A SITE Africa White Paper A STRATEGIC VISION FOR BUSINESS EVENT TRAVEL AND TOURISM: COVID-19 PROTOCOLS AND THE REOPENING OF BORDERS AND SKIES IN AFRICA COMPILED BY: SOCIETY OF INCENTIVE TRAVEL EXCELLENCE (SITE) CHAPTER: AFRICA In partnership with participants to the SITEÂ AFRICA SUMMIT, held on 11 June 2020 Date published: 31 July 2020
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4 GLOSSARY i. ABBREVIATIONS ii. DEFINITION OF TERMS
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THE FORMULATION PROCESS AND PURPOSE
6 INTRODUCTION 7 BACKGROUND 8
STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS
8 FOCUS AREA 1: Setting out the regulatory context for reopening business event travel and tourism in the Covid-19 environment in Africa
i.
The journey of reopening business events tourism
ii.
Ensure the development of a crisis/emergency management plan
iii. Relying on strong and established relationships
iv. Focus on regional markets, partnerships and collaboration to grow the MICE sector
11 FOCUS AREA 2: Setting out a collaborative framework for the reopening of continental borders for business events travel and tourism and its impact on the tourism supply chain
i.
Ensure greater cooperation and collaboration
ii.
Careful planning and coordination of the sector
iii. Strong leadership from the various governments
13 FOCUS AREA 3: Setting out a strategic framework for reopening of air travel and creation of new air routes within the continent
i. Reopening of air travel within Africa to enable regional collaboration and promote business events tourism
ii.
Strategic framework for the creation of new air routes within the continent
15 CONCLUSION 16 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 17 ANNEXURES
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Annexure 1:
List of key industry stakeholder participants (SITE Africa Summit)
Annexure 2:
South Africa events industry health and safety protocols (on request)
Annexure 3:
BARSA health safety protocols (on request)
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Covid-19 pandemic and its widespread impacts have prompted most sectors to consider policies that will help them restrain, recover and reset their activities. One of such sectors is the Business Event Travel and Tourism in Africa (BETTA) sector. The BETTA sector holds the potential to stimulate economic activity through greater collaboration, inclusion and solidarity across Africa. A case may be made for an appropriate set of policy development to be identified and implemented with the focus on safely reopening and encouraging intra-African Business Event Travel and Tourism. This Draft Tourism White Paper is a consultation document setting out preliminary viewpoints and proposals of a policy position for the strategic vision to reopen the borders and skies in Africa, cognisant of Covid-19 Protocols, for Business Event Travel and Tourism in Africa. It is the product of extensive consultation with a range of key stakeholders and thought leaders setting the scene for African governments to benefit from access to industry proposals, thinking and feedback. It is proposed that once this draft has been through rigorous debate via various structured consultation platforms, the emerging policies may lead to a formal White Paper publication. For this reason, proposals from affected constituencies are invited. This Draft Tourism White Paper proposes the following strategic vision as a working definition: The Business Event Travel and Tourism sector is committed to Africa’s socio-economic development based on the principles of safe and sustainable economic activity that stimulates responsible growth through collaboration.
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GLOSSARY i) ABBREVIATIONS ADBG
African Development Bank Group
AfCFTA
African Continental Free Trade Area
ATB
African Tourism Board
AU
African Union
BARSA Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa BETTA Business Events Travel and Tourism in Africa Covid-19
Corona Virus Disease 2019
CPUT Cape Peninsula University of Technology ESC
Event Safety Council
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
IATA International Air Transport Association MICE Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions SITE Society for Incentive Travel Excellence SAATM Single African Air Transport Market UNWTO United Nations World Tourism Organisation WEF
World Economic Forum
WTTC World Travel and Tourism Council
ii) DEFINITION OF TERMS African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): The AfCFTA was officially launched at the 12th Extraordinary Summit of the African Union (AU) in Niamey, Niger on July 7, 2019. The agreement is signed by all of Africa’s 54 countries and to date, ratified by 27 countries. The agreement will bring opportunities and benefits for all nations across the continent.
African Union (AU) The African Union (AU) is a continental organisation consisting of 54 member states comprising the countries of the African continent. It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963 – 1999).
