CONRAD ONYANGO
AIRLINE passenger traffic in and out of Africa has seen the slowest growth of all regions this year but four destinations in Africa are pulling way above their weight, as efforts to get air traffic back on its feet gain momentum.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects traffic on the continent to reach 76 percent of pre-crisis levels in 2022, which is substantially below a projected global average of 83 percent, due to slow progress vaccinating the population, compounded by the negative impacts of the pandemic on developing economies.
IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh, however, said people are expressing a strong urge to travel again once restrictions are lifted as more governments begin to understand travel restrictions have little to no long-term impact on the spread of the virus and act to remove restrictions.
“The economic and social hardship caused for very limited benefit is simply no longer acceptable in a growing number of markets. As a result, the progressive removal of restrictions is giving a much-needed boost to the prospects for travel,” said Walsh.
Where travel is returning, international tourists have shown a high preference for Tanzania, South Africa and Kenya among their top 10 outdoor destinations of choice.
Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park has been ranked third in TripAdvisor’s Travelers Choice 2022 – Top Destinations for Outdoor Enthusiasts – World.
The Serengeti, one of the few places in Africa where vast land-animal migrations still take place, topped the list of destinations in Africa, followed by the Maasai Mara National Reserve (4th), described as one of the most awesome sights in nature.
South Africa’s Kruger National Park – another iconic and exciting African safari destination – was ranked fifth, followed by Kilimanjaro National Park – centred around Africa’s highest peak and the world’s tallest free-standing mountain – ranked 8th.
“This year, travellers flocked to national parks for new adventures and good-natured fun. These are the parks that delivered on both— and then some,” according to the American online travel company.
Costa Rica’s Arenal Volcano National Park (1st) –with one of the world’s most active volcanoes, which burps tufts of smoke, and India’s Jim Corbett National Park, best known as a protected area for the critically endangered Bengal tiger, denied African destinations the top two slots.
New Zealand’s national parks, Fiordland and Westland Tai Poutini, were ranked in 6th and 9th positions respectively, while Alaska’s Denali National Park and the UK’s New Forest National Park Hampshire finished in 7th and 10th positions.
IATA expects overall traveller numbers to reach 4 billion in 2024 (counting multi-sector connecting trips as one passenger), 103 percent of 2019 numbers.
