By: John S. Morlu II, CPA
Tourists often say: “I didn’t feel like people were trying to exploit me.” At first glance, this sounds like a casual compliment. But in the world of global travel and investor psychology, this is one of the highest emotional safety ratings a country can receive. It means foreigners don’t walk through markets clutching their pockets like endangered mammals. They walk freely, observe, negotiate respectfully—and actually enjoy paying for things instead of feeling like they survived a financial ambush.
In tourism-heavy cities with aggressive “sales tactics,” visitors often spend more time dodging hustlers than actually experiencing culture. Every “my friend, my friend!” feels like a potential economic trap. But in Benin, people approach you with curiosity, not combat energy. A vendor may invite you to try their pineapples, but they won’t chase you across five blocks like a debt collector with sneakers.
Why this matters economically:
✅ When tourists feel harassed, they rush through transactions and minimize spending.
✅ When tourists feel respected, they take their time, explore more, eat more, shop more, recommend more—and return.
✅ When expats feel psychologically safe, they extend stays, bring family, invest locally, and sometimes turn “I’m here for two weeks” into “I’m opening a small office here.”
This sense of comfort becomes a soft-power accelerant for FDI: before investors deploy money, they often deploy their bodies—to test how it feels to walk the streets, buy a smoothie, hold a meeting, and trust a taxi driver.
The Expat Test
If a foreigner can:
✅ Take a casual evening walk without scanning for scam artists,
✅ Eat at a roadside spot without worrying if they’ll get “foreigner pricing x10,”
✅ And negotiate without feeling emotionally assaulted…
…they may subconsciously rate the country as investable long before seeing a single macroeconomic statistic.
Mini Travel Story – “The Case of the Forgotten Wallet”
A French tourist allegedly forgot his wallet at a roadside café in Cotonou. Expecting disaster, he returned an hour later in full panic mode. The waiter calmly handed it back and said, “We kept it safe. Maybe your ancestors wanted you to come back and drink more juice.”
The tourist laughed and stayed for two more meals. Emotional safety became brand loyalty.
Diaspora & Digital Nomads: “Can I Live Here Without Being Drained?”
As remote work rises, digital nomads are now global investors in micro-economies—spending thousands in monthly rent, food, leisure, cowork spaces, and community projects. But they only settle in places where the emotional operating cost is low. Benin is increasingly on the watchlist for nomads who value peace over constant hype.
Diaspora members looking for second homes report that Beninese people rarely approach them aggressively or perform guilt-based selling techniques such as: “Support me, you are from the diaspora, you have money.” Instead, they find conversations grounded in dignity rather than emotional extraction.
In short:
Benin doesn’t just offer physical safety—it offers transactional serenity and psychological restfulness. That calm, respectful environment encourages not just tourism, but long-term presence. Presence leads to ownership. Ownership leads to investment. Investment leads to roots.
And roots are the beginning of economic ecosystems.
Author: John S. Morlu II, CPA is the CEO and Chief Strategist of JS Morlu, leads a globally recognized public accounting and management consultancy firm. Under his visionary leadership, JS Morlu has become a pioneer in developing cutting-edge technologies across B2B, B2C, P2P, and B2G verticals. The firm’s groundbreaking innovations include AI-powered reconciliation software (ReckSoft.com), Uber for handymen (Fixaars.com) and advanced cloud accounting solutions (FinovatePro.com), setting new industry standards for efficiency, accuracy, and technological excellence.