UAE’s sustainable tourism drive might well be the highpoint of travelling to Dubai

It is well known by now that the international tourism and the livelihoods dependent on it were greatly affected by the global pandemic. However, as the world opens up, the UAE’s travel industry remains resilient. Governments and private sector partners have ensured destinations stay compelling and confidence increases as people begin to travel again.

Things were already looking up last year as Dubai welcomed 7.28 million visitors. Our mission is to strengthen Dubai’s economy by delivering world-class experiences underpinned by sustainable principles. There is tremendous untapped potential in this area – to engage the private and public sectors and garner support from people who are passionate about sustainable tourism.

Since the launch of our Sustainability Requirements, which were implemented to improve and unify environmental practices across hotels and resorts in Dubai, we have ramped up efforts to strengthen the city’s responsible tourism credentials. The requirements also support the hospitality industry and strengthen the ecosystem, as hotels and resorts across the country progress towards achieving their goals. As part of these efforts, Dubai Sustainable Tourism delivered 18,000 hours of training to its stakeholders and partners last year.

A recent Tripadvisor report, Travel in 2022 – A Look Ahead that surveyed more than 10,000 adults aged 18 to 75, found that travellers are seeking destinations where they can immerse themselves in “authentic local experiences”.

Research commissioned by the Centre for Sustainability through Research and Education for Expo 2020 Dubai has also shown that eco-tourism has an increased significance to those travelling to Dubai as 44 per cent of visitors considered sustainability an “important concept influencing their behaviour”.

Catering to this growing demand for eco-tourism, Dubai offers wildlife observation trips, bird watching, stargazing, wetland exploration and visits to local communities. The same study also highlighted that 22 per cent of visitors surveyed identified themselves as responsible, sustainability-minded travellers who use public transport, consume water sensibly, and are willing to pay more for eco-certified products and services.

Like much of the UAE, Dubai offers a multitude of experiences where tourists have the opportunity to engage with local traditions, experience a cultural exchange and visit historical neighbourhoods to understand Emirati heritage.

One example is the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve, a vast expanse comprising 10 per cent of Dubai’s total area and the largest unfenced nature reserve in the UAE. Popular with both domestic and international tourists, the reserve is home to the 3,000 year old Saruq Al Hadid archaeological site. It is also a sanctuary for more than 200 species of native birds, 158 species of migratory birds and endangered species. The reserve is the perfect terrain for horse-riders and cyclists to explore the vast expanse comprising desert, wetlands and lakes.

The UAE boasts one of the largest ratios of protected areas per land mass in the world with 15.5 per cent of the country protected, and in Dubai protected areas include Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve, the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary and the Hatta Nature Reserve. However, the city is constantly expanding its sustainable tourism credentials.

The aim of Dubai 2040 Urban Masterplan is for the city to become one of the world’s most sustainable destinations, while reinforcing Dubai’s reputation as a global hub for business, investment and tourism. The plan also emphasises enhancing the quality of life for Dubai’s residents and visitors and preserving the environment.

By 2040, the length of public beaches across the Emirate will be increased by as much as 400 per cent. The expansion of tourism attractions, meanwhile, will increase by over 100 per cent, adding to the diversity of Dubai’s offerings. A 16km cycling track alongside Jumeirah beach will eventually connect to other coastal areas, building on the city’s 520km bicycle network.

Dubai is committed to supporting ecotourism and environmental protection. And as the UAE looks forward to hosting next year’s climate summit Cop28, which will address opportunities to create a more sustainable and progressive economic future, we believe that responsible tourism principles can help fulfil the country’s sustainability goals.

We cannot, however, do it alone. It is imperative for the public and private sectors to continue to collaborate to accelerate moves towards a green economy, to achieve sustainable tourism goals and make the cities of UAE forward-thinking, world-class destinations for sustainable tourism.

Source: The National News

Business Traveler Anxieties Ripple Across Eastern Europe 

As the number of refugees escaping the war in Ukraine tops four million, surpassing even the United Nations’ worst-case prediction, many businesses operating in the region are working out their next set of contingency plans.

The number of “what if” questions is on the rise, partly because of the uncertainty surrounding ongoing peace talks.

