Tourism companies across Africa are spinning President Donald Trump's alleged comments about "s***hole countries" to try to lure visitors to the continent's top tourist attractions, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The president has denied using the slur during a meeting with some lawmakers earlier this month, although two senators have said that he did.
The Journal reports that some "governments, corporations and small businesses in more than a dozen countries have launched themed tourism campaigns and merchandise" in an attempt to bring more tourists to the world's poorest yet one of the most scenic – continents in the world. Some 40 million tourists reportedly flocked there in 2017.
One private tourism company known as Gondwanda Collections in Namibia has even put out a video featuring a Trump impersonator who stresses the area's attractions and invites tourists to visit "Africa's No. 1 s***hole."
Not to be outdone, Airbnb has launched a $100,000 ad campaign with the slogan: "We heard there's been some expletive-filled interest in these beautiful destinations," the Journal reported.
And some ad agencies in Haiti have launched similar campaigns with plans to erect billboards in Washington through a "GoFundMe" campaign.
Some African local political leaders have tried to avoid the subject of Trump's alleged comments, but President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe recently said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he would like to tell Mr. Trump his country is a great tourist destination.
"[I would] say 'Oh, Mr. President, Zimbabwe is open for business. I know Americans like to play golf. Come build golf courses at Victoria Falls!'" the Journal quoted him as saying.
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