The City of Cape Town is making a case for an air corridor between the Mother City and South America.
In an effort to encourage direct flights between Latin America and Cape Town, Alderman James Vos, the Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, is on a trade mission in South America to engage with airlines, tourism operators, and investment agencies to open up a South-to-South travel and trade corridor.
At the moment, there is still no direct flight between any cities in South America and Cape Town.
Vos and Enver Duminy, Cape Town Tourism CEO, are currently attending the World Travel Market (WTM) Latin America, to position Cape Town as a destination of choice to visit, work, and invest. The two are in talks with DMCs, airlines, and outbound tour operators and other relevant bodies including the Rio Tourism Authority, the Investment Facilitation Agency for São Paulo, the Municipal Chamber of São Paulo, and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.
The Cape Town group is making a case for a South-to-South link with Pedro Spadale, the Head of International Relations at Rio Municipal Government, Affonso Emilio Massot, the Municipal Secretary of International Affairs in São Paulo, and Vusumuzi Mavimbela, Brazil’s Consulate General for South Africa.
“It will open up new market opportunities for exporters and benefit our economy. It will create jobs, and stimulate supply and demand for Cape-made products. Likewise, it will benefit the tourism industry back home because it will create a direct route to attract travellers to our shores,” Vos told Travel News.
Brazil is South Africa’s biggest trading partner in Latin America, with around 77 000 Brazilian tourist arrivals in 2019 – a 9,5% rise over the prior year.
