A bystander for years, Uganda has made its most definitive expression yet, of intent to join the Single African Air Transport market (SAATM). A meeting convened this week to discuss the issue, agreed to establish a multisectoral committee to “consider the matter further.”

The decision came at the end of a multi-stakeholder meeting called by sector regulator Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) on April 26, to build internal consensus around the country’s participation in the continental initiative. The proposed committee will be made up of representatives from the core government agencies such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Works and Transport, the Uganda Tourism Board, and select players from the private sector.

Pitching for SAATM at the meeting, UCAA Deputy Director General, Olive Birungi Lumonya said the proposed liberalization of air services would lift the number of air passengers. “Flying is efficient, quicker, and safer but is not utilized much as the other forms of travel. If this agreement is signed by Uganda, we will be joining the rest of Africa in reducing the cost of travel, and increasing air traffic and business,” she said.

Although Uganda has been considered fairly to be fairly liberal under the current, mostly conservative regime of working under BASA’s, officials have been ambivalent about the country’s accession to SAATM, which should include fifteen countries.

The Wednesday meeting heard candid reasons for the delay, which were attributed to a range of factors including, the competition that the national carrier which was in the process of being revived, would be exposed to under SAATM, the likely impact on aspirations to turn Entebbe into a regional hub and the ability of existing Ugandan air operators to compete effectively with regional airlines which have a stronger financial base, better equipment, with some believed to have been supported with subsidies from their respective governments.

Uganda was also doubtful about the likely benefits accruing from the liberalization of air services amidst the entry restrictions that still exist within the African States. According to a November 2021 IATA Fact Sheet, Uganda was ranked eighth in Africa for visa openness but only 4 percent of the 24 BASA’s reviewed were fully compliant with the Yamoussoukro Decision. Citizens from 18 African countries do require a visa to enter Uganda while those from 34 others can get visas on arrival. But Ugandan citizens face entry restrictions in many African countries, which require them to have entry visas.  

“Initially, Uganda did not sign the Solemn Declaration to join SAATM pending the establishment of mechanisms to give assurance to the revival of Uganda Airlines, which at that time had not commenced operations taking into consideration a highly competitive market resulting from the grant of unrestricted fifth freedom traffic rights to African Airlines,” the meeting was told.

Keen to expand

But with flag carrier Uganda Airlines partially established and keen to expand within Africa as well as parallel initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area slowly gaining traction, Uganda feels it can now participate in SAATM with a reasonable degree of reciprocity of benefits.

According to IATA, Uganda would get an additional 4,920 jobs in aviation and spin-off industries by joining SAATM while another 16.070 jobs would be created through “catalytic impact.”

The economy would gain an additional $102.6 million in GDP, 151,000 extra tourism visits, $69.3 million increase in tourism spending, and 9.290 new tourism jobs.

Uganda’s junior minister for Works and Transport, Fred Byamukama said Uganda was ready to join SAATM because it would culminate into a more competitive and better-regulated aviation industry in Uganda and Africa at large. “Government will continue to ensure the country’s air links make her one of the most connected countries in the world to make it compete successfully for economic growth opportunities,” he said.

Source: Air Insight Group

Clashes between the Sudanese military and a local rebel group throughout the Sudanese capital city of Khartoum have led to the destruction of at least two commercial aircraft at the city‘s airport as well as the closure of Sudan’s airspace.

Videos filmed at the airport show one SkyUp Airlines Boeing 737-800 on fire, as well as a Saudia Airlines Airbus A330 (HZ-AQ30) which was about to depart back to Riyadh burning on the civilian apron of the airport. The SkyUp aircraft, registered as UR-SQH, was leased to local airline Sun Air but was empty at the time of the attack, unlike the Saudia A330 which was fully boarded when the attack occurred. Initial reports indicate that everyone was able to evacuate the aircraft. It is unclear at the moment if any other aircraft were damaged or destroyed.

