With India having been identified by the national Department of Tourism as a key source market, additional flights between South Africa and India would be a massive boost for inbound tourism, according to Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa (Barsa) board member, Sean Bradley.
This is after the Minister of Tourism, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, revealed exclusively to Tourism Update that at least three airlines operating in South Africa were interested in providing flights between the two countries.
“I met with the airlines a few weeks ago and asked them to raise their hands if they were interested in providing services on the India route,” she said, expressing hope that these routes would be finalised very soon.
“The Ministry of Transport has assured us permits will be issued speedily so there are no delays,” Kubayi-Ngubane added.
Bradley pointed out that for any new airline frequency to be successful, there would have to be improved alignment between the relevant national departments – including Public Enterprises, Transport, Home Affairs and Tourism – to effectively address any barriers to entry.
These include visa regulations, introduction of e-visas and streamlining processes.
“The recent positive move to abolish the unabridged birth certificate for international minors traveling with their parents is a step in the right direction,” Bradley commented.
He highlighted that ongoing collaboration between Barsa, the Minister of Tourism, the Tourism Business Council, SA Tourism and other Industry stakeholders was seeing some great work being done to support President Cyril Ramaphosa’s objectives to increase tourism arrivals.
Bradley pointed to a recent statement by Bradley Brouwer, Head of Global Trade at SA Tourism, that India has become one of the biggest travel groups in the world, but South Africa only gets about 0.06% of that traffic.
“A big travel period for travellers from India is the period just prior to Diwali. Honeymoon and family bookings usually for the December and January, period are also opportunities for operators to capitalise on,” said (Sean) Bradley.
He said the situation around the negative publicity pertaining to crime continued to affect arrivals and that positive messaging by all tourism stakeholders would be needed to support demand from India.