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Hybrid Events Hybrid Events refer to a combination of live and virtual events. With the fast-paced development of virtual and internet technology, it is possible to host an event for a number of delegates physically attending within a venue, whilst the majority of delegates attend virtually from outside destinations on a local, regional or global scale. The advantage of Hybrid meetings and events include lower cost implications for delegates due to savings on flights and the potential to increase attendee numbers. Events can include meetings, exhibitions and concerts, amongst others.
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Single African Air Travel Market (SAATM) The African Union initiated the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) as a flagship project for their Agenda 2063. The objective is to create a single, unified air transport market, to liberalise civil aviation and advance the continent’s economic development. The SAATM will play a major role in connecting Africa, promoting its social economic and political integration and boosting intraAfrica trade and tourism as a result. The SAATM was created to expedite the full implementation of the 1999 Yamoussoukro Decision.
Yamoussoukro Decision The Yamoussoukro Decision (1999), which entered into force in 2000 evolved from the Yamoussoukro Declaration of 1988. It remains the single most important air transport reform policy initiative by African Governments to date. It was adopted out of the recognition that the restrictive and protectionist intra-African regulatory regime based primarily on Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs) hampered the expansion and improvement of air transport on the continent. The Yamoussoukro Decision calls for, among others: • F ull liberalisation of intra-African air transport services in terms of access, capacity, frequency, and tariffs; • F ree exercise of first, second, third, fourth and fifth freedom rights for passenger and freight air services by eligible airlines (These rights, granted by most international air service agreements, enable, among others, non-national carriers to land in a state and take on traffic coming from or destined for a third state); • Liberalised tariffs and fair competition; and • C ompliance with established ICAO safety standards and recommended practices.
Zonal Systems (specifically relating to Covid-19 infections) Zonal Systems refer to the practice of identifying low-risk areas, isolating those as much as possible and widening the circle as neighbouring zones move into acceptable levels or indeed, the opposite, should infections increase in an identified low-risk zone. This system can apply to neighbourhoods, regions and countries.
THE FORMULATION PROCESS AND PURPOSE On 11 June 2020, the Africa chapter of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) hosted a Summit including various African and international leaders within the tourism and travel sector to discuss opportunities for: 1. D eveloping protocols to enable earlier opening of business tourism and events across the continent; 2. E xploring opportunities to improve airlift across the continent in the face of economic decline and airlines possibly shutting down; and 3. D iscussing potential for Intra-African collaboration to enable all of the above which could assist with creating new and much needed economic development across borders. The SITE Africa Summit sparked healthy discussions and debates amongst industry leaders. As a result, it motivated SITE Africa to transcribe and summarise the recorded discussions to share with leadership across the continent. This exercise was gracefully undertaken in partnership with a team from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).
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INTRODUCTION Tourism in Africa is a powerful vehicle for economic growth and job creation. However, Africa’s tourism industry has been hard-hit by the emergence of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic that broke out in Wuhan, China in November 2019. While this is not the first time that a major event has impacted the industry, the current crisis highlights the importance of resilience and adaptability. In response to the crisis, most African governments placed their countries under lockdowns to reduce the spread of the virus, resulting in the standstill or closure of many tourism businesses. As a result, Africa’s business event travel and tourism experienced profound disruptions and adverse impacts which are consistent with the global trajectory of the pandemic’s effects. While the definite impact of the pandemic remains largely undetermined, and will probably become clearer only after the identification of critical variables, including the duration of the pandemic and its intensity, early projections by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) suggested that the travel bans and restrictions would cost the global tourism industry USD200 billion, excluding a further USD113 billion in loss of revenue to the aviation industry.