As a result of the attack and subsequent takeover of the airport by the rebel group, the airport has been closed indefinitely and flights that had originally planned to fly through Sudanese airspace are rerouting via neighboring countries.

Source: International Flight Network

The African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) is continuing its efforts to implement the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), which could hold the key to a golden age of aviation development in Africa.

In an interview with AviaDev, AFCAC Secretary General (SG) Adefunke Adeyemi gave us an insight into developments from the last six months and the commission’s progress in executing SAATM. The commission is also spearheading the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) liberalization.

Adeyemi has been making great efforts to ensure that AFCAC is more visible and that stakeholders understand its role in developing civil aviation in Africa.

The African Civil Aviation Commission

Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, AFCAC is a specialist agency of the African Union (AU) to develop and regulate civil aviation in Africa. It is also the executing agency for SAATM and AfCFTA, which are critical incentives for developing aviation, routes, trade, and economic activities.

AfCFTA’s objective is to eliminate trade barriers across the continent, and if executed properly, it would make Africa the largest trading block in the world. The civil aviation commission’s role is to ensure it is implemented correctly and that more cities are connected by air, allowing people to fly across multiple destinations.

Additionally, it ensures safety, security, and environmental protection for sustainability in African aviation. The commission is a small secretariat with a vast portfolio of programs to execute, therefore, it has to engage with partners and other states. Adeyemi said in the interview;

“We are operating in various domains and engaging not just our member states but also the entire universe ecosystem of aviation to really bring that about. We have clear targets that we’re trying to achieve and reach. So in the first few months of assuming office, it was really important for us to say that, first of all, AFCAC is here for our member states, but also to engage with our partners because we cannot do it alone.”

Engaging with different partners, states, and regions around the world is a strategic decision to cement relationships quickly. It will also help AFCAC get the visibility it needs to achieve all its objectives in its member states and the rest of the aviation community.

Source: Simple Flying

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa unveiled a new package of facilities related to issuing tourist visas, according to a statement by the ministry on March 27th.

In a press conference, Issa revealed that these facilities included allowing Chinese tourists to obtain an emergency entry visa (visa upon arrival) from Egyptian airports, as well as allowing Indian tourists who hold resident visa from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to obtain an emergency entry visa.

This is in addition to facilities granted to holders of a valid entry visa that was previously used in the US, the UK, Schengen Area, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and Australia, he added.

The minister also pointed out that Turkish tourists are now allowed to obtain an emergency entry visa from Egyptian airports without being restricted to a specific age.

Furthermore, Algerian and Moroccan tourists arriving in tourist groups can also get visa upon arrival.

Iranian tourists arriving directly to South Sinai through a tourism agency are allowed to obtain their visas upon arrival.

The new tourist visas facilities also enable Iraqi tourists to obtain an emergency entry visa at Egyptian airports provided they hold a valid entry visa that was used before in the US, the UK, Schengen Area, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, and Australia.

Tourists aged between 16 and 60+ can obtain an electronic visa through the E-Visa platform.

Additionally, Issa said that a new multi-entry visa, valid for 5 years, at a value of $700, will be introduced soon.

In January and February, tourist arrivals to Egypt grew significantly by 30% year on year (YoY), he remarked.

During the press conference, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Mostafa Waziri announced that Egypt will inaugurate the Graeco Roman Museum in Alexandria within the next few weeks, after a 17-year hiatus.

Source: Zawya

National carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) plans to terminate the lease for two of its Boeing 777-300 aircraft in a move set to see it save between $25 million (Sh3.3 billion) to $30 million (Sh3.9 billion).

KQ chief executive Allan Kilavuka told the Business Daily that the airline is terminating the agreement for the two planes as they do not fit into their current network plan.

The lease for the two aircrafts that carry about 400 passengers and were flying Europe and Middle East routes was initially set to end in 2026.

“The 777 at the moment does not fit into our network plans and we are working to terminate the lease of the two aircraft. So the process of termination has begun and negotiations are ongoing. One is pretty much complete,” said Mr Kilavuka.

