Tourism lobbies renew push for liberalised EAC air travel

Fly540 staff board a plane at Wilson Airport in Nairobi. JamboJet, a subsidiary of Kenya Airways, and Fly540 are the two main airlines that serve the local towns in Kenya. PHOTO | FILE |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By ANITA CHEPKOECH, achepkoech@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Private tourism groups have renewed their call on East African governments to open up the air travel business to private investors as part of measures to ease access to major tourism hubs in the country.
• Kenya Tourism Federation members said few scheduled flights and high fares have discouraged travellers from visiting the East African tourism destinations.
• In the last few years, cheaper local airlines have tried to establish footprints in the Kenyan market but opted out or were sold due to various problems.
• The team is set to visit Rwanda and Uganda on the same mission to encourage locals to tour East Africa.

Private tourism groups have renewed their call on East African governments to open up the air travel business to private investors as part of measures to ease access to major tourism hubs in the country.

The Kenya Tourism Federation members said few scheduled flights and high fares have discouraged travellers from visiting the East African tourism destinations.

They spoke during a campaign in Kisumu on Friday to encourage locals on use of identity cards to travel across partner states including Rwanda and Uganda.

“The airlines are too few challenging the connectivity to important sites.

“Unless we increase connectivity and reduce the high costs, travellers will not tour places no matter how we market them,” Susan Ongalo, chief executive of the federation said.

“There is no reason why flights cannot operate from Kigali to Kisumu, which has an international airport. Kisumu can serve western Kenya and even Maasai Mara without planes originating from Nairobi,” said Mike Macharia of the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers.

The team further said road connectivity has improved over time while the airlines had remained challenged.

In the last few years, cheaper local airlines have tried to establish footprints in the Kenyan market but opted out or were sold due to various problems.

Jetlink Express, a low-cost airline that ran operations in Kenyan towns and neighbouring countries, closed shop early 2012 in what it said was a lack of cash.

East African Safari Air Express was grounded in November 2010 due to disputes over aircraft leases. It was eventually bought out by Fly540.

JamboJet, a subsidiary of Kenya Airways, and Fly540 are the two main airlines that serve the local towns in Kenya.

Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Lodwar, Malindi, Lamu, Diani, Maasai Mara and recently Kakamega are some of the destinations that these low-cost airlines target.

Africa Safari Airways, Safari Link, Mombasa Air Safaris, and 784 Air Services are some of the other airlines in the country.

Of concern to industry players also is the inability of these airlines that try to venture into the Kenyan market with relatively cheap rates not being able to make as much profits as envisioned.

During the event, Ms Ongalo said there had been a tepid response by Kenyans in the use of identity cards to cross borders since the initiative took off in 2007.

The region, they said, has a target market of 160 million residents.

She blamed the trend on the poor marketing of the initiative.

“We did a survey and noted that knowledge of the use of IDs to tour East Africa was very low, especially amongst travellers. Knowledge at the Immigration Department was at 75 per cent,” said Ms Ongalo.

“This is why we have embarked on a mission to tell locals that they can freely tour the East Africa region. Local investors can also take advantage to widen their market scope to any of these regions,” she added.

Ms Fiona Ngesa, regional coordinator at the Kenya Tourism Board, said the use of single tourism visa to visit three East African countries at a go was doing better, having been marketed in international events in the UK, Germany and South Africa.

The visa is packaged to attract international travellers such that instead of paying $50 to visit one country, they can pay $100 to tour three countries in the East African Community for three months.

“We have had over 4,000 travel tour visas since it was launched in February 2014.

“But the use of IDs and residential permits are very low since locals have not been well informed about it,” said Ms Ngesa

The team is set to visit Rwanda and Uganda on the same mission to encourage locals to tour East Africa.