Consequently, stakeholders within the Business Events Travel and Tourism sector across the continent and the globe, have considered both the need and the subsequent requirements to reopen business event travel and tourism in the Covid-19 milieu. Spearheaded by the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) Africa Chapter, consensus was reached among 26 key role players from Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe on 11 June 2020 to develop and publish a strategic vision related to Covid-19 protocols and the reopening of borders and skies in Africa for Business Event Travel and Tourism. See Annexure 1 for list of participants). In this context, it was noted that the Business Event Tourism industry was a self-regulating industry,
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which already has adequate health and safety protocols in place, ready for implementation, and that the regulations specific to the Covid-19 pandemic will constitute an additional regulatory requirement to an already naturally regulated sector. However, it was highlighted that various elements and components of the industry have been largely uncoordinated across the continent, which has resulted in fragmented strategies limiting the ability of the continent to harness the largesse and diversity of its business event tourism offerings. Therefore, the purpose of this Draft White Paper is to stimulate new thinking, collaboration and deliberation around the business event travel and tourism issues that face the African region. The Draft White Paper proposes policy foundations and a strategy for the continent to become a leading global business events travel and tourism destination in three main Focus Areas by setting out: • T he regulatory context for reopening business event tourism in the Covid-19 environment; • A collaborative framework for the reopening of air travel and new air routes within the continent; and • A strategic framework for the reopening of continental borders for travel and tourism and its impact on the tourism supply chain. Focus is firmly placed on finding ways for the continent to collaborate in the process of opening up the airspace and air routes across the continent. As such, there is a strong recommendation for governments to agree on modalities for this to happen in order to recuperate the business event travel and tourism industry that is currently under
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tremendous pressure. A considerable number of governments across the continent (34 AU states have already signed the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) in 2018, highlighting the need for the commencement of new routes in order to promote intra-Africa business tourism. The business event travel and tourism industry require clarity from African governments, the African Union (AU) and the World Tourism
Organisation (UNWTO) on issues of business tourism accessibility at a regional level as it is currently a major concern and impediment to economic growth in Africa: In as much as there are opportunities for business tourism growth and expansion regionally, the lack of open access agreements between African countries severely restricts the potential for sustainable economic advancements.
BACKGROUND Africa’s tourism industry has reportedly experienced exponential growth in recent years, with the industry contributing about 8.5% ($194.2bn) to the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2018. In addition, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) also reported that Africa remains the second fastest growing tourism region with an average growth rate of 7.1%, with several millions of jobs being supported by this sector. These statistics underpin the fact that tourism has the potential to provide significant socio-economic benefits to Africa. However, in the closing days of 2019, and the early part of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic rapidly began to spread globally, including to Africa, resulting in mass industry shutdowns and supply chain disruptions. The pandemic has had an irrefutable impact on almost all sectors and activities across the globe. In the same light, the business event tourism and travel industry has been severely affected, with both global and regional travel and tourism almost grinding to a standstill. In a novel approach, nations are proactively engaging in initiatives aimed at prevention, detection and curing the infected in order to ‘flatten the curve’ of Covid-19 infections and at the same time ensuring that the tourism economies remain resilient and viable. The challenges are immense, especially for individual governments, and success is significantly dependant on the ability to work collaboratively. While many countries globally continue to enforce travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, some governments are beginning to ease travel restrictions, by opening the borders and skies for air travel in an effort to
stimulate business tourism and mitigate further severe economic losses. To effectively achieve this during the pandemic, the implementation of safety protocols is critical and thus it has necessitated the development of industry regulatory frameworks and strategies for health and safety protocols such as intensified screening measures at ports of entries. Further establishing and enforcing effective regulatory protocols collectively as an African region, will facilitate the safe and sustainable reopening of the business tourism sector. Utilising the insights and viewpoints of the key business event travel and tourism stakeholders (see Annexure 1), this Draft White Paper highlights the industry readiness to safely reopen for business while safeguarding economies and livelihoods. The key business event travel and tourism stakeholders putting forward this White Paper, are confident that in spite of Covid-19, due to the self-regulatory nature of the industry, there are already Covid-19 associated protocols in place ensuring that the sector is capable and well prepared to reopen for business. To this point for example, in South Africa the Event Safety Council (ESC) has already established the Reopening Guidelines for the Event Industry in South Africa (see Annexure 2). However, these existing protocols highlight the importance of collaboration between African countries, careful planning and coordination of the sector, and strong leadership from the various governments.
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STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS
FOCUS AREA 1: Setting out the regulatory context for reopening business event travel and tourism in the Covid-19 environment in Africa i) The journey of reopening business events tourism The African continent is urged to find ways to start trading sooner rather than later, in order to stop job losses and alleviate unemployment and poverty. The business event travel and tourism sector has been proactive in making sure that industry-specific public health and safety protocol standards are developed and implemented in compliance with official governing bodies providing the stamp of approval. Continental authorities are therefore called upon to benefit from the fact that the continent reacted early and swiftly in instituting control measures at the outbreak of the pandemic, to further develop resilience strategies that will enable the sector restart business.
