The Portfolio Committee on Tourism and the Select Committee on Trade and Industry, Economic Development, Small Business Development, Tourism, Employment and Labour received a briefing from the South African Tourism (SAT) on their five-year strategic and annual performance plans.    

The report was well received as the committees were reassured by SAT that the target of 21 million tourist arrivals will be met by 2030. The committees welcomed the assurance to achieve that target after COVID-19 as that will be even more difficult given the fact that the entire world has been affected by the pandemic, and the competition for tourists among countries for tourists to their destinations will be tight.  

The committees heard that the SAT would be looking for new markets that were not in their previous marketing plans. The SAT told the committees that one of the tools it will use is digital marketing with a shift of focus from classical to digital marketing of content.  

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Tourism, Mr Supra Mahumapelo, advised the SAT and the Department of Tourism to develop a strong link with the Department of International Relations and Cooperation for the purposes of partnering with embassies and consulates around the world especially in Africa.  

That, according to Mr Mahumapelo, needs to be developed and be incorporated into the strategic and annual performance plans of the SAT.   Furthermore, Mr Mahumpelo said: “Now is the time to strengthen, reposition and rejuvenate domestic tourism to succeed as the domestic tourism market reopens in December while we wait for the international markets to open in February 2021.”  

 It was agreed in the previous meeting of the committee that the department will release a report in September this year on the transformation of the sector. The committees are looking forward to the tabling of a report that, according to them, must take into account the development of a non-racial and non-sexist tourism sector for the realisation of the dream of a prosperous and harmonious South Africa.  

The committees said, whilst the White Paper on Tourism is being reviewed, the SAT must also look at the grading policy of the establishments and how the unemployed, women, youth and people with disabilities living in villages, townships and small towns can be included in the policy in the context of the district development model.  

The committees have noted the reassurance by Minister Mamaloko Kubayi-Ngubane that the programmes of the department and the SAT include the extensive work of reigniting and developing tourism heritage routes that are inclusive of museums in rural areas and small towns.   The SAT is also urged to endeavour to find mechanisms to increase the number of establishments that are members of Tourism Marketing Levy South Africa (TOMSA).

The committees told the SAT that this is necessary to strengthen the voice of the collective that contribute to the TOMSA levy which contributes 10% towards the budget of the SAT. The committees welcomed the announcement by Minister Kubayi-Ngubane that the establishments that are willing to operate in the travel business can apply directly through the Department’s website and the turnaround time to issue permits for business travel is 24 hours.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

Source: https://www.cnbcafrica.com/africa-press-office/2020/05/28/coronavirus-south-africa-committees-on-tourism-put-transformation-high-on-the-agenda-of-the-south-african-tourism/

 

A legal framework for the nationalization of Kenya Airways is set for discussion when Parliament resumes next week in what could change stakes for key shareholders that include a consortium of local banks and Royal Dutch Airlines.

Parliamentary Transport Committee has come up with the National Aviation Management Bill 2020 that seeks to guide implementation of its earlier report that recommended State’s takeover of the national carrier.

Under the plan, the government, which owns 48.9 percent of KQ, is expected to buy out the remaining holders of 51.1 percent of the shares, and form Aviation Holding Company to run the national carrier and Kenya Airports Authority (KAA).

The Cabinet has approved the National Aviation Management Bill, which is currently at the State Law Office for refinement before being brought to Parliament.

Transport Committee chairman David Pkosing said his team would push the Bill through all stages by August.

“My committee is focused, and on course to deliver KQ and KAA merger now that the Bill to actualise the recommendations in our report is on its way to Parliament after it was approved by the Cabinet,” he said.

“As a committee, we want to deliver the Bill by August. We are committed to ensuring that the airline receives the necessary support and reclaim its lost glory. This is a critical Jubilee agenda to rescue our aviation in the post-Covid-19 pandemic.”

Last week, Treasury secretary Ukur Yatani was reluctant to grant KQ its request for a Sh7 billion emergency bailout, saying the State was keen on a long-term rescue plan.

Mr Pkosing said yesterday his committee’s report alone was not enough to deliver the merger between KQ and KAA hence the need to introduce the National Aviation Management Bill in Parliament next week.

“Some of the recommendations made by the committee in the report require legal backing, which cannot be achieved through a report. That is why we have come up with a Bill to steer the process to the end,” he said.

In their report adopted by the house last year, the committee recommended tax exemptions for the National Aviation Company as a way of saving the dwindling fortunes of the national carrier.

The report had also recommended that the KAA, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Kenya Airways to be put under Kenya Aviation Holding Group.

