AFRICA
Enfidha’s new gateway to the world.
Emirates, which serves Nairobi, Entebbe and Dar es Saalam. Plus, Kenya Airways has an excellent reputation in the region and connectivity through its partner KLM. Kenya’s improved economic stability is going a long way to improving its
tourism prospects, and the World Travel Market’s Global Trends Report 2009 conceded that US President Barack Obama’s election in 2008 played a role in raising the country’s profile. “Obama’s election has resulted in a surge of popularity for Kenya,
especially among African Americans wishing to visit his ancestral village Kogelo where his grandmother still lives,” the report said. This type of travel trend is difficult to pinpoint, but Kester stresses that
Obama is helpful in the perception problem that Africa faces. “Obama is another example of a positive connection with Africa, and I believe that there is potential for more travel from North America to Africa – this must be especially true for the African-American market which is interested in learning more about its heritage,” he says.
West and Central Africa Of all African regions, West and Central Africa arguably faces the biggest perception problem and large parts of the region remain very remote and undeveloped and intra-regional air travel remains marginal. However, Nigeria and Ghana’s rich oil supplies will ensure that the
countries will remain on international companies’ radar, which in turn means more demand for business travel and new air services. Virgin Atlantic recently launched new services from London to Accra, while Continental plans to start serving Lagos from Houston in the fourth quarter of 2011. The so-called ‘Obama-effect’ is also evident here, points out the World
Travel Market’s Global Trends Report 2009. “An asset to the promotion of roots tourism is the increasing political stability in countries such as Ghana. The country was the first to welcome President Obama on his first official trip to Africa,” it declared.
Southern Africa South Africa is the continent’s biggest and most developed economy and has a long tourism heritage, supported by its liberalised domestic air market, first-world infrastructure and unique tourism offerings.
66 AIRPORT WORLD/AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 The country’s international tourism arrivals during the
World Cup more than doubled estimates, with nearly one million foreign visitors coming into the country in June – only half-way through the tournament. According to South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs this
was up 24% on the same period in the previous year. The top markets making the long-haul trip were the USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Mexico and The Netherlands. The hope is now that the thousands of fans who travelled for the World Cup will pass the word onto friends and family and encourage them to visit in the future. Plus, South Africa is now uniquely placed for future development,
says Kester. “There were many doubts about South Africa’s ability to host an event the size of the World Cup. but they did a great job and this will boost the country’s self-confidence a lot,” he enthuses. “Large events are often a starting point to create momentum and
this can extend into future decades, if the government can maintain the momentum. Barcelona is a good example of this – the 1992 Olympics was a catalyst for major urban redevelopment and the city really continued with this. Today Barcelona has developed into a major city and is one of the leading city destinations in the EU. We need to see that type of momentum in Africa.” South Africa’s neighbours are also poised to benefit from the World
Cup coverage and Kester believes they could be star tourism performers in future years. “Southern Africa has done well in the past decade. Namibia,
Botswana, Swaziland and Mozambique have made good strides,” he notes.
The white spot on this Southern Africa map is Zimbabwe, which
continues to struggle with political and economic instability, despite once being the tourism darling of the region. However, Kester is optimistic that there is scope for change there, with travel and tourism development getting back on track. Now, if the vuvuzela was able to grab the world’s attention in such a
big way, one can only imagine what Africa’s other attractions could achieve, if governments are able to create the correct business and investment environments.
AW
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