Adaptations to the new normal are critical for the continent to maximise its business event travel sector. Such adaptations require the element of trust between authorities on the continent. The experts highlighted that in its current form, there is a lack of trust and uniformity in the way governments are implementing the rules, and people are therefore distrustful of the way that the rules are applied. It is therefore critical that governments on the continent develop clear guidelines and protocols, but even more importantly, that these have to be communicated in an accurate and unbiased manner. People should also be encouraged to obtain their information from reliable and reputable sources. Additionally, the business event tourism sector is also encouraged to use the key stakeholders and thought leaders in the industry to start ‘creating trust’ in the clients, in the corporates, and in the
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business. While the industry is self-regulating, and currently putting great safety measures and protocols in place, there is need for a consistent effort in communicating the process aggressively and consistently. At a time where there is so much global and continental uncertainty due to the Covid-19 dynamic, silence and non-communication will further instil fear and uncertainty in an already fragile business event tourism and travel industry. In addition, the sector needs to create an environment of capacity building and strengthening. With the advent of the pandemic, new opportunities have arisen in the area of the digital economy. Conferences and meetings have migrated to online platforms. Across the continent, while countries have been adopting and adapting to digital platforms, there has been limited collaboration in terms of how such platforms are standardised, and how they are leveraged in terms implementation across country borders. Africa
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therefore needs to push for greater and wider adoption and implementation of such platforms and Hybrid event integration. It is important to highlight the gradual but conscious expansion of conferencing facilities to include virtual conferences as an alternative in times of crisis such as current Covid-19 pandemic. Africa therefore should begin by creating structure and organisational policies that allow the continent to collaborate on such issues that require new thinking and innovation.
ii) Ensure the development of a crisis/ emergency management plan A crisis or emergency management plan is not exclusive to pandemics. It is a necessary requirement for any situation requiring an outof-the-ordinary response in the dynamic tourism sector, from a natural disaster to a terrorist event to a civil uprising. As such, the business event travel and tourism industry is well versed in crisis or emergency management plans with extremely competent practitioners making the integration of additional Covid-19 safety protocols to existing knowledge around health, safety and emergency management possible. Public health and safety protocols should be standardised and National Tourism Boards across Africa need to be involved in placing emphasis on these processes by, for instance, inspections, monitoring and standardisation of Covid-19 and related safety protocols.
or determined based on the ability of the zone to demonstrate their preparedness. These proactive methods indicate that the whole of the business events and tourism industry is working together, instead of simply pursuing a sectoral response strategy. By adopting this approach, it is going to be easier to develop and adopt public health and safety compliance protocols. While some border closures (and) lockdown restrictions continue in some areas, in others, proper safety and health protocols are already drafted and ready for implementation once the decisions to start reopening the sector are issued.
iii) Relying on strong and established relationships In tight-knit industries like the business event travel and tourism industry, the importance of building networks cannot be overemphasised. Especially in difficult and uncertain times such as that created
Covid-19 provides an avenue for heightened emphasis on duty of care and establishing robust human capital management strategies. A tremendous amount of discipline and the development of a framework with a holistic approach to human capital management becomes a mutual responsibility. The institution of practical solutions in relation to how people could work together and how such collaborations will be communicated, implemented and monitored is critical. It is reiterated that, as a sector that is largely selfregulatory, the development of Covid-19 specific protocols should in earnest be seamless as they will be an addendum to existing protocols and the integration of the compliance will be easily implementable. More established countries within the industry would need to guide others in the establishment of the Covid-19 Zonal System, opposed to the country system of identification of hotspots. Resilient zones could then be established
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by the Covid-19 pandemic, the experts contributing viewpoints to this paper indicated the need for industry partners to build on their already existing strong relationships by establishing more resilient networks through collaboration. Accordingly, within the African context, and particularly within the business events and tourism environments, the need to reach out and to lean on strong, existing and trusted relationships is critical. Governments and industry partners are urged to establish platforms that create synergies, and give smaller players within the industry support during these uncertain times. The budgets required for furloughs during a crisis such as Covid-19 pales in comparison to amounts that some governments spend on military equipment. There is a clear indication that small suppliers related to the sector could easily continue to be supported by government initiatives, for example, by being released from certain agreements or given payment holidays in certain circumstances. African governments are urged to consider extensions of such support packages while the industry continues preparations for reopening under extremely trying circumstances with limited financial support from governments. Tourism is often the hidden giant of continental economic growth as many aspects of the industry are difficult to define making the economic impact of the sector difficult to measure. Business events and tourism associations should be given platforms through which they can come
together and create synergies that can be leveraged on in attracting and negotiating with global partners in relation to messaging and communication strategies. The focus should be on communicating clearly and collectively in unison the strategies that are being developed in preparation for the reopening of the sector in Africa, for Africa.
