Jumia Travel, one of Africa’s leading online hotel booking sites, is now selling domestic, intra-regional and international flights via partnerships with suppliers including Amadeus.

Paul Midy, CEO of Jumia Travel, said:

“[Selling flights] is also part of our broader program to create a one stop travel shop providing accommodation, packages, and flights all on the same platform, in a bid to streamline travel in Africa.”

The site was known as Jovago until last June when it was rebranded by its owner, Africa Internet Group, which also changed its name to Jumia.

Jumia itself is backed by MTN, Rocket Internet, Millicom, Orange, Axa and others.

At the same time, Jumia Travel has released three detailed reports into the hospitality markets in Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Nigeria is the leading economy in the region, with a population just under 200 million. Internet penetration is 52%, according to Jumia, with tourism expected to account for 4.8% of its GDP when 2016 figures are released.

Smartphone penetration is one of the highest in Africa, and mobile accounts for 45% of hotel searches and 40% of bookings.

Kenya is the ninth largest economy in the region, and has internet penetration rates of 74% and a mobile penetration even higher at  80%.

This prevalence of mobile is reflected by the fact that nearly one-in-three online hotel bookings is paid for using M-PESA, a mobile wallet developed by Safaricom,  a Kenyan mobile network in which Vodafone has a minority interest.

On the other hand, Ethiopia has a internet penetration rate of only 4.4% in a country with a population of 94 million. For now this creates a difficult environment for online travel businesses, but Jumia sees the country as an emerging inbound destination for African travellers. Its challenge is to bring the country’s hotels online.

Click here to access the Nigeria report.
Click here to access the Kenya report.
Click here to access the Ethiopia report.