Africa airlines must vigorously market the continent if it is to attract a large number of tourists and increase tourism receipts in all 54 countries, Chris Diaz, Marketing Director Kenya Airways, has said.
Mr. Diaz, who was speaking in an interview at a three-day UNWTO regional conference held in Accra said: “At the moment, there are about 60-million tourists coming into Africa annually. We see that there is going to be growth, and the most important travel opportunity is going to be in the aviation business.”
The Regional conference saw ministers of tourism, marketing and branding experts, and airline representatives converge in Accra to share ideas on how to brand Africa and attract tourists.
“It is for the African airlines to market Africa to bring more tourists and more foreign exchange income into the tourism industry across the 54 countries in Africa. Ghana has great opportunities. We should continue to bring investments into Ghana. Ghana would gain more success by marketing the country to pull in more investment and tourists.”
Africa received about 60million international tourists in 2014, with a total receipt of about US$36billion or seven percent of the continent’s GDP.
Ghana, having crossed the one million tourist mark, is looking to build on the successes of recent years by investing in tourism infrastructure and resourcing various agencies to ensure standards in the hospitality sector remain high.
The country’s domestic aviation sector has also seen some infrastructural improvements in recent times. The Kumasi airport last year underwent extensive rehabilitation that saw a total resurfacing of the runway and installation of ground lighting system for night-time air operations.
About 40 international carriers also service the Kotoka International Airport — bringing tourists and business travelers from the world over.
Mr. Diaz noted that: “Ghana is a very important market for Kenya Airways. We are very pleased with inter-country trade in West Africa. If we are able to grow intra-Africa trade, we will develop the economies of Africa.“The challenge is for us to work together and support one another. Intra-African trade will be the biggest success and growth for us to grow as brand Africa.
“Ghana is a special market for us and we are looking at bringing a bigger aircraft to Ghana. We currently operate a 737-800. We could be looking at the possibility of the introduction of a Boeing 787 on the Accra route.
”The country’s National Tourism Development Plan 2013-2027 projects tourism receipts of US$1.5billion in 2017, US$2.5billion in 2022, and US$4.3billion in 2027.To achieve the set target, the National Tourism Development Plan prescribes the collaboration of two adjacent tourism sites to cooperate in their tourism activities so as to jointly derive large scale benefits from tourism ventures.
This approach, it notes, will ensure cost minimization when the need arises for cost outlays to enhance quality of the tourist product in both communities. A case in point is the proximity of Cape Coast and Elmina, two key destinations in the country.
“Renovation of the two castles should be done under a single contract and undertaken simultaneously within a specified time-frame in order to minimize cost,” the Plan notes.