Ongoing travel peak creates more opportunities for African carriers in China

The ongoing surge in travel to Africa has created more opportunities for African carriers, with tourist numbers from China boosting their performance. 

Since January until June this year, "more than 330,000 passengers have traveled on our passenger flights between Chinese mainland and the rest of the world. The number of passengers is approaching the normal number before the pandemic," Aman Wole Gurmu, country director of China for Ethiopian Airlines, told the Global Times.

The seat occupancy rate of the route has always been maintained at a high level, especially during the peak tourist season and busy business periods, Gurmu added.

As the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa is an important transportation hub on the African continent. Departing from Addis Ababa, passengers can quickly connect to more than 60 African destinations.

Ethiopian Airlines opened a Shanghai-Addis Ababa passenger route 10 years ago, marking what was also the first direct route from Shanghai to the African continent.

In addition to the direct flight between Shanghai and Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Airlines has another three passenger destinations in Chinese mainland, including Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu. 

Currently, there are seven passenger flights a week from Beijing and Shanghai to Addis Ababa, 10 from Guangzhou and 4 from Chengdu.

The fastest growth in demand from Chinese travelers has been seen in segments connecting major Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen to key African cities. 

Market insiders said that the inbound tourism market to Africa has a broad development prospect driven by the increasing number of Chinese tourists, and the improving tourism infrastructure s in Africa.

So far, the number of international tourists traveling to Africa has recovered to 96 percent of pre pandemic levels, with the number of passengers transported approaching returning toward volume before COVID-19, according to Gurmu.

Summer has been another boost for African travel, with Africa becoming an increasingly popular destination due to its unique natural scenery and rich cultural heritage.

There were less than 2,000 people from Chinese mainland traveling to Africa last year. This year, our seat bookings have exceeded 4,000, according to Gurmu. 

Chinese travel agency Spring Tour told the Global Times on Thursday that Kenya in Africa is one of the most popular destinations in this summer's bookings because  tourists to this country can go visa-free this year.

Reservations during and after the summer are on the rise, and the number of group tours during the summer is expected to exceed that of the same period in 2023, according to the agency. 

In terms of carrier selection, the Spring Travel said its tour groups to Kenya partner with Ethiopian Airlines.

Gurmu said Ethiopian Airlines attaches great importance to the Chinese market and regards it as an important growth point for the future. The company is expected to continue to increase flight routes and frequencies to meet the rising demand. 

The decision to launch new flights or increase frequencies is mainly based on market demand and operational considerations, he said. 

Gurmu said Ethiopian Airlines has shown confidence in its growth potential in China, and the growth is expected to come from increased passenger traffic between China and Africa, as well as strategic partnerships and collaborations.

In another development, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said China's international air passenger transport market continues to recover, with flight numbers reaching roughly 80 percent of the level in 2019 for five consecutive months since February of this year. 

From July 1 to 7, Chinese and foreign airlines operated a total of 6,045 international passenger flights. Among them, the number of flights to seven countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Hungary, Greece, Kenya and Portugal has more doubled than that of 2019.