malvernmugadzikwa
Enacy Mapakame
Air travel into Zimbabwe has been on an increase with the number of flights at the country’s major airports jumping 52,3 percent to 50 640 in 2022 compared to 33 254 flights in the prior year as travel restrictions continue to relax.
Air travel, which is a major enabler for the tourism industry, is expected to continue growing and driving the sector, as the country is also on a major drive to spruce up and expand airports in line with the anticipated influx of arrivals.
The country is pushing for the tourism sector growth, touted to be one of the low hanging fruits expected to drive the economic upturn, making Zimbabwe an upper middle income economy by 2030 as espoused in the National Development Strategy (NDS1).
Government is also pushing for enhanced marketing of the brand Zimbabwe, and make it the preferred tourist destination.
Figures from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) show the country is close to reaching pre-Covid-19 levels of 50 601 flights in 2018.
In 2019, the country recorded 47 994 flights and the figure dropped to 17 018 in 2020 as travel restrictions were effected to limit the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Across all airports, there were more flights in the third quarter of 2022 than they were in the fourth quarter,” said ZIMSTAT director general Taguma Mahonde.
The third quarter recorded 15 770 flights, which later dropped 14 percent to 13 561 in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“Percentage declines in flights between the two quarters ranged from -5,5 for Robert Mugabe International Airport to -24,9 for Victoria Falls International Airport,” said Mahonde.
Flights at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport were 6 158 during the third quarter, which was a decline of 5,5 percent compared to the previous quarter.
The Victoria Falls International Airport recorded 3 124 flights during the fourth quarter, which was 24 percent below 4 162 flights recorded in the previous quarter.
Quarter on quarter, Joshua Mqabuko International Airport recorded an 8 percent decline to 1 401 in number of flights during the fourth quarter period compared to third quarter.
Other airports had a cumulative 2 878 flights during the fourth quarter which was a decrease of 19,5 percent from 3 573 flights in the previous quarter.
In terms of air transport passengers, all airports recorded increases for the year under review compared to 2021.
But between 2018 and 2020, there was a sharp decline in passengers due to the travel restrictions imposed on all economies to curtail the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“All airports recorded continual decreases in the number of air transport passengers over the period 2018 to 2020.
“The improvement from 2021 saw Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport and Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport recording percentage increases in air passengers of 82,6 percent and 97,3 percent, respectively in 2022 when compared to 2021,” said Mahonde.
The ZIMSTAT figures show that passengers at all airports doubled to 1,56 million compared to 747 404 in 2021. This was however a decline from pre-Covid-19 period where nearly 2 million passengers were recorded at all airports.
In terms of growth per each airport, the Victoria Falls International Airport paced the fastest with a 243 percent increase in number of passengers to 234 609 passengers compared to prior year level.
RGM International Airport recorded 1,15 million passengers last year compared to 586 320 in 2021. JM Nkomo had 146 628 passengers in 2022, which was a growth of 82 percent compared to the previous year.
Growth in air travel is expected to further buoy international tourism while domestic tourism cannot be overlooked with the recent introduction of flights into Kariba and Hwange.
International tourism is projected to consolidate its recovery in 2023, underpinned by pent-up demand, particularly from Asia and the Pacific as destinations and markets open up.
Benefits from China, following the lifting of the zero Covid-19 policy, are however, expected to trickle to the rest of the world at a slow pace as airlines and travel agencies scale up capacity.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), over 900 million tourists travelled internationally in 2022, double those who travelled in 2021 albeit still 37 percent lower than in 2019.
Locally, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) reported that the country saw a 165 percent increase in tourist arrivals to 693,498 from 261,415 in 2021 during the nine-month period to 30 September 2022.
Bongani Ndlovu