Senegal’s tourism sector contributed 7.8% of national GDP and 7.0% of total employment in 2024. The available statistics also show a large accommodation base in Dakar and Thiès, a varied lodging mix in Ziguinchor, and measurable museum activity from both domestic and foreign visitors.
Contents
- Tourism’s economic scale
- International arrivals and tourism receipts
- Museum visitor activity
- Dakar accommodation supply
- Thiès accommodation supply
- Ziguinchor’s accommodation mix
- Ziguinchor rooms, beds and overnight stays
Tourism’s economic scale
Travel and tourism contributed 7.8% of Senegal’s GDP in 2024. In the same year, the sector accounted for 7.0% of total employment. These are national economic indicators for 2024, rather than counts of visitors or hotel capacity. They show the sector’s contribution to the wider economy and labor market.
The 2024 Travel and Tourism Development Index score for Senegal was 3.24 out of 7. Senegal ranked 107th among 119 economies on that index. The score and rank describe the country’s position in the index’s 2024 comparison; they should not be read as a direct measure of arrivals, spending or hotel occupancy.
These economic and index indicators come from the World Bank’s Prosperity Data360 Economy Snapshot: Tourism — Senegal. The snapshot combines series from WTTC, the World Development Indicators, UN Tourism and the World Economic Forum, so the measures have different underlying definitions and should be considered separately. World Bank, Prosperity Data360 Economy Snapshot: Tourism — Senegal.
International arrivals and tourism receipts
Senegal recorded 1.38 million international arrivals in 2017. International tourism receipts were US$0.56 billion in 2018. These observations are older than the 2023 and 2024 regional accommodation statistics, and they retain their original measurement years.
| Indicator | Value | Measurement period |
|---|---|---|
| International arrivals | 1.38 million | 2017 |
| International tourism receipts | US$0.56 billion | 2018 |
| Travel and tourism share of GDP | 7.8% | 2024 |
| Travel and tourism share of employment | 7.0% | 2024 |
| Travel and Tourism Development Index score | 3.24 out of 7 | 2024 |
| Index rank | 107th of 119 economies | 2024 |
The arrival figure counts international arrivals, while the receipts figure measures international tourism receipts in US dollars. They are not from the same year, and the available figures do not support calculating a current average spend per visitor. The World Bank snapshot is the source for all six indicators in this table. World Bank, Prosperity Data360 Economy Snapshot: Tourism — Senegal.
The difference in dates matters when reading Senegal tourism statistics. National economic indicators are reported for 2024, while the international arrival and receipt observations are from 2017 and 2018. The older observations remain useful as historical reference points, but they do not establish 2024 or 2025 visitor totals.
Museum visitor activity
Senegal’s museums recorded 72,857 visitors in 2023. Museum attendance increased 4% in 2023 compared with 2022. The visitor total includes several audiences, and the available figures distinguish domestic tourists, foreign tourists, and students and pupils.
Domestic tourists accounted for 21,599 museum visitors in 2023. Their number rose 33%, from 16,240 in 2022 to 21,599 in 2023. Foreign tourists made 42,526 museum visits in 2023, and foreign-tourist attendance grew 2% compared with 2022.
Student and pupil museum visits fell 28% in 2023. This decline describes the change in that audience category; it does not mean that total museum attendance declined. Overall museum attendance rose 4% during the same 2023 comparison period.
| Museum measure | 2023 result | Change or comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Total museum visitors | 72,857 | Up 4% from 2022 |
| Domestic tourist visitors | 21,599 | Up from 16,240; up 33% |
| Foreign-tourist visits | 42,526 | Up 2% from 2022 |
| Student and pupil visits | Not quantified in the supplied figures | Down 28% |
The attendance categories are reported as visitors or visits by the source, so they should not automatically be added together as unique people. The data also provides no basis for estimating the number of separate museums, average visits per museum, or the share of all international tourists who visited a museum.
These museum indicators are reported by Senegal’s National Agency of Statistics and Demography in its SES/Chapitre : Culture et loisirs. ANSD, SES/Chapitre : Culture et loisirs.
Dakar accommodation supply
Dakar region counted 139 hotels in 2023. Those hotels provided 5,651 rooms and 11,759 beds. The region also had 109 auberges, with 1,008 rooms and 1,978 beds.
Other categories added smaller but distinct forms of accommodation. Dakar counted 7 tourist camps, providing 89 rooms and 171 beds. It had 18 apart-hotels, with 181 rooms and 383 beds, and 115 furnished residences, with 1,018 rooms and 1,802 beds.
