographic expressions of tourism.  This paper builds on that study by delving deeper into the development of the theory of shaping  tourist attractions through a critical approach. The purpose of this paper is  to draw attention of the publc authorities on  the necessity of shaping the city landscape and to generate enthusiasm among traditional chiefdoms for creating a cultural environment likely to attract tourists. The objective is to study the socio-economic markers, the urban planning policy and the traditional cultural identity values in terms of shaping tourist attractions.  Our research focuses on two questions:

1. What are the socioeconomic markers of tourist attractions in Yaounde?
2. What are the physico-cultural brakes on shaping tourist attractions in Yaounde?

METHODOLOGY

The study concerns the city of Yaounde, capital of the Central Region and the Mfoundi Division. This city, which corresponds to the entire Mfoundi Division, is located around 3°46′ North latitude and 11°27′ East longitude (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Localisation de Yaounde

The average elevation is 749 m. The study was conducted in 2024 and 2025. The sampling method used is a convenience method with qualitative and quantitative data sources. Quantitative data on tourist arrivals and overnight stays from the Mintoul services at Nsimalen Airport and the Central Regional Delegation, as well as those from the Yaounde International Crafts Center, were collected. The research method used is mixed, that is to say quantitative and qualitative, through surveys of tourism stakeholders, visits and observations of tourist arrivals in March and April 2025 at Yaounde Nsimalen International Airport, interviews with MINTOUL service agents in order to collect information on flows. The analysis of tourist registers made it possible to collect data on the number of arrivals and their nationalities, overnight stays, accommodation centers and various attraction sites. Interviews were also conducted with indirect stakeholders in the crafts sector, notably those of the International Crafts Center of Cameroon, in order to identify the interests of visitors and the consultation of visitor registers in order to assess attendance and nationalities of the latter. On the qualitative level, an ethnographic approach through the observation of the behaviors, habits and customs of the people of Yaounde, interactions in their environment for a descriptive and analytical study on the ground of morals and customs. A quantitative data analysis work was carried out and resulted in descriptive statistics. The processing of movement data of arrivals in Yaounde through a generation of the centroid matrix made it possible to model the flows using the geographic information system tools Qgis 3.34 and Arcgis 10.8. The processing of chiefdom data resulted in their spatialization. The images were taken with GPS map applications and the Android Itel phone.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Socioeconomic markers of tourist attractions in Yaounde

Socioeconomic markers are divided into two categories: social events and economic events.

Social expressions of tourists attractions

Social events are characterized by flows of people from abroad. These are non-residents arriving at Yaounde Nsimalen Airport, an international airport serving the Central Region and the political capital of Cameroon (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Tourist flows to Yaounde in 2024

The information about the arrivals recorded at Yaounde-Nsimalen Airport is illustrated in Figure 2 above. tourists came mainly from americans, some europeans, Middle Eastern and Asian countries.

Furthermore, the details of international tourism appear more evident through the statistics in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Trends in arrivals by tourist nationality in accommodation centers in the Mfoundi division from 2021 to 2023

Source : DRTOUL-CE/ Statistic service

The African continent has strongly resisted the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic, given the low number of victims recorded compared to other continents. International travel has been largely disrupted. However, the preparation and hosting of major continental sporting events in the men’s football sector, the first of which was the African Nations Championship (CHAN 2020) held in January-February 2021, which Yaounde hosted alongside Limbe and Douala, were hampered. The second continental sporting event was the men’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament held in January-February 2022. According to a singular consideration of foreign nationalities, the French are at the top of the ranking, followed by the Americans, Belgians, Germans, British, Italians, Canadians, Swiss, Chinese, Dutch, Russians and Swedish.

Regarding group nationalities, the CEMAC (Central African Economic and Monetary Community) group, consisting of the Central African Republic, Gabon, Chad, Congo, and Equatorial Guinea, tops the list. It is followed by “Other Africans,” “Other Europeans,” “Miscellaneous,” “Other Asians,” and Middle Easterners. Indeed, the “Miscellaneous” are nationals of island countries.

Cameroonians living abroad, taken into account over two years (2022 and 2023), exceed the number of Americans over three years (2021, 2022, and 2023). However, among European and American-Canadian nationalities, there are also some individuals of Cameroonian origin. The trend in tourist arrivals from 2021 to 2023 shows an overall increase during 2023.

Domestic tourism shows little variation from 2021 to 2023, in terms of arrivals of resident Cameroonians and resident foreigners. However, the comparison with international arrivals reveals a huge gap, as shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3. Trend in arrivals of non-residents and residents in Yaounde accommodation centers from 2021 to 2023

Source : DRTOUL-CE/ Statistic service

According to the figure above, in 2021, residents accounted for 92% of arrivals and non-residents 8%. In 2022, residents accounted for 91% and non-residents 9%. In 2023, residents accounted for 90% and non-residents 10%. Foreign residents include staff of diplomatic missions, international organizations, international non-governmental organizations, and foreign associations.