Source: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/economy/Legal-framework-for-KQ-takeover-out-by-August/3946234-5564554-yd2g4bz/index.html

 

An IATA analysis revealed that the airline industry’s global debt could rise by almost $120 billion to $550 billion by year-end.

• $67 billion of the new debt is composed of government loans ($50 billion), deferred taxes ($5 billion), and loan guarantees ($12 billion).
• $52 billion is from commercial sources including commercial loans ($23 billion), capital market debt ($18 billion), debt from new operating leases ($5 billion), and accessing existing credit facilities ($6 billion). 

“Government aid is helping to keep the industry afloat. The next challenge will be preventing airlines from sinking under the burden of debt that the aid is creating,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

In total governments have committed to $123 billion in financial aid to airlines. Of this, $67 billion will need to be repaid. The balance largely consists of wage subsidies ($34.8 billion), equity financing ($11.5 billion), and tax relief / subsidies ($9.7 billion).

“Over half the relief provided by governments creates new liabilities,” said de Juniac. “Less than 10% will add to airline equity. It changes the financial picture of the industry completely. Paying off the debt owed governments and private lenders will mean that the crisis will last a lot longer than the time it takes for passenger demand to recover.”

Moreover, the amount of relief received by airlines differs markedly from region to region. The US CARES Act is the main component of financial aid to North American carriers and represents a quarter of 2019 annual revenues for the region’s airlines. European assistance is at 15% of 2019 annual revenues and Asia-Pacific at 10%. But in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America average aid is around 1% of 2019 revenues.

IATA is urging governments still contemplating financial relief to focus on measures that help airlines raise equity financing. “For those governments that have not yet acted, the message is that helping airlines raise equity levels with a focus on grants and subsidies will place them in a stronger position for the recovery,” said de Juniac.

“A tough future is ahead of us,” he continued. “Containing COVID-19 and surviving the financial shock is just the first hurdle. Post-pandemic control measures will make operations more costly. Fixed costs will have to be spread over fewer travelers. And investments will be needed to meet our environmental targets. On top of all that, airlines will need to repay massively increased debts arising from the financial relief. After surviving the crisis, recovering to financial health will be the next challenge for many airlines.”

Source: https://www.airlines.iata.org/news/airline-debt-threatens-recovery

 

Owners of The Fairmont Norfolk, an iconic hotel in Nairobi, announced Wednesday that it is closing its doors indefinitely and will fire all employees over the impact of coronavirus pandemic on the business.

In a memo to staff dated May 27, the country manager Mehdi Morad said owing to the uncertainty of the direction the global pandemic will take, they have been forced to terminate employee contracts and close their properties.

The Fairmont Hotels and Resorts said they are going to close Fairmont The Norfolk and Fairmont Mara Safari Cub as a result of “spiral effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent flooding of Fairmont Mara Safari Club”.

“Due to the uncertainty of when and how the impact of the global Pandemic will result in the business picking up in the near future, we are left with no option but to close down the business indefinitely,” Mr Morad said in the memo.

“It is therefore the decision of the management to terminate the Services of all its employees due to “frustration” by way of mutual separation and taking into account the loyalty and dedication the employees have put into the success of our company in the previous years.”

Employees will receive their termination letters by June 5.

Fairmont joins a growing list of hotels that have closed or suspended operation due to effects of coronavirus.

Most five-star hotels rely on tourism, events and conferences which have since dried up.

In March, Nairobi’s Tribe Hotel, Ole Sereni and DusitD2 stopped operations days after the government-imposed travel restrictions and social distancing rules to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Other high-end hotels followed suit to cut costs as the pandemic drags on.

Restrictions on foreigners coming into Kenya have delivered a big hit to the country’s tourism industry, which brought in Sh163.56 billion last year.

Most hotels have reported occupancy rates of well below 10 percent against 75 percent normally.

Source: https://beta.nation.co.ke/dailynation/business/norfolk-closes-indefinitely-fires-all-employees-308322

Europe is starting to lift coronavirus travel restrictions, but these are not enough for Air Canada to resume international flights.

Iceland will open its borders from June 15 and Greece from July 1, but it was Italy’s lifting from June 3 that prompted a question to Air Canada CFO Michael Rousseau about launching flights.

“We need to make sure that both countries – Canada and Italy – are open for international travel to make a strong business case for travel,” Rousseau told the Wolfe Global Transportation Conference.

Europe may be opening, but Canada is not. Canadian citizens and residents returning home still have to follow a 14-day quarantine upon their return to Canada.

“We want to make sure that Canadians can go there and when they come back, they don’t have to self-quarantine,” Rousseau said.