“Over the last 48 hours, there has been a marked change of tone from Russian state-affiliated media outlets, indicating that the Kremlin may actually be serious about changing its objectives,” noted international security company Global Guardian on Wednesday. However, it said Russia will use this time to regroup, reorganize and resupply.

Now one crisis specialist is advising corporate clients on a range of issues, ultimately designed to alleviate stress levels in the face of an expanded geopolitical crisis.

“From our sources, there’s no let-up. It’s more a repositioning, not a withdrawal,” said Julian Moro, senior vice president of security solutions, at risk management company International SOS, which has had a team in Ukraine since January 26.

“While many organizations reduced their exposure to Ukraine, they are thinking about their other populations. What do we tell our employees in other locations to show we are thinking about it, that we have done some contingency planning.”

Perception Versus Reality

That planning has become more difficult for many companies after their crisis teams battled the pandemic for long periods. “There are two things about Covid. One positive is that a lot of companies now have crisis teams, whereas they didn’t pre-Covid,” Moro said. “On the flip side, many crisis teams are exhausted after two years of the pandemic.”

International SOS is now advising company bosses and crisis management teams, where perceptions and emotions rather than the reality are coming into play. It’s talking about Russia’s weapon systems, the distances involved, and what’s the doctrine of the Russians when they are in conflict.

“I feel like we’re helping them manage their anxiety in adjacent countries, about the likeness of an escalation, what would that look like, what are the different scenarios,” Moro said.

Meanwhile, more work around mental health support is emerging, with many of International SOS’s clients requesting multi-lingual crisis hotlines for emotional support, for evacuees, their families and staff members.

Global Guardian, meanwhile, continues to operate in Ukraine evacuating employees of American companies and their families. It has so far helped almost 10,000 people to safety, more recently focusing on retrieving valuable physical assets left behind by U.S. companies.

Source: Skift

CDC drops its COVID-19 risk advisory for cruise ship travel

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has lifted its risk advisory for cruise ship travel Wednesday following two years of issuing warnings to travelers about the possibility of contracting COVID-19 onboard a cruise.

In an update posted online, the agency removed its “Cruise Ship Travel Health Notice,” a notice that recommended individuals against traveling onboard cruise ships. Three months ago, the CDC increased its travel warnings for cruises to Level 4 — the highest level — following investigations of ships that had COVID outbreaks.

While the CDC has lifted its travel health notice, officials say it’s up to the passengers to determine their own health risks before going onboard a cruise ship.

“While cruising will always pose some risk of COVID-19 transmission, travelers will make their own risk assessment when choosing to travel on a cruise ship, much like they do in all other travel settings,” the agency said in a statement to NPR.

The agency says it will continue to provide guidance to the cruise ship industry in order for cruise lines to operate in a way that will provide “safer and healthier” environments for crews, passengers and communities.

News of the CDC’s decision to remove its travel health notice was praised by the Cruise Lines International Association, the industry’s largest trade organization.

“Today’s decision by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to altogether remove the Travel Health Notice for cruising recognizes the effective public health measures in place on cruise ships and begins to level the playing field, between cruise and similarly situated venues on land, for the first time since March 2020.

From the onset of the pandemic, CLIA’s cruise line members have prioritized the health and safety of their guests, crew, and the communities they visit and are sailing today with health measures in place that are unmatched by virtually any other commercial setting.”

The CDC emphasizes that travelers should make sure they’re up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines before taking a cruise, in addition to following their ship’s requirements and recommendations against the virus.

Travelers are urged to check their cruise ship’s COVID case levels and vaccination requirements online before traveling, the agency says.

Source: NPR

RwandAir: Pandemic offers new chance to gain market share

Yvonne Manzi Makolo, CEO of RwandAir, says that the company, now 49% owned by Qatar Airways, is looking beyond the pandemic to exploiting Africa’s huge aviation potential.

How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your expansion plans and your medium- to long-term strategy?

We had a lot of momentum in the lead-up to the pandemic. We were expanding and had 29 routes running and more planned, both within and beyond Africa, but when Rwanda went into lockdown, we had to shelve most of these plans.

