Vijay Poonoosamy is the VP of International and Public Affairs at Etihad, and chair of IATA’S Industry Affairs Committee. He moderated a panel on connectivity at the UNWTO and French Government Conference on Sustainable Development of Tourism in Islands in La Reunion yesterday.
According to him, transport is a fundamental necessity, especially air transport. 53% of the billions of tourists travel by plane today, and it is a means that tourism and air transport are completely interconnected. 260 million jobs are generated worldwide by tourism and the multiply effect of air transport is amazing. Every 100 US dollars of revenue produced by air transport generates an additional 325$. A restrictive policy on air access is definitely an impediment. Traffic growth averaged between 13 and 35% growth annually, and increase in air services results in increases in GDP.
Increased liberalization leads to increased employment and economic growth. Some places still focus on the interests of national airlines, prohibiting growth. Giving traffic rights is like opening a store, and you can’t even hope for a customer if the store is closed. Air access between the Vanilla Islands must be achieved if the islands are to achieve their goals.
