To tell travellers that South Africa is not affected by the deadly Ebola virus, South African Airways plans to follow the route adopted by its counterpart in Hong Kong – using flyers to show that the distance between East Africa, which has the presence of Ebola, and South Africa is equal to the distance between Hong Kong and Dubai.

“We have seen a big drop in demand. I am trying to get the flyers used by South African Airways in the Hong Kong office to India. We will customise these for India as we need to educate customers here,” said Sajid Khan, Country Manager (India). Sajid declined to provide specific numbers of passengers carried by South Africa Airways on their flights as it is market competitive information.

South African Airways operates six flights a week to Mumbai providing the only direct air link between India and South Africa.

The airline largely carries point-to-point traffic although some passengers also use the airline to travel on to South America and neighbouring states in Africa.

Tourism boost

Meanwhile, in a boost to South Africa tourism, a group of close to 200 travel professionals will be travelling there soon. “These are people who advise travellers on where they should go. They are likely to spend a few days there,” Sajid said. Airline officials feel there are different ways of looking at the impact on Indian tourist arrivals in South Africa.

“Frequent travellers are unlikely to cancel a visit to South Africa because they know what to expect. But a first time visitor is likely to cancel the trip and consider travelling to an alternate destination,” said an airline sales executive.

Bollywood also continues to repose faith despite the Ebola scare. Sajid said that at least three movies were planning a shoot in South Africa.

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