Rwanda closed off its airspace to commercial flights between March and August 2020, so we had to ground our fleet and re-evaluate our business model. The government of Rwanda has taken the pandemic very seriously, but has been very supportive of affected businesses, including those in aviation. Our staff were considered front-line workers, so we were able to get everyone vaccinated quickly.

We were able to operate cargo-only flights to support the export sector, as well as bringing in medical supplies like PPE. We converted our cabins to allow us to transport high-value exports like avocados, chillis, French beans, and flowers to lucrative markets in Europe and the Gulf.

We also carried out several repatriation flights, mainly to and from Europe, North America, and China, not just for Rwandans but also for citizens of other Central African counties.

By the time we resumed commercial flights in August 2020 we had shrunk our network to remove less profitable routes, including to Senegal, Juba, and Tel Aviv, which have still not been restarted.

Unfortunately, we were also forced to lay off some staff, though we have started rehiring them now. We had to cut back on in-flight services to focus more on safety and security procedures, which was obviously our priority.

We were on the road to recovery when the Omicron variant was recognised in December 2021, which was peak travel season. That knocked us back again as we had to stop all our Southern African routes, as well as major long-haul flights, to London and Dubai for example.

Now that the Omicron outbreak is being managed things are once again picking up and we are seeing increased passenger numbers. We hope to see consistent improvements between now and the 2022 summer season.

Covid has created challenges, but also opportunities, with SAA’s privatisation and Kenya Airways restructuring its network. How is RwandAir planning to fill new gaps in the market?

We had to pull out of some of our own routes, which other airlines are now eyeing, while we are looking at moving into new routes that have become available and which fit with our location and model.

Africa was already underserved and less connected than it should be, so there are lots of opportunities for airlines to gain market share at the moment. Even during the pandemic, we opened a few new routes.

These included Bangui (CAR), and Goma and Lubumbashi (DRC), which have been doing extremely well since we opened them in 2021. So, we are still working towards our objective of connecting Africans with each other and with the world.

In 2020 it was announced that Qatar Airways was purchasing a 49% stake in RwandAir. What is the state of negotiations, and how will they help RwandAir establish itself as a global airline?

Commercial initiatives, such as codeshares, between RwandAir and Qatar Airways were agreed upon in September 2021 and have been operation since December 2021. These have linked Kigali’s air transport hub with that of Doha, which allows us to expand our network significantly.

We can now reach most of Eurasia, while Qatar can reach most of Africa. Travellers can earn and exchange air miles between loyalty schemes, while we have access to Qatar Airways’ training facilities for pilots and cabin crew.

Qatar Airways has also purchased a 60% stake in Rwanda’s Bugesera International Airport. How does this arrangement benefit both Qatar and Rwanda?

The joint venture is still being worked out but is probably a few months away from being finalised. This will give Rwanda a large, modern airport, which is central to our plans to make Rwanda a transport hub, as well as Qatar’s plans to service the African continent. This will allow Rwand­Air to expand and allow the economy to benefit from ripple effects such as tourism and job creation.

It’s a massive project, around 25km outside Kigali, that is set to grow into an “airport city”, with housing, hotels, and entertainment centres, which presents a world of opportunity to local businesses. The first phase is set to be completed in 2024-25, which will give the airport a capacity of 7m passengers.

The second phase will expand on that, but details are yet to be finalised. The whole project is a good example of the government’s preferred private-public partnership (PPP) model, and there will be opportunities for further PPPs in everything from construction to service provision as the project advances.

How is RwandAir embracing innovation to attract customers and establish itself in the international market?

We are always looking for ways to make travel easier, add value and differentiate ourselves from the competition. We have invested in digitising and automating a lot of things, such as online sales and online check-ins, which has actually been helped by the pandemic and the emphasis that was put on getting things done remotely.

Qatar Airways has always been on the front line of innovation, and Rwanda is a very IT-focused country, so the deal between the two will let us complement each other’s innovative spirit perfectly.

How important is the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to Rwand­Air, and what is your role in the promotion of African trade?

The finalisation of AfCFTA will be a game-changer as it will force change across the continental economy, including in aviation. It will become impractical to operate a free trade area without broad “open skies” agreements, inclusive visa policies, and other provisions that will make it easier for people to use our services.