iv) Focus on regional markets, partnerships and collaboration to grow the MICE sector Covid-19 accelerated the need to have systems in place and adapt to changes in the business event tourism environment. Africa currently attracts approximately 2% of the global MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) industry. This presents the continent with a substantial opportunity to utilise its existing assets to take advantage and attract more of the global MICE industry events to the continent. For this to materialise, the continent needs to adopt a proactive approach in collectively crafting its response strategy. The protocols and systems are critical to surviving this disruption. At the same time the industry needs to create trust and engender a high-level of comfort for travellers and clients. Business events are considered as collaboration generators, and the current Covid-19 environment has made it possible and necessitated the sharing of ideas on various online platforms. Furthermore, the slow reopening of the sector from online, to hybrid, to face-to-face will generate more opportunities for collaboration and networking opportunities amongst the industries that business events bring together, resulting in economic advancements for the continent. Governments on the continent are further encouraged in the short-term to develop policies that will allow for the sector to promote both domestic and intra-Africa trade.
Associations should assist governments on the continent to prepare for the reopening because about 80% of all global MICE sector events come from associations. By working together with associations, governments will be tapping into their local associations’ membership base. Allowing associations to meet and engage across Africa will create a ripple effect of more robust health and safety protocols across a variety of sectors via association meetings for sector specific improvements and implementation.
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FOCUS AREA 2: Setting out a collaborative framework for the reopening of continental borders for business events travel and tourism and its impact on the tourism supply chain. i) Ensure greater cooperation and collaboration Regional integration and cooperation is vital for the development of Africa in all sectors. According to the African Development Bank Group, countries on the continent, in order to support and promote intra-African trade require the creation of larger and more attractive markets which would facilitate linkages with the smaller landlocked countries including those in fragile situations to their international counterparts. These linkages will facilitate their participation and beneficiation from the increasingly connected global marketplace. The continent’s growing population, especially the middle class and youth, provides a potential target market for these goods and services. The success of this rests on availability of infrastructure,
appropriate skills, policies and leadership that advocate for better opportunities for all. The key tourism stakeholders note the importance of African countries to work in a more integrated way. This can be ensured by carefully adjusting the policies that enhance economic growth among countries. The World Economic Forum (WEF) stresses the need for African countries to work together in different ways such as efforts to address trade obstacles as well as promotion of peace and stability. According to the African Tourism Board (ATB), integration among African countries would enable the sector to operate in a better way whereby African governments come together as a block and assess the trends, and impact of the pandemic and develop their own collective recovery models that will then interpret the recovery emergencies that will then form the base-pillars of mitigating the economy impact of the pandemic. One area of collaboration should see countries working together with their neighbours to determine whether they arrive at workable solutions or protocols which could facilitate inter-regional travel and inter-destination travel. According to the African Development Bank, a borderless Africa is a foundation for viable continental trade
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conditions, aimed at accelerating growth and allowing the continent to become more competitive in global trade value chains. This would allow tourism sectors within the continent to develop across borders, thereby creating economies of scale for potential investors as they mostly favour those markets which are integrated. The agenda towards an integrated approach to reopening rests on governments and policymakers’ readiness and willingness, as collaboration on this front requires a willingness from all stakeholders, governments, and policymakers in driving an agenda from a visa on-arrival to a free visa regional block. It is quite unfortunate that there is lack of integration among African countries which limit the opportunities which could be enjoyed when countries come together. Africa has the lowest percentage of intra-regional trade in the world, which shows opportunities exist to maximise on the benefits derived from continental integration. The current Covid-19 pandemic thus presents an opportunity to reflect on what can be done by countries in Africa to ensure that there is regional tourism growth.
