ZAMBIA is considered an underdog within the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa.
Although the country had seen a sustained increase in international visitors prior to the peak of COVID-19 in 2020, it was still dwarfed by South Africa and currently lags well behind Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
Direct flights to Zambia from Europe and Asia are limited, making the country an “add on” destination for international travellers visiting neighbouring countries like Botswana and South Africa.
Due to escalated cases of COVID-19, the first three months of 2020 saw a drop of over 14,000 international visitors to Zambia.
A snap poll of members of the Eco-Tourism Association of Zambia suggested that the country’s safari tourism and allied sectors such as airlines and charters would suffer a loss in income of about US$100 million in 2020.
Zambia’s travel and tourism industry, which had shown signs of healthy growth in previous years, was impacted significantly by coronavirus.
In 2019, the industry had contributed seven percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 7.2 percent of total employment of 469,000 jobs.
On the other hand, international visitors spent US$849 million, representing 10 percent of Zambia’s total exports.
However, the raging cases of COVID-19 in 2020 significantly reversed the gains the country had made mainly due to the effects of the international restrictions which came with the pandemic.
Tourist arrivals into Zambia drastically dwindled as so many airlines had to stop servicing most of their routes in adherence to the coronavirus restrictions.
The hospitality industry that encompasses hotels and lodges, among others, got severely affected as room occupancy declined tremendously resulting in thousands job losses.
Post-COVID, Zambia’s tourism industry has slowly been recovering as evidenced by the resumption of some flights into the country with more airlines considering introducing routes to Zambia, the development which will increase tourist arrivals.
Therefore, that Government is pushing for as many direct flights into Zambia as a strategy of boosting tourism is a step in the right direction.
According to Minister of Tourism Rodney Sikumba, in terms of connectivity, most airlines, from the COVID-19 days, stopped flying into Zambia and have not resumed flights even after the dying down of the novel virus.
But as a result of combined efforts, Minister of Transport and Logistics Frank Tayali has managed to bring a number of airlines into the country, Mr Sikumba told us in an interview.
“Right now, we have five or six international airlines – long-haul flights – which are coming here,” he shared.We commend Government for working round the clock in efforts to entice as many airlines as possible to introduce direct flights to Zambia as this will help increase tourist arrivals.
Zambia has numerous tourism attractions, but exploiting this untapped economic spinning potential has largely been hampered by the limited number of direct international flights into the country.
The airline industry plays a critical role in promoting tourism. Without airlines, it would be impossible for tourists to visit different destinations around the world. Airlines not only provide transportation services but they also contribute to economies of the countries they serve.
As such, Government must be commended for intensifying efforts to attract as many direct flights into the country as possible because this will contribute to Zambia’s economic development.
With risen tourist arrivals as a consequence of increased direct flights to Zambia, many jobs will be created in the hospitality industry and subsequently improve incomes and living standards.
Increasing flights into Zambia good
ZAMBIA is considered an underdog within the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa.
Although the country had seen a sustained increase in international visitors prior to the peak of COVID-19 in 2020, it was still dwarfed by South Africa and currently lags well behind Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
Direct flights to Zambia from Europe and Asia are limited, making the country an “add on” destination for international travellers visiting neighbouring countries like Botswana and South Africa.
Due to escalated cases of COVID-19, the first three months of 2020 saw a drop of over 14,000 international visitors to Zambia.
A snap poll of members of the Eco-Tourism Association of Zambia suggested that the country’s safari tourism and allied sectors such as airlines and charters would suffer a loss in income of about US$100 million in 2020.
Zambia’s travel and tourism industry, which had shown signs of healthy growth in previous years, was impacted significantly by coronavirus.
In 2019, the industry had contributed seven percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 7.2 percent of total employment of 469,000 jobs.
On the other hand, international visitors spent US$849 million, representing 10 percent of Zambia’s total exports.
However, the raging cases of COVID-19 in 2020 significantly reversed the gains the country had made mainly due to the effects of the international restrictions which came with the pandemic.
Tourist arrivals into Zambia drastically dwindled as so many airlines had to stop servicing most of their routes in adherence to the coronavirus restrictions.
The hospitality industry that encompasses hotels and lodges, among others, got severely affected as room occupancy declined tremendously resulting in thousands job losses.
Post-COVID, Zambia’s tourism industry has slowly been recovering as evidenced by the resumption of some flights into the country with more airlines considering introducing routes to Zambia, the development which will increase tourist arrivals.
Therefore, that Government is pushing for as many direct flights into Zambia as a strategy of boosting tourism is a step in the right direction.
According to Minister of Tourism Rodney Sikumba, in terms of connectivity, most airlines, from the COVID-19 days, stopped flying into Zambia and have not resumed flights even after the dying down of the novel virus.
But as a result of combined efforts, Minister of Transport and Logistics Frank Tayali has managed to bring a number of airlines into the country, Mr Sikumba told us in an interview.
“Right now, we have five or six international airlines – long-haul flights – which are coming here,” he shared.We commend Government for working round the clock in efforts to entice as many airlines as possible to introduce direct flights to Zambia as this will help increase tourist arrivals.
Zambia has numerous tourism attractions, but exploiting this untapped economic spinning potential has largely been hampered by the limited number of direct international flights into the country.
The airline industry plays a critical role in promoting tourism. Without airlines, it would be impossible for tourists to visit different destinations around the world. Airlines not only provide transportation services but they also contribute to economies of the countries they serve.
As such, Government must be commended for intensifying efforts to attract as many direct flights into the country as possible because this will contribute to Zambia’s economic development.
With risen tourist arrivals as a consequence of increased direct flights to Zambia, many jobs will be created in the hospitality industry and subsequently improve incomes and living standards.