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regions | africa ANALYSIS RETURN TO AFRICA


After a difficult period, the travel sector in Africa looks set to bounce back this year, with flight capacity increases and considerable investment in infrastructure and attractions helping the continent prepare for the return of tourism. By Stuart Forster


Africa offers a vast range of travel experiences, including some of the planet’s best game lodges and safari parks. It also presents opportunities to explore well-preserved ancient sites, with 2022 promising to be a significant year. Inevitably, international travel to Africa has been


detrimentally impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Figures published by the World Travel and Tourism Council during 2021 indicate that tourism-related international spending on the continent dipped 66.8 percent in 2020. The tourism economy of the continent’s north was hit harder than Sub-Saharan Africa, and a total of 7.2 million travel and hospitality related jobs were lost. Africans working within the tourism industry are looking


forward to again welcoming large numbers of international travelers but vaccination rates remain low across the continent. The emergence of the Omicron variant in southern Africa late in 2021 proved a setback to tourism’s recovery as the region headed into its summer season.


Confidence among travelers was rocked as restrictions were placed on international flights from the region, in some cases resulting in already deferred vacations being postponed further. Offering flexible booking conditions remains paramount in reassuring customers wishing to travel to Africa. Nonetheless, capacity for direct flights to the continent


looks set to increase, with United Airlines operating services from Newark to Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa. Late in 2021, Delta announced plans to increase the frequency of services to Johannesburg from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to four flights a week. United’s announcement of codeshare flights with Airlink, a Johannesburg-based airline, improves connectivity to more than 40 destinations across southern Africa, including the island of Madagascar. The collaboration means frequent fliers can earn and spend MileagePlus air miles on routes operated by Airlink.


Lion’s Head mountain and Sea Point as seen from Table Mountain


60 | ASTA | Worldwide Destination Guide 2022/23


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