Dakar vs Douala

Dakar and Douala are level on the TRAIL Index at 49. Dakar grades better on 7 measures, Douala on 7; the same 37 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• TRAIL Index: Dakar 49, Douala 49
• OECD: Dakar 44, Douala 44
• UN Tourism: Dakar 48, Douala 50
• UNDRR: Dakar 51, Douala 35

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Dakar 25, Douala 50
• Economy and jobs: Dakar 33, Douala 42
• Climate and hazards: Dakar 45, Douala 30
• Water and environment: Dakar 38, Douala 50
• Community and housing: Dakar 75, Douala 75
• Access and continuity: Dakar 63, Douala 42

Where Dakar is stronger

• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 50.7 % average annual occupancy (region figure) (Ministère du Tourisme et des Transports Aériens (MTTA), Bulletin des Statistiques Touristiques, 2018). Between 45 and 55: grade 1/4.
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Country disaster risk: 4.6 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). Between 3.5 and 5: grade 2/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 52.4 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (WHO / UN-Habitat / UN-Water via UN SDG Country Profiles, 2024). Between 50 and 70: grade 1/4.
• Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (metro figure) (APIX-SA & Port Autonome de Dakar, 2025–2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A plan with named owners, operators and recovery funding (Ministère du Tourisme et des Transports aériens du Sénégal / Agence de Presse Sénégalaise (APS), 2020). Grade 3/4.
• Government effectiveness: 58.5 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). Between 40 and 60: grade 2/4.

Where Douala is stronger

• Domestic share of nights: 73.7 % of nights by residents of the same country (country figure) (Ministère du Tourisme et des Loisirs (MINTOUL) / Institut National de la Statistique du Cameroun, Annuaire des statistiques du tourisme et des loisirs édition 2020, 2019). At or above 45: grade 4/4.
• Average length of stay: 2.4 nights per visitor (region figure) (Ministère du Tourisme et des Loisirs (MINTOUL) / Institut National de la Statistique (INS) - Annuaire des statistiques du tourisme et des loisirs, 2016). Between 2.2 and 2.8: grade 2/4.
• Unemployment rate: 15.4 % of the labour force (Institut National de la Statistique (INS) du Cameroun, Troisième Enquête sur l'Emploi et le Secteur Informel (EESI 3), 2021). Between 12 and 18: grade 1/4.
• Water scarcity: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4.
• Municipal waste per resident: 234.5 kg per resident per year (Douala City Council (CUD) / Business in Cameroon via Den Planet & UN-Habitat, 2024). At or below 350: grade 4/4.
• Rent growth: 3.6 % change in rents over the last 12 months (country figure) (Institut National de la Statistique (INS) du Cameroun, Évolution de l'inflation au premier semestre et perspectives pour 2024, June 2023–June 2024). Between 3 and 6: grade 3/4.
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (Cameroon-Tribune, December 2025). Grade 3/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Senegal: #99 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Cameroon: #108 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Dakar in full · Douala in full

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