KEY-NOTE ADRESS BY MR. GICHIRI NDUA, CHAIRMAN OF CRUISE INDIAN OCEAN ASSOCIATION (CIOA) AND MANAGING DIRECTOR KENYA PORTS AUTHORITY DURING THE INAUGRAL SEATRADE AFRICA FORUM HELD IN DURBAN FROM 10TH TO 12TH MAY 2011
Distinguished Invited guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It gives me great pleasure and honour to be with you and share this historic forum with entrepreneurial professionals. To some of us here, especially from the Cruise Indian Ocean Association (CIOA), this is a solemn, auspicious and most momentous occasion.
Mounting Seatrade Africa for the first time is sincerely and by any standard a hilarious occasion. Today, I want to confess that never before have these words evoked such a deep conviction.
Ladies and gentlemen, before I proceed, allow me to thank the organizers of this event – Seatrade, Members of CIOA and all those who have worked round the clock to make this occasion a reality. To many of us in this hall, this is a dream come true. It is a dream because for a long time many of us have persistently made efforts to convince the world that there is something Africa can offer to add space and value to development of cruise tourism.
A highly reputable and distinguished gentleman who has been very instrumental in the conception and fruition of this idea, Mr. Chris Hayman, the President of Seatrade, can possibly recall the number of times some of us have waylaid him during meetings to share our thoughts, aspirations and dreams of wanting to hold this event. Mr Hayman, I salute you for your exemplary patience, optimism and wisdom in plotting the course. Today is a testimony that all has not been in vain.
Distinguished guests, allow me to say one or two things about the organization before I move to other issues. The Cruise Indian Ocean Association (CIOA), of which I am honored to be deeply associated with is an umbrella body drawing membership from port authorities, tourism boards and travel agents from Eastern and Southern Africa and the adjacent Indian Ocean Islands. Its principal objective is to promote and market the eastern board of West Indian Ocean as a preferred tourist destination.
Today marks the beginning of greater things to happen in Africa as regards cruise tourism. It could be a coincidence, a pleasant one for that matter, that many of the great events and breakthroughs that have taken place in this continent have had their launch in South Africa. Examples are many but let me mention three notably: the first successful human to human heart transplant by Christiaan Bernard, the first world cup soccer tournament to be held in Africa and, before I forget, South Africa joining BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India and China .
Probably, many of you who are in Africa for the first time may have wondered why we have been insisting that you visit us when you can actually watch Africa on Television. Much as globalization has shrank our globe to a village, the reality is that no amount of printed words, pictures, still, or video, live or recorded, can replace the actual experience of physical travel, actual feel and touch. Hence this is why we are making every endeavor to open Africa to the rest of the world cruise industry. What can Africa offer?
As a unique destination, we bank on our multi-faceted cultural richness, varied heritages including geographical and historical landmarks, weather, wildlife and even diversity of our peoples. The Table Mountains and Robben Island of South Africa to sugar plantations of Mauritius; from the fabled slave markets of Zanzibar to Fort Jesus of Kenya, from the Nubian Desert in the north to the snow-capped Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania; these are expeditions that can be experienced in couple of days not months.
In two days one can sample the sun, sand, Safari (game drives), geography, snow capped mountain of Kilimanjaro, the Great Rift Valley, and can taste the wonders of the air-balloon at the great plains of East Africa, including encountering the eighth wonder of the world – Migration of the wild beasts at the Masai Mara to Serengeti.
It is possible that in the very two days one will have encountered the world-renowned Masai people and can afford time to go shopping. In the event, return journey or continuation is desired, on alternative air travel the choice of airports from which to embark is near limitless. There are a number of game reserves in close proximity to the eastern seaboard ports. To crown it all, we have the sunny climate within the tropical zone, providing a ground conducive for all year round cruising. In fact the waters of the Indian Ocean on our side are warm year round.
Ladies and gentlemen, Africa as a whole is an Exotic Adventure not fully exploited. If you enter the continent from the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal, you will experience waterways that have been followed by merchants, soldiers and sages for thousands of years. You will see that which you have only read in history; the powers of the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids are irresistible, The longest river in the continent- the Nile, the lures of shores of Egypt – the city of Alexandria hosting the world’s first and largest library.
Deep south, the cape point provides a turning point and majestic profile of Table Mountains. This signals the entrance to Cape Town, one of the world's most breathtaking capitals and the meeting point for the cold Atlantic and warm Indian oceans. Further from the Cape of Good Hope we discover the romantic extremes of West of the continent. Sands sparkle like diamonds under the sun on the dunes of Walvis Bay and many more.
