Chronicle EditorBusiness Reporter—
THE introduction of the pan Africa passport is expected to increase air travel spend by 24 percent, according to a research released by global travel technology provider, Sabre Corp.The passport, which will come into effect in 2018 will enable African travellers to visit other countries on the continent without a visa. The comprehensive survey by sought to uncover the opportunities and challenges faced by travellers in the continent.
Travellers from four countries–South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt were surveyed, with those having flown in the past 24 months saying they would spend 24 percent more with the introduction of the passport (from $1,100 to $1,500 annually.
But despite willingness among travellers to spend more on flights, travel in Africa still remains inaccessible to the majority, with only 23 percent of those surveyed having travelled abroad at all in the last two years. When asked what prevents them from frequently travelling, one of the reasons cited was difficulties in obtaining VISA’s.
A research by the African Development Bank showed Africa remains largely closed off to inter-continental travel with Africans requiring visas to travel to 55 percent of other countries.
On average, Africans need visas to travel to 55 percent of other African countries, can get visas on arrival in 25 percent of other countries and don’t need a visa to travel to 20 percent of other countries.
The reports said policymakers have a key role to play in helping Africans to move freely in support of Agenda 2063’s call to abolish visa requirements for all Africans by 2018.
Other unions across the world have abolished passports. For example, the border-free Schengen Area (a creation of the Schengen Agreement), where 26 European countries (22 of the 28 European Union member states) have abolished passports and other border controls.
The member states have a common visa policy, which facilitates the free movement of people.
Sabre also said travellers surveyed expressed a number of gripes about their current experiences when travelling.
“The results suggest that while travel is inaccessible to many and is difficult for those who do travel, there is a still a strong desire to travel more,” said Dino Gelmetti, vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Airline Solutions, Sabre. “Additionally, most of the pain points can be addressed by airlines, and these tweaks could make all the difference to travellers. African carriers currently face tough competition from international rivals that control 88 percent of African airspace but, as demand for travel increases, African airlines have a real opportunity to win the lion’s share of bookings by addressing the pain points of travellers.”
Like many other travellers globally, Africans also expressed a strong interest in experiencing a travel journey that was more personalised and appealing to their taste. Respondents said that they would be willing to spend up to $104 per trip on an airline’s extra products and services–such as excess baggage, cabin class upgrades, and special food and beverage –if it improved and personalised their journey.
“Airlines, globally, currently pocket an average of just $16 per passenger on ancillaries, so the fact that African travellers are prepared to spend six times more than that represents a significant retail opportunity for carriers on the continent,” said Gelmetti.
“Airlines will flourish if they invest in technology that can make sense of customer data and use it to offer passengers the right product in the right context at the right time. This technology, which empowers airlines to mirror the personalised shopping tactics already mastered by the online retail industry has been proven to increase ancillary revenue by an average of 10 percent, and is being used by some of the world’s most forward-thinking carriers.”
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