Hot on the heels of Air Botswana announcing fresh routes to its flight plan, Civil Aviation Authority Botswana (CAAB) have rolled out an ambitious new plan to further increase air connectivity to the country.
Dubbed the ‘Botswana Air Access’ project, the CAAB-led initiative sees the authority team up with: Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO), Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC), Business Botswana, Travel Agent’s Association of Botswana (TAAOB) and the Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB).
Ultimately, the aim is to grow Botswana’s local, regional and global Air route network.
The project, finalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) earlier this month, creates a single point of contact for air lines to engage regarding air connectivity in Botswana.
CAAB Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Bao Mosinyi is confident the initiative will not only enhance air connectivity but support economic growth while focusing on attracting and retaining air traffic for tourism and trade.
“This is a strategic approach to harness aviation potential for national development and to have an interconnected Botswana. Improved air connectivity will impact the local economy since it is crucial for tourism, trade and investment, increases travel which boost local economies. Further, this opens doors for international business and investment and enhances the quality of life with essential services and opportunities which is a pathway to a greater prosperity,” declared Dr Mosinyi, adding research shows a 10 percent increase in air connectivity can boost a country’s Gross Domestic Profit by 1.1 percent in the long run.
“This correlation emphasizes the vital role aviation plays in national economic strategies. It is essential to leverage this link for sustainable economic policies since Botswana stands to gain immensely from improved air links,” continued Dr Mosinyi, explaining every $1 in air transport supports $5.4 in economic activity in Southern Africa.
According to Botswana’s International Travel Statistics 2023, over 573, 000 travellers visited the country last year, with recovery reaching 87 percent of 2019 volumes.
In the next ten years, Africa’s passenger traffic is expected to almost double, from 134 million to 263 million.
It presents huge opportunity for growth in Africa’s aviation sector, with the continent home to 18 percent of the world’s population but accounting for just 2.1 percent of global air passengers.
The CEO of economic development advisory firm, Helm Growth Advisors, Tim Harris told Voice Money growing the country’s international route network will be based on industry agreements, route retention, expansion and introduction.
“Route development opportunities are present to connect Botswana to strategic markets with unserved city markets indicating notable chances of business across Africa and other continents. Growing Botswana’s connectivity needs to be implemented in a way that supports the sustainability of Air Botswana therefore Botswana Air Access will take the national carrier’s interests and future into consideration. Ongoing discussions with carriers are confidential, however, the project team is glad to note that a delegation attended AviaDev in Namibia in June to meet the target carriers and will be attending the Routes World in Bahrain in October to follow up on positive discussions and engage additional targets,” said Harris.
HATAB CEO, Lily Rakorong, meanwhile, noted they have identified MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) as a key part of diversifying Botswana’s tourism offerings.
“For us to be successful in that area, there should be accessibility and aviation drives that. Even if we are to diversify the broader economy away from diamonds there is a serious need for Botswana to be accessible. With more arrivals it will force us as people to up our game; remember productivity is key so there are strategies to make our sector competitive,” reasoned Rakorong.
Some of the un-served regions for Botswana include Europe with an estimated 57, 000 two way international passengers in 2023, followed by Asia with 40, 000 passengers.
Africa and Middle East also offer an opportunity for route development.
