Getting the crowd. Lowering fees. Lesson from EAC

About 12 percent of the world’s population lives in Africa. But Africa accounts for less than one percent of the global air services market, says a world bank report (“Open Skies for Africa – Implementing the Yamoussoukro Decision” http://www.worldbank.org).  The report, released then in 2010, states further one of the reasons why Africa is underserved in the global air services market – restrictions.  Many African countries, it says,  restrict their air services markets to protect the share held by state owned air carriers.

The consequences of such strict regulatory protection used to sustain the air carriers of various African States have not been all too positive. Instead, they have been detrimental to air safety records, leading to inflation of fares and putting restrictions on the growth of air traffic, the report continues.

A recent report from the East African Community (EAC) offers examples that could be replicated by African aviation. In an effort to build regional tourism as well as bring in more tourists from neighbouring countries, the authorities in Tanzania have decided to lower park fees. (www.atqnews.com/tourism). The aim is to attract visitors from the East African Community member states. This will enable visits to wildlife parks and historical sites for a fee of about Ts10,000 ($4.2) for adult Tanzanians and citizens from EAC. Other target markets are meetings and conferences visitors.

The strategy is to lower fees and provide hosting incentives for conferences. The goal is to attract five million tourists which will bring in revenues of about $6 billion by 2025. This is the product of a 5-year Tourism Development Plan now being implemented.

In implementing the strategy, Tanzania first worked with the EAC secretariat in Arusha to harmonise travel restrictions and movement of people within the EAC bloc. It leveraged the East African Tourism Platform ( EATF) to do so. Under the EATF, Tanzania now joins others in the EAC bloc to form a single tourist destination for its regional citizens.

The vision behind this platform is that there would be no restrictions at border entry points, as well as harmonised fees for access to tourist areas which, in most part, are wildlife parks and heritage sites.

Another strategy has been to introduce electronic visas for foreign tourists coming into Tanzania. This is to actualise the goal of increasing the number of air transport passengers from the current 2.94 million to 3.09 million by 2023 – The report quotes the Tanzania Airports Authority. To achieve same the airport authority is currently attracting international flights so as to take advantage of the increase in these flights.

It is also reported that the African Tourism Board has been advocating for open skies for Africa along with strong African airlines, code shares, joint ventures and other partnerships. Open Sky and Tourism Development by Christian Folly Kossi, secretary general of AFRAA, states : “There is no doubt this region has turned to be an air traffic gold mine but the local economic operators don’t know how to transform it to wealth. This will never happen unless:

•We address the airlines small size

•We stop believing in the ideology of ‘Do it alone and by yourself.’

•Governments take out their hands from the business management and facilitate privatisation

•Private interests across borders team up to create in the region multinational private carriers

In any case, the “Yamoussoukro Decision”, which is the continent’s liberalisation programme for African carriers must be fully and totally implemented as to enhance the number of air services across the continent.

“What is clearly needed is to speed up Africa’s economic integration, political union and tourism development’. (www.africa-ata.org- open skies – Africa Travel magazine).

The world bank report of 2010 explains how liberalised air transport would deliver improved safety, lower fares and increase traffic in Africa. The “Yamoussoukro Decision” commits its signatories to deregulate air services and promote regional air markets open to transnational competition.

With more efficient, safer and price competitive air services, Africa is enjoined not to miss a historic opportunity, says the report.