De Lille made the remarks on Monday evening during the
African Tourism Ministers Dialogue in South Africa's port city of Durban. She
said Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) will spend 21.7 billion rand (about
1.18 billion U.S. dollars) to develop airport infrastructure in South Africa.
"The rest of the world is poised to make travel more
accessible, and essential source markets like China and India are set to
increase; we must partner to make it easier to travel to and in Africa,"
said de Lille. "Now is the time to rethink development strategies in the
tourism sector and strengthen regional integration and cooperation. We have to
encourage strategic public-private partnerships, promote investment in the
tourism sector regionally, and refocus efforts to implement impactful
projects."
She urged African tourism ministers to find concrete
solutions to create opportunities to increase air connectivity in Africa.
Africa should share best practices and improve connectivity
to encourage more tourists to visit Africa by making travel easy and
comfortable, de Lille said. "It is simply that we want more tourists to
travel and to make it easier for tourists to travel on the African continent.
It is also essential to examine how Africa can leap ahead using technological
advances like digital booking platforms, biometric security systems, and
sustainable aviation fuels."
The African Tourism Ministers Dialogue was attended by
African tourism ministers, members of the diplomatic community, and airliners
from Asia, Africa, and Europe, who also shared their views on improving air
connectivity. The meeting is part of Africa's Travel Indaba, which started on
Monday and will end on Wednesday.
According to the International Air Transport Association's
January 2024 report globally, in 2023, air traffic was at 94.1 percent of
pre-pandemic levels.