31 FlightCom Magazine
forecast growth in aviation on the continent
is also about 4% over the next two decades.
However tourism in Africa has maintained
impressive growth over the last ten years,
with strong prospects to grow by 5% over
the next 20 years.The UNWTO stated recently: “In
Sub Saharan Africa, strong performance
continued in large destinations such as
Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritius and
Zimbabwe. The sub-region’s top destination,
South Africa, reported slower growth
in arrivals although a strong increase in
receipts. Island destinations Seychelles,
Cabo Verde and Reunion; all reported
double-digit growth in arrivals, benefiting
from increased air connectivity.”
The London-based World Travel &
Tourism Council (WTTC) stated that
“Travel & Tourism in Africa is booming,
growing 5.6% in 2018 compared to the
global average of 3.9% and the broader
African economy rate of 3.2%. This places
Africa as the second-fastest growing
tourism region behind only Asia-Pacific.”
These growth trends create excitement
among investors and operators who are
optimistic about the new international
commitment to jointly develop Africa’s air
transport and tourism. However, despite the
current and projected growth in aviation
tourism, Africa should target over 10% of
global passenger figures and global tourism
visits to create the economic impact needed
locally and globally. Many however view
the current growth rates as an encouraging
base for increasing Africa’s share of global
tourism and passenger traffic.
Complementary Development
Structures
At the African Union (AU) level,
Africa is taking a bold leap to transform
transportation and internal integration. The
current efforts to establish Africa-wide air
transport liberalisation under the SAATM
aims at enabling African airlines to easily
interconnect existing and new African
city-pairs - many of which are tourism andbusiness routes. This will boost air transport
and tourism in Africa. So also would the
efforts to create the Africa Continental Free
Trade area (ACFTA) and the Single African
Passport initiative.
It is instructive to note that nearly
ten separate declarations on aviation and
tourism in Africa have been achieved over
the last decade, and their implementation
will prepare the foreground for the
successful implementation of the action
plans of the Ministerial Declaration on Air
Transport and Tourism Development in
Africa.
Already, while the President of the
Republic of Cabo Verde, Mr. Jorge Carlos
de Almeida Fonseca, is pushing tourism
forward as a key revenue earner in the
country, Cape Verde is also fostering
integration with countries in mainland
Africa. Nigeria and Cape Verde recently
renewed their commitment to establish
exchange of air services.GETTING REALISTIC
Due to the lack of policies to promote
tourism and encourage investors, most of
Africa’s tourism spots are unexploited.
Many of these untapped tourism locations
have lack of security and poor infrastructure
that overshadow the value of these tourism
locations. For aviation, on the other hand,
inordinate taxes, charges and fees as well
as the absence of proper understanding
and support by government and relevant
economic sectors have been the bane of air
transport development in Africa.
These recent and on-going air transport
and tourism frameworks mark the beginning
of a new phase of development for Africa.
How far Africa will go depends on how
realistically policy, infrastructure and
economic bottlenecks are resolved across
the continent. Africa no longer requires
mere growth, but phenomenal growth to see
a difference.BELOW: Border restrictions are being reconsidered.