Mr Kilavuka said the savings of up to Sh3.9 billion will be after deducting the termination penalties bearing in mind that the deal was to lapse in three years’ time.

KQ had leased the two planes from an undisclosed firm and then subleased them to Turkish Airlines after scaling down large crafts from its fleet.

The airline will first have to receive the planes from the Turkish Airline before returning them to the owner and save itself from costs such as leasing fees and expenses of servicing idle planes.

The termination of the current lease for the two Boeing 777-300 comes after KQ ended another agreement with Congo Airways, the national flag carrier of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after six months.

The two airlines had entered a two-year deal in early 2021 where KQ was meant to lease two of its Embraer E190 aircraft to Congo for their cargo codeshare partnership.

The deal was meant to see KQ save over 100 million annually on maintenance costs and earn additional revenue from hiring them.

The Kenyan Government has been pushing for a restructuring of the airline on the back of a multi-billion-shilling bailout plan where the struggling carrier is required to reduce its network and operate a leaner fleet.

KQ has focused on restructuring its fleet, including selling aircraft and sub-leasing to other airlines in an attempt to return to profitability.

The airline had a fleet of 42 aircraft, either owned or on lease, according to data from its annual report in the year ended December 2021.

Source: Business Daily

DUBAI is offering South African travel agents and stakeholders an opportunity to network with stakeholders in the former’s hospitality market.

This is anticipated to improve the officials’ businesses and give them greater openings and opportunities to satisfy their clients.

Dubai’s Department for Economy and Tourism (DET) has returned for its South Africa Roadshow, to be held between Monday (today) and Friday in the cities of Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.

This year’s roadshow will highlight Dubai’s experiences and diversity of the city’s offerings to key travel partners in South Africa.

Highlights of the road show span across travel, hospitality, entertainment and Dubai’s citywide events, with a focus on leisure, family travel, education and medical tourism.

Key elements of the event will include breakout network sessions, partner presentations, one-on-one meetings and raffle draws.

Some of the organisations in the airlines, hotel and destination management are accompanying DET to South Africa.

DET’s ultimate vision is to position Dubai as the world’s leading commercial centre, investment hub and tourism destination.

Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai.

– CAJ News

More Nigerian air travelers are opting to travel to neigbouring countries like Ghana and Cotonou to book international flights after being forced to pay thrice cost of flights in  other countries to same destinations, Daily Sun can confirm.

Fares advertised on the websites of foreign airlines show that Nigerians now pay three times what travelers in other countries pay to the same destinations. Nigerian travelers now pay as high as N3, 000,000.00 to purchase an economy ticket while date changes on some airlines go as high as between N1, 500,000.00 to N1, 800,000.00. For business class tickets, passengers pay about N7 million.

In the past one year, foreign airlines removed lower inventory tickets on their website for travelers from Nigeria because they say they have been unable to repatriate funds generated from sale of tickets deposited in Nigerian banks. These airlines insist on getting their funds in foreign currency but owing to the biting forex scarcity, that has been difficult. They then took the decision to remove lower inventory tickets from their website, making cost of flights expensive for Nigerians.

To combat this, many Nigerian passengers now prefer travelling to countries like Ghana to book tickets at lower costs and this development has almost crippled the Nigerian travel industry leaving many travel agents losing their clients to the high cost of flight tickets.

“To put this in perspective, all low-fare inventories of the airlines have been deliberately blocked to our members and to this market. This now means, Nigeria is at a disadvantage since the airlines seems to have mastered the art of exploiting the forex issue to their advantage. Agencies are now forced to fold, leave the country or trying to use other neighboring countries to sell to their customers. Nigeria Travel market continues to be at the losing end with the airlines being indifferent to the plight of travelers and as a body we are left with no option than to call on the government to be more strategic, deliberate and direct in resolving this multifaceted dilemma.

“Just to be clear, in the aviation downstream sector, businesses are currently folding up and more will follow suit which will add to the unemployment challenge that the Federal Government is wrestling with if urgent and precise actions are not taken to nip this development in the bud before it is too late.