At the moment many barriers still exist across Africa, including complicated visa procedures, inconsistent infrastructure, a lack of ground handling facilities, prohibitively high airport taxes, and unmaintained or unlit runways, all of which have to be addressed before Africa can develop a sustainable and affordable aviation industry.

For AfCFTA’s benefits to be felt in full, governments need to look at the continent holistically and address some of these bottlenecks so that aviation isn’t a limiting factor.

As Rwanda becomes a regional centre for sport, tourism, and the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) segment, while promoting travel-friendly policies at home and abroad, AfCFTA presents Rwandans, RwandAir, and our partnership with Qatar with the opportunity to play a crucial role in Africa’s future.

Source: African Business

Ethiopia: Legendary Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam quits after 37 years

The long serving CEO of Africa’s largest airline Ethiopia Airlines has stepped down, citing ill health. Starting at the firm in 1985, he become CEO in 2011. He leaves behind a strong legacy, the envy of other African airlines who struggle to match Ethiopian’s operational efficiency.

Less than 24 hours after the announcement of the resignation of Tewolde GebreMariam, the CEO of Asky Airlines in Togo, Mesfin Tasew, has been appointed to take over as head of Ethiopian Airlines.

His appointment on 24 March, follows the resignation of Tewolde GebreMariam, who took early retirement on March 23 for health reasons.

Tasew will be responsible for the continent’s leading airline, with 130 aircraft covering 120 destinations worldwide.

Tewolde GebreMariam is a towering figure of African aviation, dragging Ethiopian Airlines through a profound modernisation process, and running the state-backed company profitably, in comparison to many continental peers.

“I pay tribute to the work of a man who has led Africa’s largest airline for over 11 years”, says Abdérahmane Berte, head of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).

“Under his leadership Ethiopian Airlines became the largest African airline. A position maintained for many years”, he says. “For the sake of history I also note the important role of Ethiopian Airlines as one of the founding companies of AFRAA.”

Ethiopian Airlines tripled its fleet under Tewolde GebreMariam’s watch, from around 40 when he took over as CEO in 2011, to 120 today.

Turnover also grew from $1.3bn in 2011 to $3.9bn in 2019-2020. And Ethiopian’s Addis Ababa hub now flies to 120 destinations, compared to 80 in 2010.

While the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact, kicking a billion-dollar hole in the budget, Ethiopian Airlines has managed to be operationally flexible, refitting several passenger planes into cargo carriers, the fruit of a long-started diversification exercise.

Ethiopian Airlines was the continent’s fifth largest carrier, after South African Airways, Egyptair, Royal Air Maroc and Kenya Airways. But post pandemic, thanks to this agility — and the decline of other carriers — it finds itself Africa’s biggest as measured by turnover in our exclusive ranking of Africa’s Top 500 Companies.

“Ato Tewolde was a game changer in African aviation. He bumped Ethiopian Airlines into the new century with a solid and steady hand, expanding the airline in terms of scope and profits beyond what was thought possible in Africa”, says one African aviation expert who asks not to be named. “His agility was apparent in Ethiopian’s stunning quick turn once the pandemic decimated passenger traffic by quickly converting passenger aircraft to freighters, earning the awe and admiration of business leaders worldwide. Honestly his handling of ET during Covid was spectacular.”

“I have already retired due to ill-health & the resignation I submitted to the gov’t was accepted”, Tewolde told Ethiopia Check.

The news was broken by local news outlet the Addis Standard.

Source: The African Report

KQ to start daily flights to India on easing of curbs

Kenya Airways will now fly daily to India after the Asian country lifted the restrictions that had limited the national carrier to three flights a week, coming as a major boost to the airline that is struggling financially.

KQ, as the carrier is known by its international code, has been operating flights to India under a special arrangement normally referred to as ‘air bubble’ in aviation and which also limited the number of passengers to 400 a week.

The carrier, which resumed flights to India in September last year after it had stopped flying to the Asian country on April 2021, will also be making ten weekly flights to India starting April, coming as a major relief to passengers seeking to travel to the country.

“We are excited and ready for take-off to Mumbai with daily flights from March 28, 2022, and ten weekly flights from April, 17,” said KQ in a notice to its customers.

