In an effort to increase economic activity, SA Tourism is on a mission to open more avenues of air access into the country.

Tonight, the maiden voyage of Air Belgium will leave Brussels and by tomorrow morning, it will touch down for the first time in ages on South African soil.

CEO of SA Tourism Nomasonto Ndlovu says this is the start of a long relationship between South Africa and the European country.

“As a market, Europe has been very important for South Africa, as you know. Europe has gotten back on its feet very well after Covid, and their numbers have grown a lot. In fact, they have a huge market. So, we need to make sure there is enough air lift to handle that many people.

Ndlovu explained that SA Tourism was doing a lot of marketing work in Northern Europe, with a focus on the Netherlands and the new access to air life through Air Belgium would assist with attracting tourism into the country.

“As an organization coming out of Covid, we launched a new campaign which we called Live Again. The essence of that campaign is to ensure that we signal to the world that South Africa is open for business and the borders are open for them to come experience South Africa in a way they use to before Covid,” she said.

Landing in Johannesburg and Cape Town

Air Belgium’s maiden voyage will see it land tomorrow morning at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and the following day, it will touch down in Cape Town. This will be the start of seasonal flights from Belgium to SA, with three flight each week.