Foreign visitors are not allowed in. That precludes Air Canada from carrying two-way traffic and instead makes it dependent only on outbound Canada travel. If Canada does allow visitors, demand is expected to be low if they have to quarantine upon arrival.

“We certainly want to ensure that any family or friends coming from Italy don’t have to self-quarantine when they come to Canada,” Rousseau explained.

Canada’s international, non-U.S., travel restrictions are scheduled through June 30 but chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam tapered expectations the quarantine requirement would end.

“The mandatory 14-day quarantining of people who come in remains a cornerstone as we go forwards,” Dr. Tam said.

Rousseau said restrictions at home and abroad would shape Air Canada’s return to any international country. “Those rules have to be identified and understood before we have bilateral traffic,” he said.

Air Canada expects international flying to resume on its mainline brand and not Rouge, which will see a substantial reduction of its fleet. Exiting are all of Rouge’s 767s, the only aircraft it had to fly to Europe.

Rousseau expects Rouge could resume later in the year so it could offer winter flights to the Caribbean and other sun destinations.

Rousseau hopes to preserve traffic by instead routing it through Air Canada and a partner airline’s hub.

Air Canada will conservatively add flights and evaluate growth rather than offer too many flights right away. “We can always fill in with capacity as we see the demand build,” Rousseau said.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willhorton1/2020/05/21/europe-lifts-travel-restrictions-but-air-canada-waits-to-resume-international-flights-during-covid-19/amp/

 

The Kenya Association of Travel Agents held the first industry meeting this year on May 20, 2020. The meeting was held online due to the social distancing conditions occasioned by the Coronavirus pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the industry since March 2020 when the first case was announced in Kenya.

KATA Chairman Mr. Mohammed Wanyoike welcomed the members to the meeting. He pointed out how the pandemic has devastated the travel and tourism industries both locally and globally. Members were informed that the board has had several engagements with the Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala through various forums to discuss the effects and mitigation measures of the pandemic in the industry.

Members were also asked to use the labour advisory as advised by KATA on making decisions on staffing based on their individual situations. Mr Wanyoike pointed out that the largest resource in the industry is labour and this has been affected as businesses are not conducting any business leading to releasing staff on unpaid leave or offering pay cuts until the end of the pandemic.

Ms Mucuha during a presentation pointed out that the effects of COVID-19 have been felt locally and globally with recently released information from International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) revealing that airline sales available for sale in Africa have gone down to 38 percent down from 71 percent reduction due to low business.

Travel agents extensively discussed ways of business recovery coming up with strategies that will see to business continuity for travel agents post COVID-19.

Emirates has announced its plan to operate scheduled flight services from 21 May to nine destinations: London Heathrow Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Chicago, Toronto, Sydney and Melbourne. The airline will also offer connections in Dubai for customers travelling between the UK and Australia.

Travellers will only be accepted on these flights if they comply with the eligibility and entry criteria requirements of their destination countries. This includes an approval from the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) for UAE residents who wish to return to Dubai.

Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer said: “We are pleased to resume scheduled passenger services to these destinations, providing more options for customers to travel from the UAE to these cities, and also between the UK and Australia. We are working closely with the authorities to plan the resumption of operations to additional destinations. We have implemented additional measures at the airport in coordination with the relevant authorities in respect to social distancing and sanitization. The safety and wellbeing of our employees, customers and communities, remain our top priority.”

In addition to the scheduled services, Emirates will also continue to work closely with embassies and consulates to facilitate repatriation flights for visitors and residents wishing to return home. This week, the airline plans to operate flights from Dubai to Tokyo Narita (15 May), Conakry (16 May), and Dakar (16 May).

Passengers and airlines would face radical changes to the process of air travel under IATA’s guidelines for restarting the industry when the Covid-19 pandemic subsides.

While its recommendations are not binding, the association hopes that governments, airlines and airports will adopt the measures as a middle ground to allow passengers to fly safely while enabling the industry and wider economy to open up.

Describing the challenge of resuming operations as the “greatest challenge in civil aviation history”, IATA is proposing a “layered approach” to biosecurity, which will impact the customer experience even before passengers arrive at the airport.

“There is no single measure that will reduce risk and enable a safe restart of flying,” says IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac. “But a layering measure that are globally implemented and mutually recognized by governments can achieve the needed outcome.”

IATA is recommending that governments set up online portals to collect pre-flight information that can be used to asses passengers’ health status and allow contact-tracing should they become unwell.

Once at the airport, travellers face temperature-screening and physical distancing, and will be required to wear masks for the duration of their journeys.