India has now opened its airspace to the national carrier as cases of Covid-19 in the country continue to decline.

The additional frequencies to Mumbai come just days after KQ cut frequencies to some of its destinations and stopped the launch of new routes citing declining demand for passengers.

A large number of patients from Kenya travel to India every year for specialised medical treatment, especially cancer care, helping to drive medical tourism in the densely populated country that boasts relatively more affordable healthcare.

Kenya Airways has postponed the launch of flights to Italy even as it suspended its operations to Cameroon due to low demand for passengers.

The national carrier was to start flying to Rome and Milan in June but it says the plans have been put on hold due to lower demand than it had earlier projected.

According to the initial schedule, KQ was to operate two weekly flights on Wednesday and Sunday using a large capacity aircraft Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

KQ re-introduced flights to Rome in 2019 after a seven-year hiatus, banking on increased traffic between the two continents and a new link in Geneva to boost its earnings.

Source: The East African

US downgrades Kenya Covid travel alert on vaccines, low infections

The US has eased travel restrictions on Kenya in the wake of declining cases of Covid-19, offering a boost to the East African nation’s recovering tourism sector.

Kenya has been moved to level one from level three, which requires US citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to a destination and reconsider any planned travel.

The downgrade to level one is set to boost summer bookings from a country that accounted for the largest share of foreign visitors to Kenya last year at 136,981.

Kenya’s tourism industry has started to pull out of its deep Covid-19-induced slump as local travellers take advantage of lower prices, but foreign visitor numbers are still well below pre-pandemic levels.

The US’s latest advisory follows a sharp decline in infections and hospital admissions in recent weeks, which made the Kenyan government to relax coronavirus restrictions, lifting requirements for compulsory wearing of face masks in open places and ending quarantine measures.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 1 Travel Health Notice for Kenya, indicating a low level of Covid-19 in the country,” says the US embassy in Nairobi. “Your risk of contracting Covid-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with an FDA authorised vaccine.”

Kenya’s positivity rate — the proportion of tests coming back positive — stood at 0.3 percent on Monday compared to a peak of 37.6 percent on December 27.

The lower infection rates come on the back of increased inoculation against Covid-19, with 7.93 million Kenyans fully vaccinated, up from 3.93 million on December 27.

Kenya’s tourism is expected to record increased numbers in the next two months as visitors from western countries troop in for summer holidays. Kenya expects tourism, typically one of its top sources of foreign exchange, to earn Sh173 billion this year, up 18.5 percent from last year, the government said.

Earnings slumped to Sh88.6 billion in 2020 as governments around the world restricted the movement of people, including through the closure of airspaces, to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

They bounced back to Sh146 billion last year, with the number of hotel nights occupied by Kenyan travellers doubling during the period.

Local resorts, which normally concentrate their marketing efforts on foreign tourists, were forced to turn to the domestic market by the pandemic, offering cut rates to entice holidaymakers.

Foreign visitor numbers were still sharply lower than pre-pandemic levels, at just under 870,500 last year against two million in 2019. They are forecast to reach 1.03 million this year.

The drop in earnings in the sector from foreign tourists has contributed to a sharp fall in the local currency, which is trading at all-time lows against the dollar.

Source: Daily Nation

Kenya’s ranking as conferencing hub improves on higher arrivals

The Kenya National Convention Bureau (KNCB) has reported improvement in the country’s profile as a Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibition (MICE) destination owing to sustainable and legacy meetings industry.

KNCB National Coordinator and CEO Ms Jacinta Nzioka said conferencing facilities have greatly improved with cities and major towns such as Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret now having more establishments.

Their conferencing facilities now match the needs of the MICE business market.

Latest report on tourism trends showed that holiday trips lead the pack with 226,168 international victors representing 34 per cent of all arrivals.

Those coming for business and MICE increased to 178,799 or 27 per cent of the total arrivals, which analysts say is a boost to tourism.

With Nairobi being ranked number one by the World Travel Awards (WTA), Kenya has hosted various international conferences in the recent past – showcasing its capability to host high-end events.

Ms Nzioka said brand ‘MeetInKenya’ has been buoyed by the nation’s membership to regional economic blocs coupled with its strategic geographic location.

