Tanzania among Top 10 African Air Travel Destinations in 2016

Tanzania is among the top 10 African destinations by international air arrivals for the period January-August 2016.

This was indicated in a recent analysis on international air travel to East Africa by ForwardKeys, a Spanish company focused on traveler data intelligence.

The analysis ranks Tanzania 8th with 3% share of total international air arrivals to Africa. South Africa ranks 1st with 13% share, followed by Egypt with 9%, Morocco (8%), Mauritius (5%), Kenya (4%), Algeria (4%), Tunisia (4%), Tanzania (3%), Ethiopia (3%), Nigeria (2%) and other countries in Africa (45%).

Olivier Jager, CEO of ForwardKeys, said: “We are seeing a tale of two Africas, with North African countries suffering from political instability and terror activities and Sub Saharan African countries powering ahead […].”

“Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, the picture is highly encouraging for East Africa,” ForwardKeys’ notes.

International bookings for travel to East African countries, up to the end of December are 17.3% ahead of where they were at this time last year.

Tanzania Air Transport

The total number of air passengers in Tanzania increased by 62% in the past 5 years, from 2.1m in 2010 to 3.5m in 2015, while Tanzania’s cargo handling capacity rose by 7% during the same period, from 23,453t to 25,165t.

The Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA), located in Dar es Salaam, is the largest and busiest airport in Tanzania, accounting for over 70% of Tanzania’s air passengers with almost 2.5m in 2015.

The Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), which serves travellers visiting Tanzania’s northern safaris, is the 2nd busiest airport in Tanzania with 780,800 air passengers in 2015. According to the 2014 World Airport Summit, drivers of Tanzania’s air transport development include the growth of tourism, mining and economic activities.