Outdated and restrictive policies regarding aviation are hampering the development of tourism within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), it was pointed out by participants in the recent SADC Tourism Alliance Think Tank symposium. SADC has a population of some 300-million people, but only 7.2-million of them flew, annually.

“The demand is there,” highlighted SADC Tourism Alliance Tourism project lead Natalia Rosa. “The economic case is undeniable. Until our aviation policy catches up with our ambitions, Southern Africa’s tourism and trade will remain grounded. What we need now is political courage, policy coherence, and a unified commitment to making air access the driver of inclusive growth it should be.”

“In a region of 300-million people, flying should not be a luxury or a political favour,” she pointed out. “It should be a lever for growth, But we can’t build that future without building the policies, partnerships, and platforms to support it.”

Although countries had pledged to join the Single African Air Transport Market, in reality, regional air access continued to be blocked by protectionism. This took the form of national policies, fragmented governance, and political gatekeeping. Regarding fragmented governance, the development of tourism was often hampered by decisions made by other government departments. Tourism often did not get the priority it deserved. (Cape Town Air Access was cited as a rare exception, involving multisectoral cooperation, and as an example for the region.)

The potential created by the removal of barriers was demonstrated by the Johannesburg-Harare route. When competition on that route increased (with the introduction of a service by FlySafair) ticket prices fell by 50%.

“It’s a fantastic route,” enthused FlySafair chief marketing officer Kirby Gordon. “It performs incredibly well. We’d love to put on a second daily service. But we can’t. Why not? Politics.”

The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) urged SADC countries to create national baselines regarding barriers to air access, then reduce them incrementally, and establish a regional scorecard to monitor the delivery of these policies. This would create enforceable accountability.

“Reducing airline operating costs isn’t just a sectoral goal – it’s an economic one,” affirmed AASA CEO Aaron Munetsi. “The business of airlines is the backdrop on which we are building our economies.”

The SADC Tourism Alliance identified four priorities to free up intraregional air transport and so tourism. These were to – phase out protectionism and allow greater competition on viable routes; invest in scaling-up airlines, both public- and private-sector; create inter-ministerial alliances which saw air access as a form of infrastructure; and to track progress, and publicly report it, by means of a shared regional scorecard.

The SADC Tourism Alliance is supported by the Joint Action NaturAFrica/Climate Resilience and Natural Resource Management Programme. This, in turn, is jointly funded by the EU and the German government, and implemented by the German international development agency GIZ.