African nations grounded by coronavirus plan to take flight but must weigh pandemic and economic risks

Several countries are reopening their airspace with the hope that tourism jobs and dollars will follow

WHO warns that airlines and African governments must adapt to ‘the new normal’ with stringent processes to avoid new outbreaks

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The Rwandan government has begun Covid-19 street testing in the capital Kigali. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 6:00pm, 12 Jul 2020Updated: 11:37pm, 12 Jul 2020

Rwanda is well known for its mountain gorillas – and tourists pay top dollar to go on a gorilla trek in the great ape tourism industry.

But since the country grounded flights and banned visits to gorilla parks and other tourist sites in March to fight coronavirus, the industry has suffered immensely.

To help heal the economy and revive jobs that have been wiped out by coronavirus, Rwanda is reopening its airspace and is cutting park fees to woo tourists back.

Rwanda started with slashing gorilla trekking permits to US$500 for foreign nationals while Rwandan citizens and foreign residents will pay US$200. This ticket usually costs more than US$1,400. Gorilla trekking has been gaining traction among China’s elite travellers in recent years.

A mountain gorilla walks in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. The cost of gorilla tourism in the East African nation has been cut to try to win tourists back and revive the economy after the pandemic shut tourism down. Photo: AP

Further, starting from August 1, the East African nation is reopening its airspace to international commercial flights. However, Rwanda’s Ministry of Infrastructure said all passengers, including those in transit, would be required to show proof of a Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) negative test result from a certified laboratory. Covid-19 is the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus