BUSINESS persons have something to celebrate following introduction
of Flydubai budget airline to Dar es Salaam, a move expected to boost
trade and tourism in Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates as well as
other gulf nations.
Speaking at the event at the Julius Nyerere International Airport
(JNIA) on Wednesday, the Consul General of UAE, Dr Omary Mjenga said
that the coming of Flydubai is the right trend needed in the
strengthening of relations between Tanzania and the UAE.
"When I return to Dubai, the first door that I will be knocking on is
that of Flydubai and to ask them to ensure that they employ
Tanzanians," he said.
Dr Mjenga said that with the fares being as low as 400 US Dollars to
and fro Dubai, those in the business fraternity have a reason to take
full advantage of the opportunity.
Commenting on what impact the official launching of the airline will
mean to the tourism sector, Dr Mjenga said that the nature of most
tourists is that low fares are a major attraction, adding that it is his
conviction that the inaugural of Flydubai should be a godsend to the
Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and the Tanzania Tourism Board
(TTB).
"I firmly believe that if we work together effectively, there is
every reason for the 1 million tourists currently visiting the country
to treble," he said.
Minister of State in the Vice-President's Office, Ms Samia Suluhu
Hassan, said that the arrival of the new flight to Tanzania was a
symbolic event and that the government through JNIA, the Tanzania Civil
Aviation Authority (TCAA) would cooperate to ensure the smooth running
of flydubai.
Ms Hassan said that the Ministry of Transport is committed in
ensuring that all aviation services are improved, saying that the
airline's additional route will open economic opportunities to both the
trade and tourism sector.
"Tanzanians need to make the most of the coming of this airline, not
only is it safe and affordable but also its coming means it's an
employment opportunity that shouldn't be missed," she said.
The Flydubai Senior Vice- President Commercial (GCC, Subcontinent and
Africa), Mr Sudhir Sreedharan, said that the UAE has recognised the
immense potential in the emerging markets of East Africa like Tanzania
and they will continue to work diligently to support the travel, trade
and tourism objectives by strengthening the direct links between the UAE
and African markets.
Flydubai entered the market in 2009 with flights to Djibouti and in
2011 Addis Ababa became the airline's second East African destination.
In 2014, Flydubai added six new routes to the continent with the
start of flights to Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and three destinations in
Tanzania.
Since launching its operations in 2009, Flydubai has created a
network of 86 destinations, with 20 new routes announced so far in 2014,
opened up to 54 new routes that did not previously have direct air
links to Dubai or were nor served by a UAE national carrier from Dubai
and built up a fleet of 41 brand new Boeing 737-800 new generation
aircraft
0 comments:
Post a Comment