ii) C areful planning and coordination of the sector Government involvement in business events and tourism matters through regulation, providing guidance and coordinating how the sector operates remains critical. This is because the state is mandated to serve the interests of the public and ensure that there is equitable development in the country. Effective coordination of the tourism industry is best achieved when there is mutual cooperation by all stakeholders. During the Covid-19 period, the sector can gradually and safely phase-in reopening when stakeholders work with government, and there is commitment from industry to ensure that this happens. Here, industry’s effort will be focused on preparing tourism safety protocols which could be implemented to ensure public health and safety standards are adhered to. While the business events and tourism sectors are eager to open up the borders, the industry is committed, ready and capable to ensure all the official protocols are in place to safeguard against any possible Covid-19 infections. One way to mitigate any public health related concerns is by gradually phasing-in the sector, beginning with domestic tourism and gradually opening cross border continental business events
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in demonstration of the sector’s readiness for international business event travel and tourism. Coordination among countries especially on how the business events and tourism sector is reopened is critical. Current evidence suggests that governments on the continent are fragmented in their approach and thereby missing out on a number of opportunities that they could harness by adopting a coordinated strategy. Governments are encouraged to adopt bilateral agreements ensuring that countries work on a well-coordinated approach to business events and tourism sector growth and expansion. People travel through different countries, but the lack of connectivity is causing the continent to sacrifice the vast socioeconomic benefits and growth opportunities that tourism may bring to the country. The continent’s tourism sector is perhaps the sector with the most potential to grow globally and can be sustainably increased when there is effective coordination and deliberation across regional destinations.
iii) S trong leadership from the various governments One of the best understood phenomena in the world of business is that of leadership, strong leaders have vision and the ability to influence others to move into unchartered territory. Many African leaders are currently in a fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and at the same time trying to mitigate the socio-economic and public health impact of this on citizenry. Leadership in the current scenario requires both industry partners and governments to demonstrate an understanding and desire to revive the business events and tourism sectors to become sustainable again. A coordinated approach between all stakeholders and the governments needs to be pursued which is currently looking very uneven from a continental perspective. Such planning initiatives could include policy initiatives on how collaborations, shared value propositions and closer alliances between countries on the continent will be managed going forward.
Strong leadership in policy decisions would see the business events and tourism sectors reopening and operating again, under safe and sustainable conditions. This involves leadership commitment to ensure that countries work together, limiting barriers that could restrict travel and tourism such as considering a visa-free approach, among other strategies.
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FOCUS AREA 3: Setting out a strategic framework for reopening of air travel and creation of new air routes within the continent i) Reopening of air travel within Africa to enable regional collaboration and promote business events tourism According to the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), Africa is home to over 1.2Â billion people with a huge geographical spread that is largely land-locked. Given the lack of robust alternative infrastructure across the continent (road, rail, water), aviation is the most effective way to get around the continent. After Covid-19 caused most African governments to institute airspace closures and implemented travel restrictions. These initiatives had an adverse impact across many sectors of the tourism industry in the first half of 2020. As such, African governments should view public health as a key component of a resilient aviation transportation system, much like safety and security. Because air travel remains essential in any plans to reopen the business events and tourism sector, it is critical to adopt protocols that protect the health and safety of crew members, ground staff and passengers while ensuring that flight operations can continue.
As in the case of safety and security where stakeholders do not compete, expectations are that the aviation industry will be encouraged to take similar steps to implement guidance on public health risk mitigations, particularly in relation to Covid-19 safety protocols. For instance, governments could collaborate on measures around the testing of incoming and outgoing travellers, a track and trace programme that is secured against privacy and anonymised, and provision of proof of medical cover from travellers when travelling between countries on the continent. The framework for implementing public health measures in the aviation sector to minimise the risk of Covid-19 transmission during travel in the air transportation system should focus on the fundamentals of safety and security, promotion of public health within the air transportation system, and recognise aviation as a driver of economic recovery. To achieve this, the protocols must consider education and communication across the entire stakeholder spectrum including both passengers and aviation employees. (See Annexure 3: BARSA health safety protocols). Aviation operations encompass a wide variety of business models, and as such where possible, collaboration should stipulate where public health measures need to be flexible to ensure that the range of airline and airport operational strategies remain viable and support economic recovery, and
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that the competitive structure of the industry is preserved and possibly expanded. Public health measures must therefore be consistent with obligations under international law and should not unnecessarily or unfairly restrict market access for international transportation. Emphasis must be placed on the strategic focus on ensuring that collaboration becomes entrenched in the industry as the business events sector continues to adapt to the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic. Opportunities should be pursued in the areas of partnerships and collaborations, shared value propositions and closer alliances which as proposed may well enable the industry on the African continent to not only adapt but become more resilient post Covid-19.
