At the recently held BARSA Aviation Summit, Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille outlined the Air Connectivity and Tourism Route Development Marketing Plan, in the speech she delivered, noting it as a key enabler for tourism growth.
On 4 December 2024, Cabinet approved the Tourism Route Development Marketing Plan, aimed at increasing international and domestic arrivals through strategic collaboration with the aviation sector. This initiative is aligned with the Government of National Unity’s focus over the next five years on:
- Driving inclusive growth and job creation
- Reducing poverty and tackling the high cost of living
- Building a capable, ethical, and developmental state
The Tourism Sector Master Plan, also approved by Cabinet, identifies ease of access – particularly air connectivity as critical to unlocking tourism’s economic potential. Implementation of the Tourism Route Development Marketing Plan will focus on increasing direct air connectivity to, from, and within South Africa, in collaboration with both public and private sector stakeholders.
The rollout will be driven initially over an 18-month period and is anchored in collaborative public-private partnerships. Immediate priorities include:
- Route market retention, expansion, and new market introductions, with a focus on Asia (China, India, Japan), the African continent, and domestic connectivity.
- Development of world-class business cases to demonstrate profitability for airline partners connecting to, and within, South Africa.
- Marketing incentives to attract and retain airline partners.
- Stakeholder coordination at a national level—including ACSA, the Department of Transport, the Department of Tourism, aviation authorities, and private sector partners
- Alignment with existing provincial air access programmes such as Cape Town Air Access, Durban Direct, and the Gauteng Air Access Network
- Sustainable air service development through public-private partnerships
The plan is expected to improve national coordination while complementing provincial air access initiatives, ensuring optimised resource use and consistent engagement with airlines.
Minister de Lille highlighted the challenges of intra-African travel, where passengers often need to travel out of the continent to connect between African countries. She called for full use of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to enhance the movement of goods and people and drive route expansion and connectivity within Africa.
