Zambia
whereas the town of Victoria Falls, on the Zimbabwe side, was once the more popular gateway to the natural attraction, now Livingstone in Zambia is favoured by many tourists.
The Zambian town’s tourism operators were quick to spot the tourism opportunity and today Livingstone is a hub for adventure sports – including the world’s highest bungee jump – and wildlife safaris. South African tourists are the key drivers of traffi c and South African Airways, Comair, 1time Airlines and Profl ight connect Livingstone to Africa’s largest economy.
“There has been a huge impact on the town of Livingstone and the surrounding communities. There are new hotels opening and new employment being generated,” says Chintimbwe, speaking about the impact of tourism on the local community. Under its new master plan, Livingstone will get a brand new international terminal, including expanded passenger areas and commercial space. Zanaco Bank Plc, a local Zambian bank, is the key fi nancer of the project and the contractor is Yangts Jiang Enterprises Limited, with Civiltrust as the managing consultants. Work is already well under way, with the groundbreaking ceremony having taken place in August. The project is expected to be completed by April 2012 and Chintimbwe says that the new terminal will meet Livingstone’s traffi c requirements until 2029.
“At Livingstone we didn’t want to demolish what we already had, so the existing terminal building will become a domestic facility once the new terminal is open,” he says.
Victoria Falls, or Mosi-oa-Tunya (The smoke that thunders) is Zambia’s leading tourism attraction. Livingstone Airport is just a couple of kilometres from the natural wonder.
www.routesonline.com
The National Airports Corporation is also already hard at work marketing the new facility to international airlines. In particular, it will be marketed to the long-haul charter market, as the airport will
be able to handle aircraft up to the B767, says Chintimbwe.
Other gateways
Another major tourist gateway is Mfuwe, close to the South Luangwa National Park, Zambia’s most famous game park. This airport primarily serves the tourist market and Chintimbwe points out that it is a market that is still in the development phase but some upgrades and modernisations are required.
Plus, Ndola, which provides access to
Zambia’s vitally important copper belt region, also requires an overhaul. It was originally a British airbase and was not designed to meet the needs of 21st century business traffi c. As the key gateway to Zambia’s most important resource, this will be prioritised for upgrades, Chintimbwe says, with more details available once the master plan has been approved.
Zambia is clearly reaping the
benefi ts of a stable political situation and steady economic policies. Hopes are that continued Chinese investment and the prospect of attracting air service from a Gulf carrier could encourage Zambia’s economic development for years to come.
RWANDAIR LANDS LUSAKA RIGHTS Rwanda’s national carrier, Rwandair, plans to launch fl ights between the capital cities of Kigali and Lusaka, Zambia, following the granting of traffi c rights on the city pair. Rwandair CEO, Rene Janata, says the Lusaka route holds good potential for the airline. “This is another big opportunity for the national carrier, if we get the market we will start fl ying there as soon as possible.”
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