Economic expression of tourism

In fact, Cameroonians are the main clients of tourism, given their very high numbers, especially since they are also among those of foreign nationalities. Their domestic and international migrations to Yaounde demonstrate their attachment to their ancestral Cameroonian roots.

The importance of overnight stays is the basis for information on tourists’ stays in Yaounde, according to the table below.

Table 2. Changes in overnight stays in accommodation establishments in the Mfoundi division from 2021 to 2023

Source : DRTOUL-CE/ Statistic service

According to the table above, the Other African nationality group, due to its sharp increase in numbers in 2022 and 2023, leads the ranking of overnight stays in the Mfoundi division that is, in the city of Yaounde. It is followed by the CEMAC group and the French. These three nationalities mentioned above stand out significantly from other nationalities due to their high numbers. They are followed by Americans, Other Europeans, Other Asians, Belgians, German, British, Others, Canadians, Middle Easterners, Chinese, Swedish, Swiss, Dutch, and Russians. The number of Cameroonians living abroad over two years is close to that of Belgians over three years. The year 2023 is characterized by a particular increase in Chinese, Other Asians, and relatively more so Other Europeans and British tourists. A significant gap emerges between overnight stays by non-residents and those by residents, as shown in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4. Evolution of overnight stays by non-residents and residents in Yaounde accommodation centers from 2021 to 2023

Source : DRTOUL-CE/ Statistic service

According to Figure 4 above, in 2021, overnight stays by resident tourists accounted for 85% and those by non-residents for 15%. In 2022, overnight stays by resident tourists accounted for 83% and those by non-residents for 17%. In 2023, overnight stays by resident tourists accounted for 84% and those by non-residents for 16%. The average length of stay was around one and a half days. The year 2024 also presents numerous disparities between overnight stays and arrivals of residents and non-residents (Table 3).

Table 3. Arrivals and overnight stays of residents and non-residents in the Mfoundi Division in 2024.

Source : DRTOUL-CE/ Statistic service

Internal travel is significant. There are significant disparities between international and domestic flows. The hosting of the major continental sporting event, the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2022, contributed to increasing domestic and external demand for accommodation.

In terms of infrastructure, the Mfoundi division, in other words, the city of Yaounde, boasts 604 hotels, 181 restaurants, 216 leisure establishments, and 92 tourism agencies (Mintoul, 2023).

Physico-cultural signatures of Yaounde’s attractions

Physico-cultural signatures are characterized by the presentation of the urban displanning and the lack of cultural identity values of the chiefdoms.

The lack of urban planning policy

On a physical level, Yaounde, once renowned for its seven main hills, has lost some of its splendor. Indeed, these hills, considered in urban planning projects as protected green areas, are gradually being invaded by construction by populations seeking housing. The same is true for the marshy areas, even though the latter are intended to be green ecological zones (photo 1).

Photo 1. Invasion of a marshy area, potentially an ecological reserve zone, by dwellings. Amougou, April 2024

The population growth of the city of Yaounde is significantly affecting the sustainability of the landscape. Construction is increasingly taking over the hills, which are considered ecologically green zones.

The lack of urban planning has led to massive occupation of the lowlands and hills of the city of Yaounde. This expansion extends, among other places, through the lowlands of the Nkolzié Valley and the slope of Mount Akok Ndoué in Yaounde (Mediebou Chindji, 2023).

The uncontrolled expansion of housing affects the sustainability of tourism. The occupation of wetlands considered by the urban community to be ecological reserve areas affects the sustainability of tourism through unplanned housing in non-aedificandi zones. The expansion of housing in the Yaounde wetlands hinders the development of ecotourism.

The lack of cultural identity in spatial patterns

Furthermore, the city of Yaounde lacks a cultural identity. The landscape of the past, which featured huts made of laterite material, has given way to Western modernity. The Western model is increasingly popular, with buildings constructed from reinforced concrete. Culturally, the city of Yaounde has approximately 233 chiefdoms, according to the unpublished BUCREP database. However, these chiefdoms do not reveal any visible tourist attractions that could enrich the city’s attractive physical landscape. The figure below shows the spatial distribution of the city’s chiefdoms.

Figure 5. Spatialisation des chefferies traditionnelles dans la ville de Yaounde

Unlike the traditional chiefdoms of the West and Far North territories, which are tourist sites in Cameroon, no chiefdom in Yaounde offers a tourist attraction. The absence of buildings reflecting the Ekang culture constitutes a “loss of income” for Yaounde’s tourism. The chiefdoms do not at all reflect the culture of the environment or the territory. Apart from the extremely rare orientation boards, the related cultural landscape is empty. Some traditional chiefdoms are located in rooms and therefore offer no external or even internal symbols of cultural heritage value (photo 2). On the other hand, in the West region, it is generally recognized that cone-roofed buildings are symbols of notability (photo 3).

