Bamako vs Benin City

Benin City leads Bamako by 2 points on the CIRA Index, 42 to 40. Bamako grades better on 3 measures, Benin City on 8; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Bamako 40, Benin City 42
• OECD: Bamako 37, Benin City 41
• UN Tourism: Bamako 50, Benin City 47
• UNDRR: Bamako 29, Benin City 28

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Bamako 38, Benin City 55
• Economy and jobs: Bamako 58, Benin City 56
• Climate and hazards: Bamako 10, Benin City 20
• Water and environment: Bamako 44, Benin City 56
• Community and housing: Bamako 100, Benin City –
• Access and continuity: Bamako 21, Benin City 17

Where Bamako is stronger

• Recovery against 2019: 243.2 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (country figure) (Institut National de la Statistique (INSTAT) Mali / Direction Nationale du Tourisme et de l'Hôtellerie (DNTH), Annuaire statistique national du Mali 2021, 2021). At or above 110: grade 4/4.
• Access redundancy: 2 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Wikipedia / Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Mali, 2024). Between 2 and 3: grade 2/4.
• Dedicated tourism funding: A dedicated source such as a tourist tax or levy (Journal Officiel de la République du Mali / FAOLEX, 2023). Grade 2/4.

Where Benin City is stronger

• Domestic share of nights: 88.4 % of nights by residents of the same country (country figure) (World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Economic Impact Research (EIR), 2025). At or above 45: grade 4/4.
• Largest foreign market: 18 % of international arrivals or nights (country figure) (World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), Nigeria Economic Impact Report 2024, 2023). Between 15 and 20: grade 3/4.
• Average length of stay: 7 nights per visitor (country figure) (Aninver Development Partners, Nigeria Hotel Market Report 2025, 2021). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4.
• Unemployment rate: 4.4 % of the labour force (region figure) (National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2023, 2023). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Extreme heat days: 35.8 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 30 and 60: grade 1/4.
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Water scarcity: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4.
• Travel advisory: 3 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). Between 2.5 and 3: grade 1/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Mali: #110 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Nigeria: #104 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Bamako in full · Benin City in full

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