The competition for safari tourism in sub-Saharan Africa is intense. Aside from inter-country competition, there is also intra-country competition among game viewing lodges and resorts within each country. In this context, it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each country for safari tourism. We empirically test the relationship between tourism performance and multiple tourism dimensions, namely, tourism Attractions (A), Basics (B), and Context (C). We test the Tourism A-B-C model (Manrai, Manrai, & Friedeborn, 2018) using data from Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The study, a first in the region, addresses tourism as an economic development driver and offers important insights, suggesting that tourism dimensions correlate with economic development, with the exception of situations where governments provide leadership in developing tourism, as in Kenya, or where they stress education, as in Zimbabwe. We also discuss research implications and directions for future research.rnKeywords: Sub-Saharan countries, Safari tourism, Tourism performance, Regional economic development, Sustainable tourism, Tourism A-B-C model.