ii) S trategic framework for the creation of new air routes within the continent This is not the first time debates on liberalising air transport in Africa would be proposed to governments across the continent. As early as 1999, forty-four member states of the African Union (AU) endorsed the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD), a treaty which called for the implementation of the
open skies across African countries, which became binding in 2002. Though the implementation remained largely unsatisfactory due to the limited adoption of the YD by some of the AU states for more than a decade, twenty-three African countries in January 2018 under the auspices of the AU launched the SAATM, an initiative largely based on the agreements of the Yamoussoukro Decision. Covid-19 has provided stakeholders from governments, business, and the tourism sector to start thinking and acting differently in relation to the economic downturn inspired by the pandemic. Consequently, the opening up of more intra-Africa routes, the establishment of trade relationships and economic development on the continent augur well for business travel and events. As such, governments on the continent will need to establish enabling environments for business to develop through collaborative policy imperatives. Through these policy initiatives, it will become clear what new air transport routes can be established based on their viability. One area where this should be leveraged will be in the area of intra-regional trade and tourism. Opening up of the skies in this instance will require governments and airlines to take a cooperative approach with other players in expanding their capacity in conjunction with tourism service providers. The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) provides Africa with a massive opportunity to consider the establishment of new routes for air transport within the continent. To achieve this, a detailed analysis of current legacy routes is required. Such analysis will force the operators to face the reality of the economic operational environments within which airlines function. The advantage of this scenario is that it will lead to the shutting down of certain routes, especially in cases where there has been a clear demonstration of misalignment. As such, both governments and airlines will be forced to think differently on strategic leverages to get private capital involved in the sector. Governments therefore will need to work closely with airlines and other aviation stakeholders to formulate, promote or implement policies that support air transport growth. One way to support the growth and development of the aviation industry in Africa, according to SAATM, is the need for the African Development Bank to assist African airlines to increase intra-Africa traffic and improve connectivity in order to be more competitive and profitable.
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CONCLUSION
In closing, Africa relies on business events travel and tourism to counter the triple threats of poverty, unemployment and hunger. Major business event travel and tourism client concerns currently are around issues of security, both financial and healthcare, with the global chaos caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Even as the situation is changing rapidly across the globe, Africa is also considering reopening for business events tourism. While it is a great idea to seek ways of responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is equally a good time to consider resilience and response in general and for future hardships that may impact the sector. Response and resilience plans should be developed for Covid-19 in a measured and consistent way. The responses should be proportionate to the public health threat and based on local and regional risk assessment, involving every part of the business events tourism value chain – public bodies, private companies, and travellers. Intra-Africa collaboration and cooperation are needed to ensure pandemic panic does not
paralyse the business events tourism industry which is so important to the regional economy. Africa should learn from destinations that have reopened and are on a recovery path. One of the bigger concerns is the argument of the consideration between public health versus the economy. However, the response should not be about pitting one against the other. Rather debates and discussion should focus on both: the ability for business event tourism to operate safely whilst generating socio-economic benefits across the continent, and simultaneously protecting lives through strict health and safety protocols until such a time that a cure or vaccine is available.