Photo 2. At the leftside, a board information showing a glimpse of a traditional chiefdom with vulgar modern buildings along the road, Amougou, April 2025.

Photo 3. At the rightside, the entrance to the Bana chiefdom in the West Region of Cameroon, built with elephant tusk shapes and a cone-shaped roof. This chiefdom is a tourist attraction (Source Wikipedia, 2024).

On the other hand, one of the major visitor attractions in the city of Yaounde  remains the International Handicrafts Center (photo 4) with its exhibits (photo 5).

Photo 4. Entrance to the Yaounde International Crafts Centre surrounded by stalls of traditional clothing and art objects symbolizing the cultural richness of Cameroon. Amougou, December 2024

Photo 5. At left, exhibition of a royal seat surrounded by two cheetahs. At right, a rider with a sword symbolizing the  chief power. Amougou, Décembre 2024

The table below presents the center’s visitor statistics for one week.

Table 5. Presentation of CIAY admission statistics for the week of January 6-11, 2025.

Source : Service de statistiques du CIAY

Indeed, according to the statistics division of the International Handicrafts Center of Yaounde (CIAY), visitors are interested in discovering Cameroonian culture through representative clothing and art objects. The weekly average number of visitors is 1,662, which gives a monthly number of 6,648 and an annual number of 79,776. Cameroonian visitors constitute 85%, while foreign visitors represent 12%. Children account for 3%. Although male visitors are predominant, female visitors are also significant. Nevertheless, we encountered a few visitors who were quite admiring of the exhibits, whether for simple artistic or commercial purposes.

DISCUSSION

Domestic tourism is more developed than international tourism. Analysis of international tourism shows that internal migration significantly boosts the revenue of Yaounde’s accommodation centers, given the number of people recorded. Tourism appears to be a less key sector of the Cameroonian economy. Indeed, its direct contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is around 4%. In other African countries, such as Egypt, tourism is vital to its economy and constitutes approximately 12% of GDP (Africanews, 2023). This is true in Morocco, where tourism’s contribution to GDP is around 7 to 8% (UNWTO, 2025). In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is clear that the sportive tournaments attracted significant crowds due to the socio-economic and cultural issues involved. Tourist data are disparate because people may or may not show up at the tourism booth willing not to register for personal reasons or sometimes related to communication difficulties conerning arrivals. Anyway, the higher rates of Cameroonians among the non-residents and residents suppose their real attachment to their country.

As far as urban landscape is concerned, there is a displanning wihich is harmful to the ecotourism. It seems as the public policies of Cameroon are quite lax  or don’t care about the necessity of urban planning issue. There is no politic vision of tourism in terms of landscapes building. In terms of cultural values, the violence practices against the Beti and Fang during enslavement contributed to disrupt their culture (Stokes, 2009) by the raiders. Moreover, in the great northern, western and other regions of Cameroon where the chiefdoms are well valued, the traditions of those people give a big importance to the Chief.  On the other hand, the Beti are characterized by the concept of equal community meant all the people are equal. So the strong membership of the Beti (Ekang) indigeneous to the assimilation policy of French colonization has led to a great impact on their behaviour.

These elements contribute to the knowledge  of the conceptual framework of shaping tourism attractions in Yaounde which had not been studied before by the previous authors.

The limitations of this study lie in the lack of knowledge of the motivational opinions of resident and non-resident tourists. Furthermore, the obtaining of direct opinions from tourists in this study was lacking due to the inability to meet them and their limited accessibility.

CONCLUSION

At the end of this study, it is clear that Yaounde’s tourism environment is dominated by domestic tourism. On a socioeconomic level, the dominance of resident tourists is quite striking. Tourist flows to Yaounde originate from the largest countries in the American, European and Asian continents, etc. Indeed, statistics on arrivals and overnight stays at Yaounde’s accommodation centers show that non-residents represent around 10%, while the proportion of Cameroonian and foreign residents exceeds 80% of tourists. Consequently, residents have a greater influence on the tourism economy. The physical and cultural characteristics of Yaounde reveal a spontaneous occupation of swamps and hills that undermine the sustainability of tourism. The absence of cultural values ​​in the understanding of traditional chiefdoms constitutes a loss of revenue for tourism in Yaounde. This is to testify two main views. The first confirms that the lack of urban planning policy and traditional cultural identity values of the chiefdoms constitutes a brake on shaping tourist attractions. The second point of view is that socio-economic markers of tourists attractions are less connected to non-residents than residents. Future researchs are needed focus on tourism agency products and qualitative surveys of tourists.

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