By Abdi Ali
Published September 3, 2016
“Enjoy up to 50% airfare discount with Etihad Airways!” says Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
One can now travel to Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, Abu Dhabi, India and Britain from Kenya in Economy and Business classes of Etihad for a song.
The Economy fare to Tokyo, Melbourne and Sydney is US$727, US$1031 and US$1107, respectively; corresponding Business fare to the same destinations is US$2038, US$3917 and US$4347.
But not everyone travels to Oceania. So Etihad flies you to Beijing, Mumbai or London for US$671, US$383 and US$670 (Economy) and US$671, US$843 and US$1560 (Business).
The special Business fare to Seoul, Abu Dhabi and Delhi is US$1521, US$931 and US$996. Its respective Economy equivalent is US$565, US$360 and US$481.
These special fares, says Etihad, are up for purchase September 1-5, 2016 and for travel between September 18, 2016 and June 30, 2017.
Meanwhile, new research by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) shows that global travel and tourism continues to register strong growth despite challenges from terrorism, political turmoil, global economic developments, and Britain’s vote to get out of the European Union (Brexit).
According to unwtowire.com, WTTC’s Economic Impact Report 2016 shows that the travel and tourism sector is still expected to grow by 3.1%, outpacing global economic growth forecast at 2.3%.
The regional outlook for direct Travel & Tourism GDP in 2016 shows that:
- South Asia leads the growth at 5.9%, driven by strong economic prospects in India.
- Latin America will be the worst performer, with an anticipated decline of 0.9%, driven by weakness in Brazil.
- Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia are expected to show solid growth at 4.7% and 4% respectively, stimulated by China growing at 6.3%.
- North America will perform well, with forecast growth of 3.1%.
Europe will be challenged by lower visitor spend, but will still grow by 2.2%.
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“Our update report highlights the resilience of travellers and the robustness of our sector, as tourism continues to outpace global economic growth by nearly 1%. Whilst we should not downplay the impact of incidents or turmoil at individual country level, on a macro-economic level we continue to register strong growth,” says David Scowsill, President & CEO of WTTC.
Describing tourism as a “force for good” that “brings tremendous social and economic benefits to countries and connects people from different cultures and backgrounds”, David Scowsill calls on governments “to continue to focus on the economic and social benefits of Travel & Tourism, and to work together with the private sector to combat some of the challenges we face.”
