Despite “opening” in December 2015, Victoria Falls International is still only set for completion next month after several postponements.
Victoria Falls opened its highly anticipated international airport in December last year. With the ability to handle wide-body aircraft, it was hoped that international airlines would begin using Victoria Falls as a new Southern African hub, but at this stage, the airlines operating routes out of the airport are Air Zimbabwe, Air Namibia, Comair, Fastjet and SAA.
Ross Kennedy, CEO of Africa Albida Tourism, says he can confirm that several airlines are in advanced talks with CAAZ about additional slots, bigger aircraft and new routes servicing Victoria Falls International Airport, but there have been no official announcement as yet.
The hesitancy of airlines to commit may be due to several outstanding issues that need to be addressed before the airport can be commissioned. The deadline for this to take place has been repeatedly postponed, starting from January this year. Currently, the completion of the airport is set for early December.
Furthermore, for the past few months, the focus of the work has been on the second phase of the construction project, which involved the conversion of the old airport into a new domestic terminal, which according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ), has now been completed.
SA travellers not deterred
The delays have not dampened South African’s interest in visiting Vic Falls, however. According to Sherry Sibanda, Zimbabwe’s Minister Counsellor for tourism, South Africa remains Zimbabwe’s most significant African market in terms of tourist arrivals. Despite the weakening of the rand and the economic slowdown in SA, tourist arrivals from this market have increased by 22% this year.
This is also expected to further improve with the opening of the new domestic terminal, says Nico Bezuidenhout, CEO of Fastjet. “Victoria Falls has always been a major leisure travel attraction and an improvement in accessibility with the launch of the terminal is bound to have a positive impact and stimulate traffic volumes.”
Ross expects that this will lead to improved access and affordability in Victoria Falls. “Tourism is an industry that is tightly linked to market forces, and so both airlines and all service providers on the ground will look at ways to maximise loads and occupancies across the year. This will no doubt lead to some great deals in certain seasons as well all seek to grow revenues,” he says.
“Increased air access will lead to better and more creative packaging by South African tour operators into Zimbabwe, as choice always stimulates price comparisons and hence competitive forces – which usually result in better fares and rates,” adds Kennedy.
While this increased demand may result in cheaper pricing, this isn’t necessarily guaranteed, says Bezuidenhout. “Increased volumes and demand spikes will have a positive impact across the board, but affordability and fares are also highly impacted by external factors such as exchange rates and other input costs such as fuel. A challenge in Victoria Falls is the amount of accommodation available, especially in high season, which has an inflationary effect on prices.”
