We reported yesterday on the growth potential of international flight routes in Cape Town. However, South Africa’s legislative capital is just one of a number of markets that have recently benefited from greater international flight connections. Route expansion in multiple markets across all continents can help transform local economies worldwide.
A word from the game changers
Jean-Marc Bourreau heads the aviation practice at government consultancy Consulum. He was Director of Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica and has carried out consulting assignments in the aviation sector in numerous countries around the world.
In the meantime, Tim Harris leads Consulum’s competition practice and Cape Town office. He is a former Member of Parliament in South Africa and was CEO of Wesgro, the Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape of South Africa, which initiated the Cape Town Air Access route development programme.
As a result, the two know firsthand how route development can impact societies and economies around the world. They have been instrumental in notable breakthroughs in recent years.
butterfly effect
Route development impacts the local economy in many ways. The first impact, of course, is economic growth along with job creation. A country will receive more visitors who spend money in their cities, regions, hotels and restaurants while purchasing general goods and services.
By improving connectivity, a nation also increases competitiveness, which means the local economy can attract more investment from companies looking to set up their offices, regional offices or even headquarters. Besides boosting tourism, the development of air routes also offers opportunities for local people by facilitating access to places and markets that were previously difficult to reach.
Photo: Nieuwland Photography/Shutterstock
Overall, some of the smaller air transport markets are struggling to compete with larger air transport markets, with minimal traffic required to make a new flight sustainable or see a post-COVID return flight. A structured flight path development program can help inform stakeholders of what needs to happen to establish or restore an important flight. It’s important to remember that flight connectivity is often a critical need for smaller markets.
This is particularly true for small island developing States. This is also true for landlocked countries, which often rely heavily on aviation to meet their basic economic and connectivity needs.
Consulum emphasizes that the central element in aviation development is building traffic. How do you convince airlines to fly to your country or airport? Managers must answer this question
The authorities then have to do their part to help the industry move in the right direction. Consulate concludes:
“The key takeaway for any leader is that a collaborative approach is the best way to set up a successful airway development program. By engaging key business, tourism and aviation stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, destinations can provide a comprehensive business case for airlines to maintain and grow their service. Government leaders need to be directly involved in achieving these outcomes.”
looking ahead
Cape Town and Costa Rica are two examples that emphasize that growing traffic through a well-designed air route development strategy supports the population through increased tourism, economy and competitiveness.
As previously reported by the International Air Transport Association (IATA):
“The aviation industry, including airlines and their supply chain, generates an estimated US$5.2 billion of GDP in South Africa. Spending by foreign tourists contributes another US$4.3 billion to the country’s GDP, for a total of US$9.4 billion. A total of 3.2 percent of the country’s GDP is supported by inputs to the aviation sector and foreign tourists arriving by air.”
Photo: IATA
Harris and Bourreau delve deeper into this field in an aviation thought-leadership entitled How Government Leaders Can Drive Economic Recovery Through Air Route Development. All in all, there are considerable opportunities in the relationship between flight routes and economic growth in the age of upswing.
What are your thoughts on how route development can support the local economy? How do you assess the overall prospects? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
Source: Consul
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