The regional table also recorded one relais with 27 rooms and 54 beds, and one gîte with 6 rooms and 10 beds. These categories are kept separate because the source reports them separately; “hotel-sector” or “accommodation” totals should not be inferred by combining only selected categories.
| Dakar category, 2023 | Establishments | Rooms | Beds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotels | 139 | 5,651 | 11,759 |
| Auberges | 109 | 1,008 | 1,978 |
| Tourist camps | 7 | 89 | 171 |
| Apart-hotels | 18 | 181 | 383 |
| Furnished residences | 115 | 1,018 | 1,802 |
| Relais | 1 | 27 | 54 |
| Gîte | 1 | 6 | 10 |
The Dakar figures describe registered or reported accommodation supply in 2023. They are capacity measures, not occupancy statistics: the table does not state how many rooms or beds were sold, nor how many nights visitors stayed.
The source is ANSD’s Situation Economique et Sociale de la région de Dakar Ed. 2022-2023. ANSD, Situation Economique et Sociale de la région de Dakar Ed. 2022-2023.
Thiès accommodation supply
Thiès region counted 183 hotels in 2024. Hotels provided 5,178 rooms and 11,250 beds. The region’s residences formed another sizeable category, with 488 establishments, 2,035 rooms and 4,065 beds.
Thiès also counted 166 auberges, providing 1,179 rooms and 2,390 beds. Tourist camps numbered 25 and supplied 222 rooms and 446 beds. The smaller categories included one gîte with 5 rooms and 20 beds, and one visitor center with 10 rooms and 20 beds.
| Thiès category, 2024 | Establishments | Rooms | Beds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotels | 183 | 5,178 | 11,250 |
| Residences | 488 | 2,035 | 4,065 |
| Auberges | 166 | 1,179 | 2,390 |
| Tourist camps | 25 | 222 | 446 |
| Gîte | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| Visitor center | 1 | 10 | 20 |
The Thiès and Dakar tables use different reporting years: Thiès is measured in 2024, while Dakar is measured in 2023. Their establishment categories are also not identical. For those reasons, the tables are best read as regional snapshots rather than a directly comparable year-on-year ranking.
These figures come from ANSD’s Situation Economique et Sociale du Sénégal Edition 2024. ANSD, Situation Economique et Sociale du Sénégal Edition 2024.
Ziguinchor’s accommodation mix
Ziguinchor region counted 177 hotel-sector establishments in 2023, up 5% from 168 in 2022. Auberges were the largest accommodation category, with 40 establishments. The region also had 53 tourist camps and 35 hotels.
The category figures show why an accommodation count can look different from a conventional hotel count. Tourist camps outnumbered hotels in Ziguinchor, while auberges were the largest named category. The source’s “hotel-sector establishments” total is therefore broader than the 35 establishments identified as hotels.
The 5% increase refers to the total hotel-sector establishment count, from 168 in 2022 to 177 in 2023. It is not a reported increase for every individual accommodation category, and the available figures do not specify how many new establishments belonged to each category.
Ziguinchor rooms, beds and overnight stays
Ziguinchor region recorded 2,282 accommodation rooms and 4,639 accommodation beds in 2023. Tourists spent 26,074 overnight stays in Ziguinchor hotel establishments in 2023.
Rooms and beds describe available accommodation capacity, whereas overnight stays describe use of hotel establishments over the measurement period. The 26,074 figure is specifically for hotel-establishment overnight stays. It should not be treated as the number of tourists, nor as overnight stays across every accommodation type in the region.
The Ziguinchor capacity figures and overnight-stay figure also have different scopes within the same regional reporting context: capacity is reported for accommodation, while the overnight-stay measure is limited to hotel establishments. The statistics therefore do not support an occupancy rate or a region-wide average length of stay without additional numerator and denominator definitions.
All Ziguinchor figures in this section come from ANSD’s Situation Economique et Sociale de Ziguinchor Ed. 2022-2023. ANSD, Situation Economique et Sociale de Ziguinchor Ed. 2022-2023.
Taken together, these statistics place Senegal tourism across several measurable layers: national economic contribution in 2024, historical international demand in 2017 and 2018, cultural visits in 2023, and region-specific accommodation capacity and hotel activity in 2023 and 2024. Because the sources use different years, categories and definitions, each figure is most informative when kept with its stated geography, scope and measurement period.