The country is a gateway to East Africa with over 135 million people and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) market with over 450 million people.

Kenya is also a beneficiary of several preferential trade arrangements such as the African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa) and the new Africa Caribbean and Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU) as well as the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) that gives duty free access to the EU among others.

Ms Nzioka said in a statement that the State is working with other key industry stakeholders to improve conferencing opportunities.

“From a global perspective, health and hygiene continues to be at the forefront of travellers concern, so we continue to implement the latest suggestions provided by healthcare leaders, such as the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organisation, which has seen higher guest confidence,” she said.

‘’There has been a huge growth noted within the local MICE sector, in line with the Ministry of Tourism’s change in policy that has allowed the sector to drive and sustain local events and meetings that have supported the recovery in the last 24 months.” She said such events include The Magical Kenya Open Golf tournament, WRC Safari Rally Kenya among others.

These have seen local investors sustain the MICE sector and in turn attracting global tourists on a short-term, mid-term and long-term basis.

Kenya recently hosted events such as the Fourth Africa Labour Law Society Conference, AGRF 2021 Summit, Jumuiya Agribusiness and Blue Economy Investment Conference 2021, The Magical Kenya Golf Tour, Africa Health Business Symposium Africa Tech Summit among others.

Source: The Standard

African airports offer new opportunities for investors

The unprecedented demand for airport capacity to handle essential cargo such as temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals and Covid-19 vaccines over the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic exposed the massive shortage of airport infrastructure in Africa.

Even among major airport hubs in various parts of Africa, passenger and cargo figures have overwhelmed available capacity or would do so in the near future. This poor capacity restricts African airports’ growth and associated revenue. In response to this challenge, Ethiopian had increased the existing Bole International Airport capacity from seven million passengers per annum capacity to 22 million capacity. In addition, Ethiopian Airlines a few years ago announced plans to build a $5 billion massive airport in Addis Ababa, to complement the existing Bole International Airport and accommodate fast-rising passenger and cargo traffic. The airport would cover an area of 35 square kilometers and accommodate 100 million passengers annually.

Agreeably, this lack of airport capacity in Africa represents investment opportunities for investors. Transit sheds, cold stores, specialized freight consolidation centers, and e-warehousing, among others, present good investment opportunities all over the continent. Daniel Eckstein, Business Development Manager Middle East, and Africa of Munich Airport International (MAI) – Munich Airport’s international business subsidiary, said African airports and investors have opportunities to create airport cities, business parks, or free trade zones in order to tap further non-aviation revenue potential.

On the landside too, African airports could diversify revenue streams with shopping, restaurant, hotel, and conference centers, office leasing for international companies, rental events spaces and construction of a smart city in form of the cross-industry innovation centre, among other businesses.

Leading from the front Currently, a number of African airports and airport authorities are already developing or executing future expansion plans to meet crucial current and future demand, ensure steady growth and development of their airports, and contribution to their economies. The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), which refers to itself as “the largest air freight service provider in Africa”, is implementing its Air Cargo Strategy 2019-2022 to drive cargo development.

At Isiolo International Airport, KAA says cargo handling sheds have been completed to take care of the export of agricultural produce and Miraa. Construction of a modern transit shed is underway at Mombasa’s Moi International Airport, and a new cold storage room and specialized consolidation area will form part of the upgrade planned for the airport. Kisumu is being positioned to attract massive trade and investment in its Great Lakes region.

Early January 2022, Kisumu Airport announced its first cargo flight to international markets on Kenya Airways. “Local and international investors are attracted to Kisumu International Airport due to its multi-modal transportation capabilities and proximity to the Kisumu Port, the ICD, and the modern road network,” KAA states. KAA is also in the process of modernizing and expanding Eldoret International Airport’s transit sheds to handle more cargo “as we envisage increased airfreight activity, both local and international.”

Cameroun recently announced infrastructure improvement inaugurated at the Yaounde-Nsimalen International Airport including the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), the patrol road, the rehabilitation of the security fence, and the Yaounde-Nsimalen International Airport ring road. Sierra Leone also reported efforts to improve safety at its airports. Jack Massaquoi, General Manager of Sierra Leone Airports Authority (SLAA), says the Sierra Leone Airports Authority wants to keep first responders on their toes and to always stay cognizant of their safety roles. For Seychelles airports, they have a “strategy to proactively pursue innovative business ventures to provide more diverse services for our customers.”