“The reaction of airlines is grossly unfair to the Nigerian travelling public, as well to us as a nation in general with a seeming disdain to the available cordial business relationship. This of course gravely threatens our survival as travel practitioners in Nigeria. The suffocating profiteering practices by majority of the foreign airlines is unbelievable and unexplainable in a Nigeria market that is ranked by many indices of IATA as one of the best in Africa and with the best post-covid recovery rates across Africa and Middle East, the Nigerian Market should be applauded, but the reverse is the case.

“For emphasis, being one of the biggest market for any airline that operates within it, we expect airlines to respect and appreciate the impact of the traffic our market offers and seek better ways to ensure there is mutual benefit in tandem with the current reality.  The trade rules are obnoxious, not consistent with global best practices and fares are unjustifiably high, all in reaction to trapped funds. We at this stage have reasons to believe there is more to it.

“We hold the stand that government still retains the responsibility to commit to agreements with airlines to protect the sector and call airlines to order when there are obvious excesses from the airlines that puts the entire industry in jeopardy; because the current fare structure and practices are exploitative to the Nigerian Traveler as well as agencies who provides a reasonable number of jobs for our great nation.

While stating Nigeria’s commitment to the Bilateral Air Service Agreement, he assured them that the ministry is concerned, and will do its best to resolve the matter of blocked funds as soon as possible.

He stated further that the issue of blocked funds sits with the Central Bank of Nigeria and it is not what the ministry can handle alone else it would have been resolved immediately and urged foreign operators to be very considerate when dealing with the issue bearing in mind the effects of COVID- 19 and recession the country had experienced.

IATA’s Area Manager, West and Central Africa, Dr. Samson Fatokun, who led the delegation expressed gratitude to the minister for his concern and said the global airline community would like to appeal to the him for special intervention in resolving of airline blocked funds issues in Nigeria. He said the airlines are facing the collateral damage and the average Nigeria is bearing the brunt of this issue.

At the meeting, Akporiaye said: “Is a very difficult time for us as some of us are already giving up on the industry and going into other business. It is our loss and also the loss of the country as we don’t sell more ticket like we use to, and this will further increase the unemployment situation if this issue is not attended to.”

Source: The Sun

Travel professionals at ITB Berlin 2023 are informed about the business opportunities and prospects offered in East Africa today.

In the presence of African joint venture partners, including a delegation accompanying the Ethiopian tourism minister, representatives of business and tourism organizations described possible ways in which these countries can profit from the expansion of long-haul tourism.

East African countries have a wealth of tourism highlights. Tourism attractions range from safari tours to gorillas in the wild in Uganda, as well as cultural sites in Ethiopia and the famous Nyungwe waterfalls in the national park of the same name in Rwanda. Kenya and Tanzania, together with the island of Zanzibar, are already popular destinations for German visitors. The majority of tourists use the services of well-known package tour providers, explained Dr. Martin Post from the German Travel Association (DRV). He forecasts a substantial recovery of the long-haul travel market. However, many people make their bookings at short notice, which complicates planning for the providers of such services.

Matthias Lemcke, vice president of the South and East Africa Working Group (ASA), described the advantages of his association, which includes tourism boards, airlines and tour operators. Part of his work involves visits by delegations from Germany to countries that have not had many international tourists. Among the events planned for 2023 is a tour to Angola. As a consultant and ASA member Guido Bürger explained that tour operators with a unique selling point can also find opportunities, alongside established suppliers of package tours, for example by offering bird spotting or culinary events. However, growing numbers of travellers are making their bookings online or, if they are familiar with a country, they put all the components of their trip together themselves. Digitalisation provides an opportunity for small and medium sized businesses, and in some East African countries they can to some extent have access to funding programmes such as those offered by the World Bank or the GIZ.

The East Africa Tourist Visa, known as EATV for short, is designed to make travellers‘ lives easier. So far it is valid for Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. More countries may be included in the future. All three countries can be visited with one visa, which is valid for 90 days and entitles the holder to multiple entries.