Aircraft boarding will have to be modified to allow greater social distancing, and there will be an increase in self-scanning of documents to minimise human-to-human interaction. Carry-on luggage should also be minimised in order to smooth out the boarding process.

Once on board, passengers will be banned from changing seats and may be handed wipes to sanitise their seat environment.

However, given that passengers and crew will be required to wear masks and that aircraft are fitted with medical-grade air filters, IATA does not believe that physical distancing will be required. “Physical distancing on board, through for example blocking seats, is not necessary,” argues Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice-president for airport, passenger cargo and security.

Under IATA’s recommendations, deplaning would take longer and increase in complexity to minimise contact between passengers.

Passengers may again face temperature-screening at their destinations, while a faster baggage-claim process will minimise contact and allow social distancing. But IATA hopes that disruption here can be minimised by mutual recognition of the origin airport’s screening measures.

Given the additional suite of biosecurity measures, passengers may find that the entire airport process is extended. “We are modelling it,” says Careen.

IATA believes this system strikes the “right compromise” between the needs to prevent the spread of coronavirus and to open up the economy, while avoiding adding too many constraints to travellers.

Yet it is also clear that such a system will add significant cost and complexity to the system, and render it daunting for many passengers.

“This can be done in the most inobtrusive way possible if we educate our passengers,” Careen contends, adding that rollout of the programme will be accompanied with a communications strategy.

The additional cost of the process should be shared between airlines, governments and airports, in IATA’s view. “We do not expect too many difficulties on that point,” says de Juniac, on the grounds that “what [we] are proposing is pretty reasonable”.

IATA highlights that the process was designed with cost in mind, and that the equipment required is either relatively low-tech, such as masks and disinfectant wipes, or already available.

The association also stresses that measures should be temporary, regularly reviewed and “replaced when more efficient options are identified or removed should they become unnecessary”. Longer-term, it hopes that coronavirus testing in airports and immunity passports can be used to smooth the travel process for travellers.

“The roadmap is the industry’s high-level thinking on safely restarting aviation. Timing is critical,” says de Juniac. “Governments understand the importance of aviation to the social and economic recovery of their countries and many are planning a phased reopening of borders in the coming months.

“We have a short time to reach agreement on the initial standards to support safely reconnecting the world and to firmly establish that global standards are essential to success.”

Source: https://www.flightglobal.com/strategy/iata-sets-out-biosecurity-roadmap-to-restarting-flights/138445.article

 

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has slightly eased its emergency COVID-19 border closures by lifting a restriction on foreign residence visa holders entering the small Persian Gulf country. From June 1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation says expat residents will be able to return to the UAE to be reunited with their families after they were effectively locked out of the country.

In its response to stem the spread of the novel Coronavirus, the UAE initially stopped issuing new visitor visas and then suspended its visa on arrival for nationals from 70 different countries on March 18. Officials then went one step further on March 25 by banning the arrival of all passengers into the country except for Emirati citizens.

The authorities have not indicated when travel restrictions might be eased further but there are said to be high-level discussions with some governments about the prospect of introducing mutually agreed “travel bubbles”.

Source: https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2020/05/19/the-uae-slightly-eases-travel-restrictions-foreign-residence-visa-holders-now-free-to-return/

 

Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka said the price of air tickets will most likely be hiked if the government allows the national carrier to resume flights.

Kilavuka was speaking during a strategy meeting organized by the Ministry of Tourism to discuss how the industry can recover from the effects of Covid-19.

He indicated that air travel would completely change as every country comes up with new plans and policies to be adapted post coronavirus.

55 to 65 percent of people, he noted, travelled for leisure, which means between May and December airlines are missing out on this big business and income.

“Travel is not going to be cheap. 55-65% of people travel for leisure. Therefore we are going to lose 51-76% of our market between now and December as business travellers are the ones that are going to travel first,” Kilavuka said.

In addition, the social distancing between seats in the plane will be the new norm which will result in a spike in the cost of air tickets to cover for uncoccupied seats.

The KQ boss noted that among other norms will be mandatory wearing of face masks by air passengers and crew and airport staff to wear protective gear.

Tourism PS Sophia Kwekwe, who was also at the meeting, added that domestic tourism is what the government is banking on to boot the hospitality industry.

“Domestic Tourism is going to be the way forward. Road and train travel is going to pick first. We are therefore working on opening up the regions that have not been as popular as parks and the Coast. We also looking into pursuing bilateral tourism,” Kwekwe said.

Source: https://nairobinews.nation.co.ke/featured/covid-19-victims-deserve-decent-burials-experts-now-say