De Lille: Air travel crucial to economic growth
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille says air travel and trade across
various international markets are a crucial component of economic growth.
The country will welcome the first direct flight from China to Johannesburg with tourists landing at OR Tambo International on Wednesday.
Last year, numerous direct flights were introduced, such as the direct United Airlines flight from Cape Town to Newark in the US. Later this year, the country can also expect a LATAM flight from Brazil to OR Tambo International Airport.
READ: De Lille: SA tourism on way of achieving its goals
Speaking at the Travel Africa Indaba at the Durban ICC on Tuesday, De Lille said that air traffic to and from South Africa has been making a strong recovery.
"We all know that China is the most promising market also for South Africa, now just before the pandemic the country received nearly 100 000 visitors from China and I think it's possible to push this number further by the year 2030.
"If we reach the target more than a hundred billion in Chinese tourism spend can be generated over a five-year period and this could reduce unemployment significantly."