Kenya

Over the past few years, Kenya has slowly but steadily been rebuilding its tourism sector.  Kenya’s major activities include holiday travel at 68 per cent, business travel at 18 per cent and transit at 14 per cent. Tourism arrivals for the year 2018 were recorded at 2.025 million. The challenges for Kenya include globalization which is leading to the creation of uniform standards and protocols, and the heavy taxation of the sector, among others.

Uganda

The country has branded itself as “Gifted by Nature” with many tourist attractions, including wildlife, nature, geography, culture, heritage and good weather all year around. Uganda witnessed a 7.4 per cent increase in international tourist arrivals in 2018, with the numbers growing from 1,402,409 persons in 2017 to 1,506,669 arrivals in 2018.

Rwanda

Tourism revenue recorded a 76 per cent decline from $498 million in 2019 to $121 million in 2020 due to the pandemic restrictions.

In 2021, Rwanda’s tourism revenues were $164 million, a 25 per cent increase from $131 million in 2020. The country welcomed more than 512,000 international visitors in 2021.

Source: FTN News

The pandemic cost destinations worldwide a combined $270 billion in Chinese outbound tourist spending in 2020 and 2021 alone.

Leading a high-level delegation to the city of Hangzhou to join in the official re-opening, UNWTO Secretary-General warmly welcomed the lifting of travel restrictions as a major boost to economic growth and social opportunity both in Asia and the Pacific and globally.

According to UNWTO data, the pandemic cost destinations worldwide a combined US$270 billion in Chinese outbound tourist spending in 2020 and 2021 alone. The re-opening of borders therefore represents “the moment the world has been waiting for”, Mr Pololikashvili noted.

The UNWTO Secretary-General is the first UN Head of Agency to visit China since restrictions were lifted. China’s Minister of Culture and Tourism Hu Heping welcomed UNWTO’s support throughout the pandemic and for joining the official re-opening celebrations. In a bilateral meeting, Minister Hu Heping and Secretary-General Pololikashvili agreed to further deepen their collaboration around positioning tourism on the agenda for international development cooperation and in the key areas of tourism education and tourism for rural development.

According to UNWTO data, China grew to be the biggest tourism source market in the world prior to the pandemic. In 2019, Chinese tourists spent a collective US$255 billion on international travel, while domestic tourism served as a pillar of growth and employment, with more than 6 billion trips that year alone, supporting jobs and businesses across the country.

Tourism for rural development

Reflecting UNWTO’s work to make tourism a driving force of rural development, the high-level delegation was welcomed to Yucun, one of four Chinese destinations to be recognized among the ‘Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO’. The village was awarded the recognition for its commitment to making tourism a source of local opportunity, in addition to its commitment to eco-friendly tourism and pioneering approach to waste management at the destination-level.

Public and private sectors re-think tourism

UNWTO was welcomed as a partner of the Xianghu Dialogue, organized by the World Tourism Alliance (WTA) in the city of Hangzhou. Held around the theme of “A New Paradigm for a New Tourism”, the event brought together public and private sector leaders to re-think the sector’s future around the key priorities of sustainability, equality and resilience.

Key topics addressed over the two days included promoting collaborative tourism development amongst countries and regions, international cooperation and poverty reduction through tourism, smart connectivity, destination management and planning, and innovation and new business models. The UNWTO delegation met with private sector leaders, including from the Chinese global technology company Alibaba, which is headquartered in Hangzhou.

China as key tourism partner

In the past year, China has established itself as a leading supporter of UNWTO in several core priority areas. These include Nature Positive Tourism, which UNWTO placed on the agenda of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15), for which China served as President.

UNWTO will return to China in September for the Global Tourism Economic Forum (GTEF), to be held in Macau. The tenth edition of the Forum will again provide a platform for governments, business leaders, experts, and academics to advance shared plans for the sustainable development of tourism.

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