Benin travel statistics show two different pictures depending on the measurement period. Monthly figures for Cotonou International Airport describe a substantial air-travel system in the second half of 2022, while the World Bank’s assessment provides an older view of visitor numbers, travel purposes and tourism’s contribution to the economy. Keeping those periods separate is essential when using the figures for travel planning or document research.
On this page
- Cotonou airport traffic in 2022
- Monthly passenger patterns
- Where airport passengers traveled
- Aircraft movements and air cargo
- Benin’s visitors and source markets
- Tourism’s economic role
Cotonou airport traffic in 2022
Cotonou International Airport handled 46,885 passengers in July 2022, according to TRAFIC-AERIEN-JUILLET-2022. The monthly total included 25,853 arrivals and 21,032 departures. The same report recorded passenger traffic up 31% year over year. These are airport traffic counts for July, not a complete measure of every international visitor entering Benin by every mode.
The airport recorded 43,851 passengers in August 2022, with 20,891 arrivals and 22,960 departures. Passenger traffic was 7% higher than in the same month of the previous year, according to TRAFIC-AERIEN-AOUT-2022. In September, the airport handled 41,735 passengers: 18,977 arrivals and 22,758 departures. The September report, TRAFIC-AERIEN-SEPTEMBRE-2022, stated that passenger traffic rose 11% year over year.
October traffic was 41,906 passengers, including 19,689 arrivals and 22,217 departures. The October report, TRAFIC-AERIEN-OCTOBRE-2022, recorded a 19% year-over-year increase. In November, Cotonou handled 42,631 passengers, made up of 20,462 arrivals and 20,355 departures. TRAFIC-AERIEN-NOVEMBRE-2022 reported passenger traffic 26% above the year-earlier level.
| Month in 2022 | Total passengers | Arrivals | Departures | Reported year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July | 46,885 | 25,853 | 21,032 | 31% increase |
| August | 43,851 | 20,891 | 22,960 | 7% increase |
| September | 41,735 | 18,977 | 22,758 | 11% increase |
| October | 41,906 | 19,689 | 22,217 | 19% increase |
| November | 42,631 | 20,462 | 20,355 | 26% increase |
The July report also stated cumulative passenger traffic of 248,729, cumulative arrivals of 121,877 and cumulative departures of 123,188. Its cumulative figures are presented here exactly as reported and should not be treated as a reconstructed total for only the five months listed above.
Monthly passenger patterns
The highest monthly passenger count in the supplied 2022 airport reports was July’s 46,885. August was lower at 43,851, while September and October were close to one another at 41,735 and 41,906. November rose to 42,631. The sequence therefore shows a July peak, a decline through September, and a partial recovery in October and November.
Arrivals exceeded departures in July: 25,853 compared with 21,032. The pattern reversed in August, when departures reached 22,960 against 20,891 arrivals. Departures also exceeded arrivals in September and October, by 22,758 to 18,977 and 22,217 to 19,689 respectively. In November, the two directions were nearly even, with 20,462 arrivals and 20,355 departures.
The reports also give different year-over-year growth rates for each month. July’s 31% increase was followed by 7% in August, 11% in September, 19% in October and 26% in November. These percentages describe each report’s comparison with its corresponding prior-year period; they are not a single annual growth rate.
For readers handling travel documents, the distinction matters: airport passenger volume indicates activity at Cotonou during a specified month, but it does not state visa eligibility, entry requirements, passport validity rules or the number of documents issued. The figures are useful context for travel scale, not a substitute for current official entry guidance.
Where airport passengers traveled
The monthly airport reports divide passenger volume into four broad geographic groupings. In July 2022, the largest listed grouping was Maghreb and Occident, with 20,122 passengers. West Africa accounted for 11,671, Central Africa for 10,599, and East and Southern Africa for 2,881, according to TRAFIC-AERIEN-JUILLET-2022.
August showed a similar ordering. Maghreb and Occident recorded 19,016 passengers, followed by West Africa at 11,793, Central Africa at 10,120, and East and Southern Africa at 2,922. In September, the four figures were 17,490 for Maghreb and Occident, 11,165 for West Africa, 9,635 for Central Africa, and 3,445 for East and Southern Africa.
October passenger volume was 18,588 for Maghreb and Occident, 11,262 for West Africa, 8,945 for Central Africa, and 3,111 for East and Southern Africa. November recorded 17,966, 12,223, 7,494 and 3,134 respectively for those same groupings.
