News & Analysis: Travel and tourism
“Despite being created to manage travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, the African Union’s COVID-19 passport can set in place a mechanism for controlling future pandemics and disease outbreaks in the continent.”
“While case numbers and deaths from COVID-19 continue to rise across Africa, the devastating costs of the travel restrictions that have been imposed on visitors as a consequence continue to grow. The economic damage caused by the closure of the tourism economy in Southern and North Africa last year is continuing, perhaps worsening, this year.”
“Travelers arriving from India and Uganda or those who have traveled there in the last seven days will be required upon arriving in Rwanda to complete a mandatory seven-day quarantine, the Health Ministry said Wednesday in its updated rules which came into force Tuesday. The ministry encouraged airlines to check whether passengers have booked seven days in its designated hotels before boarding.”
“Burundi on Monday said it would reopen its Kobero-Kabanga and Mugina borders with Tanzania, which were closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.”
“The airline industry in Africa recorded a passenger revenue loss of about $10.21 billion for the year 2020, with passenger numbers dropping from 95 million in 2019 to 34.7 million in 2020, representing a year-on-year decline of 63.7 percent.”
“This comes as Air Zimbabwe resumed domestic routes on June 2, for the first time since January last year when it stopped flights, apart from charter operations, due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.”
“So far, Ethiopian Airlines has carried more than 27m vaccines to 24 countries. It has a 54,000 sq m freezer facility in Addis Ababa for COVID-19 vaccines that can keep the temperature at -25C, and is developing a facility to make enough ice to keep vaccines ultra-cold when needed.”
“Paid tours are what is left for the Batwa to continue their traditional ways as they did in the forest. The COVID-19 blow to tourism has greatly affected the incomes of many performers in the settlements.”
“The steps we have taken aims at reducing the duration of the testing process. Following these comments, improvements have been made with the addition of service delivery areas including from two to 10 testing centers.”
“All travellers, whether foreign or returning, arriving from countries with new COVID-19 variants based on WHO daily updates or those who have travelled through those countries in the last 14 days regardless of route taken shall be subjected to rapid test at point of entry.”
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