Sierra Leone recorded a total of 71,000 tourists in 2019, ranking 180th in the world in absolute terms.
That smaller countries regularly perform lower in a comparison of the absolute number of guests, is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of Sierra Leone, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.0084 tourists per resident, Sierra Leone ranked 188th in the world. In Western Africa, it ranked 11th.
In 2018, Sierra Leone generated around 39.00 million US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 0.96 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 1 percent of all international tourism receipts in Western Africa.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2018 spent about 561 US dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of Sierra Leone spend as much as 646 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
Development of the tourism sector in Sierra Leone from 1995 to 2019
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in Sierra Leone each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 57.00 million USD, or about 6.5 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 13,800 tourists at that time and roughly 4,130 USD per person. Within 23 years, the country's dependence on tourism has decreased substantially. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $39.00 million billion, 0.95 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of $591 on their vacation in Sierra Leone.
Full figures for 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, are not currently available. However, national and international travel has been restricted worldwide, and some countries have even been closed off from the outside world altogether. Dramatic revenue losses are expected, with some countries experiencing losses of up to more than 80%.
All data for Sierra Leone in detail
Year
Number of tourists
Receipts
% of GNP
Receipts per tourist
2019
71,000
2018
66,000
39.00 m $
0.95 %
591 $
2017
59,000
39.00 m $
1.0 %
661 $
2016
60,000
41.00 m $
1.1 %
683 $
2015
31,000
37.00 m $
0.88 %
1,194 $
2014
53,000
35.00 m $
0.70 %
660 $
2013
95,000
66.00 m $
1.3 %
695 $
2012
75,000
47.00 m $
1.2 %
627 $
2011
52,000
44.00 m $
1.5 %
846 $
2010
39,000
26.00 m $
1.0 %
667 $
2009
37,000
25.00 m $
1.0 %
676 $
2008
36,000
34.00 m $
1.4 %
944 $
2007
32,200
22.00 m $
1.0 %
683 $
2006
33,700
23.00 m $
1.2 %
682 $
2005
40,000
64.00 m $
3.9 %
1,600 $
2004
43,600
58.00 m $
4.0 %
1,330 $
2003
38,100
60.00 m $
4.3 %
1,575 $
2002
28,400
38.00 m $
3.0 %
1,338 $
2001
24,100
14.00 m $
1.3 %
581 $
2000
15,800
10.00 m $
1.6 %
633 $
1999
10,600
6.00 m $
0.90 %
566 $
1998
12,900
6.00 m $
0.89 %
465 $
1997
7,500
10.00 m $
1.2 %
1,333 $
1996
21,900
29.00 m $
3.1 %
1,324 $
1995
13,800
57.00 m $
6.5 %
4,130 $
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.
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