THE travel industry has welcomed
collaborative efforts by KwaZulu
Natal (KZN) tourism stakeholders
to grow international flights out of
Durban highlighting that, should global
carriers offer price-competitive fares,
demand would increase.
Following the recent success of
the daily flights between London and
Durban, which saw growth of 11%
in international passenger numbers
into King Shaka International Airport,
KZN MEC for Economic Development,
Tourism and Environmental Affairs,
Nomusa Dube-Ncube, is working with
Tourism KZN and Dube TradePort
Special Economic Zone to woo more
international carriers to fly directly to
the city, says a press release from the
MEC’s office.
“It would be good to monitor how
well a direct Asian-based carrier could
perform on a direct route from Durban
as there certainly is a demand in
our leisure business for holidays to
Thailand and Bali,” says Sue Garrett,
Flight Centre’s gm of marketing and
product.
Manager of Harvey World Travel
Highway, Karen Foley, agrees, saying a
carrier such as Singapore Airlines flying
directly into Durban would open up
more options for travel to the Far East,
Australia, New Zealand and the west
coast of the United States.
Sure Travel board member and
director of Mithas Travel, Zain Mitha,
says a global carrier like Saudi Arabian
Airlines is on his wishlist, as there is
a “huge ethnic market travelling on
annual pilgrimages out of Durban”.
All three agents concur, however, that
the Durban market is particularly price
sensitive and price competiveness
would be a major consideration. “This
sometimes does not allow carriers to
yield effectively out of market,” says
Sue.
The daily Emirates flights out of
Durban and the direct service to
London Heathrow are popular because
their airfares are competitive and offer
convenient connections to the East,
India and Europe, adds Karen.
Air Mauritius recently introduced
a fourth frequency to Durban. “As
the need increases, we will look at
additional capacity on the route,
especially during
the peak holiday periods,”
says Carla da Silva, regional manager
for Africa and Latin America. Air
Mauritius offers the only direct flight
to Mauritius from Durban,
with connections to India, South East
Asia, China and Australia.