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While the business events tourism sector is under pressure at the moment due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is no doubt that there is a rebound on the horizon, however the ability to bounce back will be enhanced through the continued collaboration between African countries. It is incumbent on continental authorities to benefit from the fact that the continent reacted early and swiftly in instituting control measures at the very outset of the outbreak of the pandemic. It is therefore critical that governments on the continent develop clear guidelines and protocols, but even more importantly, these have to be communicated in an accurate and unbiased manner. While the business events and tourism industry are self-regulating, and are putting great public health and safety measures and protocols in place, consistent communication is required to appease business event tourism owners and travellers who are looking for ways to navigate the Covid-19 uncertainties. Restoring consumer confidence will be essential to the recovery of the BETTA sector: without pro-actively adopting new protocol/ standards and communicating them, travel will remain limited. Africa therefore should begin by creating structure and organisational policies that allows the continent to collaborate on such issues. In the area of human capital management, there should be a heightened emphasis on duty of care and establishing robust human capital management strategies. The institution of practical solutions in relation to how people could work together and how such will be communicated, implemented and monitored is critical. As a critical socio-economic
sector in terms of its contribution and impetus in Africa, focus should be on clearly articulating, as a collective, the strategies that are being developed in preparation for the reopening of the business tourism and events sector in Africa. Governments on the continent are encouraged to swiftly develop policies that will allow for the sector to promote both domestic and intra-Africa travel and trade. Governments should collaborate in developing new recovery models based on the assessment of current trends and the impact of the pandemic which could form baseline strategies for mitigating economic recovery. A borderless Africa should be seen as a foundation for a viable continental market aimed at accelerating growth and allow the continent to be more competitive in global trade. With workable policies, solutions and protocols in place, countries could start collaborating in terms of more inter-regional and intra-African travel. This would allow tourism sectors within the continent to develop across borders, thereby creating economies of scale for potential investors given that investors are more likely to be attracted by markets that are integrated. Therefore, in conclusion, the current Covid-19 pandemic thus presents an opportunity to ensure the realisation of regional tourism and growth. Expressed willingness from all stakeholders must drive the implementation of initiatives such as visa on-arrival and free visa regimes across the continent. To achieve this, strong leadership in policy decisions would see the tourism sector reopening safely and profitably.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Project leader: Tes Proos, president of Site Africa Project research partners: Dr H.K.N Bama and Ms E. Venske (Department of Tourism and Event Management, Cape Peninsula University of Technology) Project research contributors: Dr C.N. Dube, Mr. G. Muresherwa, Ms P. Mokoena, Ms Z. Bavuma and Ms. Z. Tomlinson (Department of Tourism and Event Management, Cape Peninsula University of Technology).
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ANNEXURE 1 Key industry stakeholder participants (SITE Africa Summit) Name
Position
Company or Association
Country
1
Tes Proos
President
SITE Africa
South Africa
2
Jon Howell
CEO/Founder
AviaDev
3
David Sand
Founder/CEO
Uwin, Iwin
South Africa
4
Hugo Slimbrouck
Director of Strategic Partnerships
Ovation Global DMC
Belgium
5
Rob Kucera
District Director East Africa & General Manager
Radisson-Blu Hotels East Africa
Kenya
6
Rosemary Mugambi
Director of Sales & Marketing Serena Hotels
Kenya
7
Didier Scaillet
Global CEO
SITE Global
USA
8
Kwakye Donkor
CEO
Africa Tourism Partners
Ghana
9
Jacinta Nzioka
National Coordinator
Kenyan Convention Bureau
Kenya
10 Jeffers Miruka
CEO/President
African Society of Executive Associations/ African Society of Economics
Kenya
11 Lily Rakorong
Board Member
Hospitality & Tourism Association
Botswana
12 Gary Koetser
CEO
Century City Conference Centre
South Africa
13 Frank Murangwa
Marketing Director
Rwanda Convention Bureau
Rwanda
14 Aaron Munetsi
African Aviation Enthusiast
Private
South Africa
15 Zuks Ramasia
CEO
BARSA
South Africa
16 Paul Van Den Brink
Senior Project Manager
WESGRO
South Africa
17 Toni Ukachukwu
CEO
Aviators Africa
Nigeria
18 Miller Matola
CEO
Millvest
South Africa
19 Cuthbert Ncube
Chairman
African Tourism Board
South Africa
20 Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa
CEO
Tourism Business Council of South Africa
South Africa
21 Akwase Agyeman
CEO
Ghana Tourism Authority
Ghana
22 Givemore Chidzidzi CEO (Acting)
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority
Zimbabwe
23 Deon Cloete
General Manager
Cape Town International Airport
South Africa
24 Doris Parsons
Managing Partner
SRC Agency
Tanzania/ Rwanda
25 Linda Pereira
CEO/Senior Partner
L&I Communications Group
Portugal
26 Peter Tarlow
Founder/President
Tourism & More
USA
27 Mike Lord
Managing Director
Line Safety Management and Alliance Venue and Facilities Management.
South Africa
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Contact SITE Africa
President: Tes Proos Email: tes@crystalevents.co.za Tel: +27 (0)84 682 7676 www.siteglobal.com
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