ISTO Africa seeks to represent social tourism on the continent through actions and projects.
The purpose of ISTO Africa is to promote social tourism on the African continent, to help solve problems and to carry out actions in line with ISTO's projects and programmes of interest. It also aims to support and advise regional members and to facilitate their co-operation and mutual assistance.
The main task of the section is advocacy and, in Benin, the assessment of the possibility to mobilise Beninese employers to actively participate in financing vacations for their staff.
A project for the creation of a training centre is being explored with Tourism for Help (a Swiss organisation) with the aim of training 160 people in three years.
On 21 April 2026, the Africa section of ISTO organised its first webinar dedicated to the role of traditional authorities and knowledge holders in the development of socially sustainable tourism in Africa, which brought together around forty participants: members of all three ISTO sections, speakers and external organisations. For over two hours, speakers and participants exchanged views to better understand how to anchor tourism development within African cultural realities.
The activities are managed by the ISTO Africa President, Mr. Nayang Toukam from the Ecoresponsible and Solidary Tourist Complex of the Kingdom of Batoufam of the "Batoufam Culture et Tourisme" association in Cameroon. A contact group has been created among the African members.
