Swaziland – flying high
Despite losing one of only two air carriers this year, Swaziland’s tourism industry continues to blossom. Tourism Update’s Sue Lewitton gets the lowdown…
Swaziland unphased by reduced air access
SWAZILAND is still a tourist haven despite only one airline now flying to the small kingdom.
According to Ruth Buck, owner of Foresters Arms Hotel near Mbabane, there has been no drop in tourists since the closure of Swazi Express Airways earlier this year. In fact, she says, tourists are not even complaining about the increase in airfare to the kingdom.
After 12 years in operation Swazi Express Airways in April announced their closure making Swaziland Airlink, which is jointly owned by the Swazi Government and Airlink, the only airline offering scheduled flights into the country.
Buck says people that usually fly into Swaziland do so for business purposes and the market continues to thrive despite any potential hurdles. Swaziland Airlink also upped its frequencies following the liquidation of Swazi Express to cope with extra demand. “Swaziland is so accessible by car that most leisure tourists are unlikely to travel to the country by air anyway,” says Buck. She adds that Swaziland recently dropped visa requirements for many South American and Eastern European countries, including Russia. “This has definitely offset any drop in arrivals we may have seen due to Swaziland Airlink having a monopoly on flights into Swaziland” says Buck.
