AVIATION & TOURISM: CLEAR SKIES OR TURBULENCE AHEAD?
“The Wright Brothers created the single greatest cultural force since the invention of writing. The airplane became the first World Wide Web, bringing people, languages, ideas and values together.” - Bill Gates
aviation is one of the fastest growing sectors, particularly on the African continent. The Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) lists aviation as being responsible for close to 63 million jobs globally in 2014, directly contributing $2.7 trillion to the world GDP. In 2015, airlines around the world carried nearly 3.6 billion passengers. Economic benefits of aviation not only include employment, but a plethora of industries: world trade, manufacturing companies, commercial aircraft operators, airports, air navigation service providers and sustainability of other economic sectors.
Air transport is essential for tourism in Africa. With 54% of international tourists travelling by air, it encourages economic investment, improving innovation and efficiency in business and international cooperation. Many remote areas are still inaccessible by rail or road and can only be accessed by air, making it a vital lifeline to regions for tourism revenue and essential supplies like healthcare.
ATAG announced, “In 2034, there will be over 5.8 billion global passengers and aviation will support 99 million jobs, or $5.9 trillion in economic activity. However, if growth were to slow by just 1%, the total number of jobs supported by the air transport sector (including tourism) would be 10.5 million lower and there would be a $690 billion lower world GDP, with $350 billion potentially lost through lower tourism activity”. Of the 6.9 million jobs supported by aviation across the African continent, 428 000 are within the industry itself and the rest are supported as part of the industry’s supply chain and tourism sector.
Tourism relies so heavily on aviation that without it, economic growth would be impossible, particularly in developing countries. Consider remote islands such as Mauritius. In 2017, the number of tourist arrivals increased by 6.1% to reach 1 360 000 p.a., with tourism earnings increasing by 5.2% at Rs 58.8 billion. The Bank of Mauritius is forecasting tourism earnings at Rs 61.6 billion for 2018. Mauritius’s main sources of tourists include France, the UK, Germany, South Africa and India. Without air travel, the numbers would decrease dramatically, with travel by sea
