Africa has spent over two decades discussing aviation liberalisation; however, the real bottleneck is no longer policy. It’s implementation. That was the central message delivered during “Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges”, a high-level panel hosted in conjunction with AviaDev, Helm, VoyagesAfriq and the SADC Tourism Alliance at the Tourism & Aviation Connectivity Forum, held on the sidelines of AviaDev Africa 2025.
The session, moderated by Natalia Rosa, Project Lead for the SADC Tourism Alliance, brought together senior tourism and economic development officials from Zanzibar and South Africa’s Western Cape Government. Together, they unpacked the persistent gap between aviation policy and tourism growth and called for a shift from fragmented policy discussion to coordinated, action-driven delivery.
“We do not have a knowledge gap in this room,” said Rosa. “Everyone in this room believes in the importance of liberalising aviation across Africa to unlock economic growth and tourism. What we have is an action gap. And until we focus on implementation and getting the right people around the table to put those words into actions – not more frameworks – we’re going to keep having the same conversation every year.”
From Policy to Practice: What Zanzibar Got Right
Zanzibar’s experience offers a practical model for cutting through interdepartmental silos. Hafsa Mbamba, Tourism Delivery Manager of the Presidential Delivery Bureau, explained how embedding oversight of tourism, infrastructure and aviation within a single coordinating unit, backed by the Office of the President, has enabled decisive action on long-standing infrastructure and connectivity barriers. Terminal upgrades are already underway to match anticipated demand.
“The policies are there,” said Mbamba. “The challenge is people working in silos. The Bureau exists to break through those silos. We have oversight across tourism, infrastructure and aviation, and we work with all stakeholders to actually implement – not just plan.”
Mbamba, who also sits on the board of the Zanzibar Airport Authority and previously led the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism, explained how the Bureau’s direct line to the Presidency had created space for cross-sectoral action.
“We don’t have to convince every ministry individually as we represent His Excellency’s vision. That gives us leverage and political backing,” she said. “In five years, we’ve seen real results. Infrastructure has improved, coordination has improved, and visitor numbers are up.”
Western Cape’s Approach: Fund It, Own It, Scale It
Rashid Toefy, Deputy Director-General for Economic Development and Tourism in the Western Cape Government, echoed the urgency of moving beyond theory. He outlined the practical approach that has made Cape Town Air Access one of Africa’s leading regional air access initiatives.
“Every year since 2015, we’ve funded a dedicated team that wakes up every day and focuses solely on air access,” said Toefy. “This is not a side project. It’s embedded. And we’ve asked the private sector to co-invest because they’re beneficiaries too.”
Toefy stressed that trade, tourism and investment must be treated as a single, interconnected agenda.
“It’s not just about flying tourists in for sun and sand,” he said. “It’s about moving blueberries to Dubai, mussels to New York, executives to markets. That’s what makes the economic case. It’s why the biggest investment banks and media houses pay to sit at our table.”
He also highlighted how provincial governments can and should take initiative even in the face of national constraints.
“We’re not an island of success. We lobby upwards and sideways, to national government and metros. We’ve had to do the economic studies ourselves, fund the red tape reduction unit ourselves. But we keep pushing because every direct flight means jobs.”
Rosa challenged delegates to rethink the positioning of aviation within government, suggesting that it belongs under trade and industry ministries, not just tourism or transport.
“Tourism is still viewed as if it’s only about palm trees and pina coladas,” said Rosa. “But this is a supply chain issue. It’s about exports, logistics, job creation, investment. If your flowers and seafood can’t fly out, and travellers can’t fly in, your economy suffers. It’s that simple.”
Reframing the Case for Open Skies
Throughout the session, speakers returned to the issue of aviation liberalisation and how economic framing can shift political resistance.
“In our case, the narrative matters,” said Mbamba. “Zanzibar doesn’t have its own national carrier. But because connectivity is tied to economic competitiveness, we’ve been able to reframe the conversation and the political will is there to act.”
Toefy added that more regional blocs need to move ahead on liberalisation now, rather than waiting for continental consensus.
“If you keep waiting for everyone to come to the table, nothing moves. Start with bilateral open skies between high-potential city pairs. Prove the model. Scale from there.”
In a live poll of attendees, the top two priorities identified for advancing African aviation liberalisation were:
- Ending protectionist policies that favour national carriers
- Focusing on bilateral open skies between strategic city pairs rather than waiting for full continental harmonisation.
The session closed with a shared message: the building blocks for change exist. What’s missing is coordinated, resourced action.
About the Tourism and Aviation Connectivity Forum
AviaDev Africa is the continent’s only dedicated aviation development conference, focused on improving air connectivity to, from, and within Africa. It brings together airlines, airports, tourism authorities, and government stakeholders for route development discussions grounded in strategic partnerships.
As part of the 2025 edition, the Tourism and Aviation Connectivity Forum was introduced as a practical forum addressing one of the most critical – and often missing – components of route development: meaningful tourism engagement.
Featuring perspectives from tourism CEOs, airlines, and airport authorities, the session explored how poor coordination between tourism and aviation can undermine route viability, and how targeted collaboration can not only secure air access, but ensure it is sustainable.
Administered by the NEPAD Business Foundation, the Tourism Alliance unites apex private sector bodies, along with private and public sector tourism stakeholders and partners, to drive enhanced value, quality, and sustainable growth of tourism within the SADC region.
Our initiatives are supported by the Joint Action NaturAfrica / Climate Resilience and Natural Resource Management (C-NRM) Programme, co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Government, and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
Rosa concludes: “As the co-host of AviaDev’s opening day, the SADC Tourism Alliance will continue convening public and private sector leaders to drive forward a regional roadmap for aviation-tourism integration. That includes documenting replicable models, brokering multi-stakeholder coalitions, and advocating for strategic coordination at the highest levels of government.”
Ends
Media Contact: Natalia Rosa Project Lead – SADC Business Council Tourism Alliance info@sadctourismalliance.org