The July report also recorded cumulative passenger traffic by grouping: 110,261 for Maghreb and Occident, 67,480 for West Africa, 50,508 for Central Africa, and 15,204 for East and Southern Africa. Those cumulative values are airport-report figures through the reporting period and retain the source’s geography labels.
Across the five monthly reports, Maghreb and Occident was the largest listed grouping in every month. West Africa was second in each month. East and Southern Africa was the smallest of the four listed groupings in July, August, October and November, while it remained below the other categories in September as well. The reports do not provide a more detailed country-by-country breakdown in the supplied figures.
Aircraft movements and air cargo
Cotonou International Airport recorded 700 aircraft movements in July 2022, up 31% year over year. The reported geographic breakdown was 264 movements for West Africa, 235 for Central Africa, 167 for Maghreb and Occident, and 34 for East and Southern Africa. The July report gave cumulative aircraft movements of 3,856.
Aircraft movements reached 730 in August, a 12% year-over-year increase. September recorded 676 movements, up 1%, followed by 678 in October, up 4%, and 684 in November, up 5%. The November report’s general-aviation section recorded 42 movements and 66 passengers. August recorded 22 general-aviation movements and 47 passengers; September recorded 26 movements and 23 passengers; July recorded 12 movements and 59 passengers. The October monthly report did not state a separate general-aviation record, so its supplied statistics focus on scheduled traffic and cargo.
Cargo and mail totaled 460 tonnes in July, up 27% year over year. The total included 154 tonnes of imports and 305 tonnes of exports. The July report gave cumulative cargo and mail of 3,034 tonnes, including 1,174 tonnes of imports and 1,859 tonnes of exports.
In August, cargo and mail totaled 407 tonnes, up 19% year over year, with 144 tonnes of imports and 263 tonnes of exports. September recorded 341 tonnes, down 10% year over year, comprising 124 tonnes of imports and 217 tonnes of exports. October recorded 436 tonnes, down 8% year over year, with 205 tonnes of imports and 231 tonnes of exports. November recorded 395 tonnes, down 8% from the prior month, including 160 tonnes of imports and 235 tonnes of exports.
Benin’s visitors and source markets
The World Bank’s Benin DTISU 2015 assessment reported that Benin welcomed more than 200,000 international visitors in 2011 and recorded US$187 million in international tourism receipts that year. These are 2011 tourism figures presented in a 2015 assessment, not current visitor totals or a forecast.
The same assessment identified Nigeria as supplying 12.2% of Benin’s top source markets in 2011. France supplied 7.5%, and Togo supplied 6.2%. The source-market percentages refer to the assessment’s reported top source markets and should not be read as a complete percentage distribution for every nationality.
Travel purpose was also concentrated in the 2011 profile. Business travelers accounted for 78% of arrivals. Visitors traveling to see relatives and friends accounted for 14%, while leisure tourists accounted for 8%. These shares describe the 2011 arrival mix in the World Bank assessment; they do not measure the purpose of the 2022 Cotonou airport passengers.
The World Bank assessment ranked Benin fifth as a tourist destination in West Africa in its 2015 assessment. It also reported that tourism arrivals and revenues had stagnated over the prior decade, with average annual visitor growth of 2%. This historical growth rate is a long-period assessment, not a monthly airport growth figure.
Tourism’s economic role
The World Bank’s 2015 assessment reported that tourism contributed 6.5% of Benin’s GDP and 5.6% of total employment. The assessment said Benin’s tourism GDP share trailed neighboring countries by 1.5 percentage points and global averages by 7.5 percentage points. Its tourism employment share lagged neighbors by 1.4 percentage points and the global average by 8.3 percentage points.
The assessment estimated unrealized annual GDP gains from tourism at US$113 million to US$567 million. It estimated unrealized employment gains at 28,000 to 165,000 jobs. These are modeled or estimated opportunity ranges in the World Bank assessment, not realized gains and not a prediction of future performance.
One proposed development was the Route des Pêches project, covering 35 kilometers between Cotonou and Ouidah. The project envisioned 5,000 hotel rooms, targeted 20,000 jobs and planned CFA 300 billion in total investment. These figures describe the project’s stated scope in the World Bank assessment; they do not establish that every planned room, job or investment amount was completed.
For a travel-document guide, the practical reading is bounded and specific: the airport reports quantify traffic at Cotonou during five months of 2022, while the World Bank figures describe an older national tourism profile centered on 2011 data and a 2015 assessment. They can provide context for the scale and composition of travel to Benin, but they do not replace current information about passports, visas, entry permissions or other travel-document requirements.