The seven partner states of the East African Community (EAC) have been urged to liberalise their airspaces and open up skies to promote the tourism industry in the region.
The Chairperson of the East African Tourism Platform (EATP), Fred Odek, said existing different bilateral air service agreements between the countries were too restrictive and were disrupting the harmonisation of air transport.
Odek, who was speaking during the official opening of the second EAC Tourism Expo in Bujumbura, Burundi, called on the partner states to finalise the EAC regulations to facilitate the liberalisation of air travel in the region in line with the goals of the Single African Air Transport Market.
“The partner states should also grant rights to each other the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th freedoms in line with the Yamoussoukro Decision, of which all partner states are signatories,” he said.
The Yamoussoukro Decision is a treaty adopted by 44 African states in 1999, which establishes a framework for the liberalisation of air transport services between countries, as well as fair competition between airlines.
Odek pointed out that airfares in the East African region remained extremely high due to the lack of open skies and heavy taxes levied by governments.
However, the EATP Chairperson hailed the East African Single Tourist Visa and use of national IDs as travel documents across the region as some of the best policies that had been formulated by the EAC.
Describing the tourism sector as one of the leading sources of foreign exchange earnings for the region, Odek pointed out that based on GDP losses by region, EAC tourism was the second most affected region globally by the pandemic, after Central America.
“Nonetheless, this sector is resilient and one of the most important to get our economies back on a growth path. In 2022, we are experiencing a recovery as the COVID-19 pandemic has been contained in most of our key source markets and international travellers are now fully confident to travel.”
Odek added that the Ukraine conflict had impacted negatively on tourist arrivals in East Africa and especially for destinations like Zanzibar, where Russia and Ukraine were the key source markets.
Burundi’s Vice President Prosper Bazombanza officially opened the expo on September 23, with the event concluding on September 30 with a tour operators and exhibitors excursion of the country’s tourist attractions.