Public-private partnership Partnerships are vital to reposition African airports to meet the current and future needs of airport users including airlines, tourists, and business meetings. Public-private partnership is instrumental to the development of Kenya airports, and this offers the solution to develop Africa’s remote airports where agriculture and other primary produce are generated.

In West Africa, Nigeria’s move to concession its major international airports in Kano, Port Harcourt, Abuja, and Lagos could be a first step towards positioning the country’s airports to benefit from the air transport and trade liberalization in the continent. Without the intrigues and controversies that marred previous concessions in Lagos, Nigerian airports development could be another example for other African airports to toe their line.

Airline-airport synergy Both Kenya and Ethiopian Airports expansion are significantly driven by their well-established national carriers, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian, respectively, which spearhead cargo and passenger traffic to the airports. Other African states could drive their airports expansion relying on traffic from privately-owned domestic or regional African airlines, which have now been empowered to fly into airports on the continent unfettered by the glorious Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) established in 2018.

About 35 states have signed the SAATM, so airlines from these states are expected to explore the airports in these states and the high volume of trade is expected to ensue from the operationalization of the complementary African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) launched continent-wide in January 2021. Under the new SAATM and AcfCFTA environment, there must be robust collaboration and partnerships between African airlines and African airports. This also presupposes that African airports must intensify their non-aeronautical revenue drive which would enable these airports, in turn to reduce emphases on charges on airlines. Most African airports operate far below 50 percent of non-aeronautical revenue.

Ethiopian Airports, for instance, is showing good example in non-aeronautical revenue development, with its luxury Skylight Hotel that offers 373 guest rooms and conference hall for 2500 guests, being the biggest hotel in Addis Ababa. Targets and timelines The examples of multi-year development plans by Kenya Airports Authority, Ethiopian Airports, and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) have clearly demonstrated benefits. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa enabled ACSA develop especially the Johannesburg airport to accommodate the traffic resulting from the event and future traffic.

Setting airport expansion and development targets would enable African airports measure their direction, as well as growth achieved within a given period. It will also guide the private sector investors and concessionaires to expedite action in areas of immediate need. Most importantly, Africa is still providing less than two percent of global air traffic; thus, setting a realizable target of 5-10 percent of global market share over the next 5-10 years is a project all African airports should strive towards, as a priority. Synergize with cargo value-chain Aviation cannot develop in a silo.

Airports development stakeholders must collaborate with especially cargo sources such as the agricultural sector and the transport and packaging value-chain to develop and facilitate acceptable products and package standards for movement by air. This would reduce spoilage and economic losses associated with movement of perishable agricultural and other products by poor road networks over long distances in Africa. Embrace technology and e-commerce Africa’s 1.3billion population has remarkably the youngest population that is also largely immersed in mobile technology and e-commerce. African airports should realign accordingly and adopt new airport technology to enhance customer experience, and further explore the fast-rising e-commerce industry.

E-commerce should be a key feature among businesses in the evolving Free Trade Area in Africa which is designed to drive massive trade activities within Africa. The current traffic trend mired by the Covid-19 pandemic could make short-term traffic projections rather difficult. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) says “Africa and the Middle East recovering moderately, until Africa plunged again due to Omicron restrictions.” In fact, Ali Tounsi, secretary-general of Airports Council International Africa Region (ACI-Africa), says that cargo is now one-third of the airline business; and it is hoped that air cargo can grow even further with the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area, e-commerce and the linkages to manufacturing facilities and Special Economic Zones (SEZ).

Despite this challenge, 2022 presents a window of recovery for African airports and investors to take the better option of planning and executing for the immediate- and longer-terms, given that the pandemic would become better managed to unstop reopening of borders and flow of air traffic to African airports.

