When I was looking at flights from Accra to South Africa a week or so ago (which I ultimately couldn’t currently afford), I came to realize that airfare within Africa is insanely expensive. Like crazy expensive. Basically to get anywhere from Accra (where I am right now) is roughly $1,000 – whether that be to Nairobi, Madrid, or Washington DC doesn’t matter. Getting to South Africa was even worse at $1350. I’d make a big bet that if Africa as a whole took some steps to make flights between African nations more affordable (when will there be a “Southwest Airlines of Africa”), then they’d see a substantial boost in overall tourism – particularly from budget travelers who often spend all their money in Europe and Southeast Asia. Almost everyone I talk to wants to venture to Africa, but the transportation costs to and from are the primary reason for someone not pulling the trigger on a trip. Either that or, and they won’t usually say this, but they are just not ready to deal with the inconveniences of the non-Westernized world & to see the way the majority of the world lives on a daily basis. Regardless, I think cheaper airfare within Africa could lure half of those budget travelers currently on the fence about visiting Africa — by enabling budget travelers to afford to visit multiple countries in a single trip over the course of a few months rather than being limited to a single country for $2,000 in airfare.
Drew Meyers
Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.
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