Image: Pixabay.
In an effort to increase economic activity, SA Tourism is on a mission to open more avenues of air access into the country.
Tonight, the maiden voyage of Air Belgium will leave Brussels and by tomorrow morning, it will touch down for the first time in ages on South African soil.
This, Nomasonto Ndlovu (COO of SA Tourism) says will be the beginning of a long relationship between South Africa and the European nation.
“As you know, Europe as a market has been a very important market for South Africa. Europe has bounced back very nicely after Covid, doing very well with their numbers growing significantly. In fact their market is huge. So we have to ensure that there is proper air lift in order to cater for those numbers.
ALSO READ: Calls for the government to help boost local travel and tourism
“Now if you look at Brussels, where it is located and the kind of activity that is happening there, it is very close to – for example – the Netherlands, and the Netherlands is looking to connect to South Africa in a very affordable way. So now, with Air Belgium’s routes to South Africa, they have an additional option in terms of air access on the market, which means that prices will be more favourable for the consumer.”
Ndlovu explained that SA Tourism was doing a lot of marketing work in Northern Europe, with a focus on the Netherlands and the new access to air life through Air Belgium would assist with attracting tourism into the country.
“As an organisation coming out of Covid, we launched a new campaign which we called Live Again. The essence of that campaign is to ensure that we signal to the world that South Africa is open for business and the borders are open for them to come experience South Africa in a way they use to before Covid,” she said.
Ndlovu explained that the organisation, in Northern Europe, has also introduced the Lekker Local Tips map – a guide on how to explore the destination like a local. The programme is user generated, where South Africans offer tips on what sort of activities locals would actually do. All these tips that were sourced have now been put into this ‘map’ which is now available in Northern Europe.
NOW READ: Now is the time, take advantage of SA’s Tourism ‘Black Friday
Ndlovu said that the map programme was doing rather well, and as such Europeans were planning their trips to South African. She added that the addition of Air Belgium to South African soils will aid them in the planning of these trips.
Air Belgium’s maiden voyage will see it land tomorrow morning at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and the following day, it will touch down in Cape Town. This will be the start of seasonal flights from Belgium to SA, with three flight each week.