Government must take responsibility According to Tounsi, African airports are controlled nearly 90 percent by governments. This puts the responsibility of driving the evolution of African airports on the governments. Governments must, in turn, create the enabling environment that attracts private investors, including airport-airline partnerships. African governments must take responsibility to ensure that African airlines are supported – under a robust Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the SAATM – to drive cargo and passengers to African airports, including airports with huge cargo potentials. Foreign airlines are already positioned to take away the opportunities emanating with the AfCFTA, with Qatar Airways relishing prospects of cargo from Nigeria’s Kano International Airport.

Source: Logistic Update Africa

China imposes new curbs amid worst COVID outbreak in two years

China has placed about 17 million residents under lockdown, as virus cases doubled nationwide to nearly 3,400 and anxiety mounted over the resilience of its ‘zero-Covid’ approach in the face of the worst outbreak in two years.

The southern tech hub of Shenzhen – home to about 13 million people – told all residents to stay at home as it struggles to eradicate an Omicron flare-up linked to the neighbouring virus-ravaged city of Hong Kong.

The lockdown and a suspension of public transport will last until March 20, a city government notice said, adding that it would launch three rounds of mass testing.

A nationwide surge in cases has seen authorities close schools in Shanghai, China’s biggest city, and lock down northeastern cities, as almost 18 provinces battle clusters of the Omicron and Delta variants.

The city of Jilin – centre of the outbreak in the northeast – was partially locked down on Saturday, while residents of Yanji, an urban area of nearly 700,000 bordering North Korea, were confined to their homes on Sunday.

China, where the virus was first detected in late 2019, has maintained a strict “zero-COVID” policy, enforced by swift lockdowns, travel restrictions and mass testing when clusters have emerged.

But the latest flare-up, driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant and a spike in asymptomatic cases, is testing the efficacy of that approach.

Zhang Yan, a Jilin health commission official, conceded that the response from local authorities had been lacking.

“The emergency response mechanism in some areas is not robust enough,” he said at a press briefing on Sunday.

“There is insufficient understanding of the characteristics of the Omicron variant … and judgement has been inaccurate.”

Residents of Jilin have completed six rounds of mass testing, with the city reporting more than 2,200 cases of the Omicron variant since Saturday.

The neighbouring city of Changchun – an industrial base of nine million people – was locked down on Friday, while at least three other small cities have been locked down since March 1.

The mayor of Jilin and the head of the Changchun health commission were dismissed from their jobs on Saturday, state media reported, in a sign of the political imperative placed on local authorities to contain virus clusters.

COVID-zero?

But the strain is showing, with officials increasingly urging softer and more targeted measures to contain the virus, while economists warn tough clampdowns are hurting the economy.

Shenzhen residents have been anxious over a renewed outbreak and angst at the swift, draconian measures to squash clusters.

“It’s the worst since 2020,” a Shenzhen resident surnamed Zhang told the AFP news agency. “The closures are too sudden. My friend woke up in the morning to find her building was sealed overnight without warning. Her boss had to mail her laptop to her.”

The Shenzhen subdistrict of Futian which was locked down on Sunday is home to 300,000 people and a thriving commercial district. It shares a land border crossing with Hong Kong, where the caseload over recent weeks has soared, alarming officials in Beijing.

Hong Kong currently has one of the world’s highest death rates from the virus, as the Omicron variant cuts through its elderly population among whom vaccine hesitancy proliferates.

In Shanghai, authorities have temporarily locked down individual schools, businesses, restaurants and malls over close-contact fears rather than using mass quarantines.

Authorities advised residents not to leave the city unless necessary and tourist attractions started requiring visitors to provide negative COVID tests.

“I have friends who I hung out with a few days ago but were suddenly quarantined recently,” Shanghai resident Serena Li told AFP.

The government’s approach will “protect citizens”, she said, adding: “In the long run, it’s good.”

Long lines were seen outside hospitals on Sunday as people rushed to get tested.

“There’s no other way. We definitely have to do what the government has arranged,” said a data analytics worker surnamed Zhang.

As cases rise, the country’s National Health Commission announced on Friday that it would make rapid antigen tests available for citizens to buy online or from clinics for “self-testing”.

Although nucleic acid tests will continue to be the main method of testing, the move suggests China may be anticipating that official efforts will not be able to contain the virus.

Last week, a top Chinese scientist said the country should aim to co-exist with COVID, like other nations where Omicron has spread like wildfire.

Source: Al Jazeera