Each port hinterland along these exotic shores has hidden secrets and beauty to share. Using hot-air balloons, helicopters, riverboats, land rovers and other creative transport, knowledgeable local guides, together with our shore excursion professionals bring the history and myth of Africa to life, making it – and you will probably all agree with me - a wonderful world.
Ladies and gentlemen, the cruise industry has an enormous latency that surprise many itinerary and holiday planners. The industry is indeed evolving and all in favor of Africa. Repeat customers are seeking new experiences while marketers are making efforts to source customers from new source countries. Hence cruise ship companies are looking for new ports of call in different parts of the world to add value to their packages. This forum wouldn’t have been convened at a better time.
Equally encouraging is that, despite the financial meltdown, recent industry forcasts show positive trends. About 17.8 million guests were reported worldwide in 2009, an average of 7.2 per cent annul passenger growth rate since 1990. In 2009 there were 267 cruieships sailing with 23 new vessel deliveries expected between 2010- 2012. Ships are getting bigger thus increasing carying capacities and efficiencies but exerting pressure on port infrastructure to adequately support the calls. Furthermore, out of the 23 ships scheduled for delivery through 2012, 12 will exceed 100,000 gross tons hence calling for deployment of more ships beyond the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
We all know that cruise itinerary planners are keen on cruising to destinations that can capture the interest of the customers. Essential considerations include where new customers can be sourced, presence of well equipped home ports close to airports, conducive weather, reasonable distances to cover within a short time, supportive host government policies, assured safety and security, and above all hospitable hosts.
Distinguished guests, it is my conviction that Africa has something unique to offer and our ports with a few exceptions are capable of handling the largest cruise vessels. With the enormous opportunity, Cruise Tourism is one area where inter-regional cooperation could result in tremendous benefits accruing to our people. This is the direction CIOA has taken all along.
The countries of the Eastern and Southern Africa and the Islands provide an option to the saturated traditional cruise circuits. The region can satisfy passengers who want cultural enrichment as well as those looking for adventure. Even sport tourist can enjoy our facilities.
With the region’s economies gradually growing, we cannot rule out the potential of Africa developing into a major source market too in the future. On this note, I wish to sincerely thank the lines that have made calls to this region before and those that are utilizing a few of our ports as home ports in the region.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have some challenges my address would be incomplete without mentioning security which is threatened by piracy. Piracy has become such a negative buzz word and more so when we are dealing with the hospitality industry. Although this crime is – unfortunately - evolving into a big illegal business, there is only one point I can stress; we must fight it as a team.
Knowing how sensitive our industry is, we cannot afford to relent in lobbying governments globally and respective relevant security agents to combat this vice. We are aware that the navies of the countries in this region are working closely with the international community to fight off piracy. Admittedly, this is a major problem. We may not be able to wipe it out today or tomorrow but we are all determined to ensure that it doesn’t forever continue standing in the way of human civilization.
We in Africa boast of rich history. We equally have points of discovery that we urge that you take some time off to sample. The second longest river in the world, Nile has its source in East Africa. This source can be reached in three hours including flying time from the Port of Mombasa then by road from Entebbe to Jinja, the source. Its source as historical records stand is the second largest fresh water lake in the world, Victoria. Did somebody mention that Mt. Kilimanjaro is the second highest mountain in the world that is less than an hour from the port city of Dar-es-Salaam? The Great Rift Valley is the world’s number one such natural feature and can be accessed in less than one-and-half hours from Mombasa. The clove Island, Zanzibar; has no equal in the world as a producer of cloves whose plantations can be experienced in less than 30 minutes from the port while the slave market is a stone throw away from the port.
The vineyards and wineries of Cape Town coupled with Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point are all renowned attractions that can be visited from the port of Cape Town in half a day. One can encounter winter in Cape Town and enjoy summer migration of wild beasts from Kenya to Tanzania or vice versa in less than ten hours. This is zealously guarded by the very unique Masai. In a nutshell the “Sleeping Giant” has a lot of story to tell which can only happen when you explore it, the way early Europeans did.
Let me summarize by stressing that Africa is the future home of cruise shipping and we need to build it together as a global family. Let us not be deterred by distance from traditional homeports. Rather we should explore the idea of establishing and strengthening some home ports within the region to serve the continent and the islands. After all, cruise shipping is about adventure.
For those who will make many returns to this venue and continent starting next year, I pray that you live long to tell your great grand children a simple story that started in a simple way but developed and spread to the rest of the world and attracted many more to tour Africa, making it the most visited destination on earth. I wish you successful deliberations. Thank you.