The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on air travel and tourism have meant a near complete shutdown of the air transport network to and within Zimbabwe. Efforts to re-establish and grow VF’s air route network as quickly as possible will be critical. Although timelines for reopening of borders and airports remain unclear, the Zimbabwean civil aviation authority (CAAZ) is already working towards reopening and expansion of VF’s routes through the proposed development of airline incentives and the design of health protocols at its airports.[1]

The crisis context is a good opportunity for assessing (i) how to use what was the critical mass of tourism at the country’s main tourism hub of VF to first reinstate, consolidate, then drive and disperse sector growth throughout the country, and (ii) how to re-position VF as an air transport gateway to the region. 

IFC Zimbabwe Destination Development Program

The objective of the IFC Zimbabwe Destination Development Program(ZDDP) is to improve the competitiveness, visitation and revenues of the VF destination through better data, planning, and management, also ultimately improving longer-term commercial viability for private sector activity and investment. The program will support VF in the recovery of its tourism sector and lay the groundwork for VF to become the engine driving future tourism growth, dispersion and revenue for new markets in Zimbabwe. Component 2 of the ZDDP seeks to strengthen VF’s position as Zimbabwe’s tourism gateway through improved access. It consists of:

• Sub-component 2a, Support to an air service development program
  • Sub-component 2b, Improve the enabling environment for air transport and related services.

These terms of reference describe the work to be conducted under Component 2.

1. OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the consultancy are:

• To assist the Government of Zimbabwe in enhancing the competitiveness of VF as a destination by supporting the recovery of the pre-pandemic route network, whilst also supporting strategic planning work to help recover traditional routes/markets for VF that had been lost prior to the pandemic, and to take advantage of any new VF route opportunities presented. Efforts undertaken under the program (including capacity building) can also be used or replicated at the national level.
• To assist the Government of Zimbabwe in enhancing the attractiveness and competitiveness of VF as an air transport gateway for the region.

1. SCOPE OF WORK

The assignment will consist of the following tasks:

Air Service Recovery and Development

1. Review of the enabling environment for route recovery
2. Support to the setup and capacity building of an Air Service Development Committee
3. Analysis and action plan for network expansion
4. Support to implementation of action plan
5. Other activities in support of this agenda.

Improving the Enabling Environment for an Air Transport Gateway

1. Private sector survey
2. Assessment of regional enabling environment and market dynamics
3. Analysis of regional/international best practices
4. Recommendations for reform.

1. SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES

Air Service Recovery and Development

1. Review of the enabling environment for route recovery

This task will provide technical support to the initial recovery of pre-crisis routes. The consultant will:

• Conduct a rapid assessment of airline incentives developed by CAAZ and submitted to MoTID. The assessment should include economic analysis of the proposed incentives and benchmarking with regional/international examples where possible
• Develop recommendations, where necessary, for improvements to the design of the incentives or their proposed implementation arrangements
• Develop recommendations for aviation and tourism stakeholders on the effective communication of the airline incentives to concerned airlines
• Advise CAAZ on design and implementation of health protocols at its airports.

• Support to the setup and capacity building of an Air Service Development Committee

This task will strengthen institutional capacity for air service development by supporting the establishment and capacity building of a multi-stakeholder Air Service Development Committee. The consultant will:

• Conduct a rapid analysis of pre-pandemic air connectivity in VF, covering any existing objectives and strategic plans; ongoing efforts (e.g. discussions with potential airlines); lost markets; air transport data availability, quality/reliability and gaps; and key constraints to increased connectivity. The consultant should consult existing documentation and conduct interviews with key stakeholders.
• Recommend the composition[2], structure and roles of the Committee, as well as how the Committee membership may be supplemented by additional stakeholders – where relevant – specific to each potential air route
• Facilitate the first convenings of the Committee members and present an overview of the air connectivity analysis
• Conduct ongoing capacity building[3] for all Committee members and any other relevant public and private air transport stakeholders, to:
  • Reinforce understanding of the fundamental principles of an air service development strategy/program for a country, available air transport datasets and their uses, etc.
  • Present international best practices and/or case studies in air service development.
• Lead/facilitate a Committee working session to establish a shared vision for route network expansion for 2020-2025, including a roadmap and tentative objectives (e.g. number of routes, number of visitors, target months/years).
• Support ongoing engagement among aviation and tourism stakeholders to communicate the purpose and value of the air service development program, expected impacts on the tourism sector, etc.

• Analysis and action plan for network expansion

Under this task, the consultant will support the Committee in conducting analysis and preparatory studies on the potential for further developing VF’s route network. The consultant will:

• Conduct a gap analysis using globally-recognized air transport dataset(s) to identify, at a minimum:
  • Existing direct routes with sufficient traffic to warrant additional frequencies or larger planes
  • Indirect routes with sufficient traffic to warrant exploration of a direct route
  • Lost markets where recent air traffic shows potential for reopening routes
• From the gap analysis findings, propose and help establish consensus among Committee members on new/expanded routes to be pursued, taking into consideration government and private sector priorities, the changing global air travel context and market behavior
• Recommend specific airlines that could potentially operate the target route(s) based on current context and operating conditions
• Prepare technical and financial feasibility studies for potential routes identified. Studies should cover, at a minimum, (i) infrastructure needs, (ii) required revision of bilateral agreements, (iii) projected profitability
• Develop an action plan for achieving the agreed-upon objectives, to be presented to the Committee for validation. The action plan should include, at a minimum:
  • Air service development objectives for 2021-2025 (specific routes and airlines)
  • Actions for maintaining/enhancing existing routes
  • Actions to contribute to increasing demand from certain promising source markets, with the aim of eventually approaching airlines for new routes
  • Actions for developing new identified/expanded routes, including recommendations on the most efficient and effective means of pitching to airlines
  • Recommendations for airline and marketing incentives
  • A timeline of actions and specific milestones/indicators
  • The institutional arrangements for approaching and following up with airlines.

• Support to implementation of action plan

Under this task, the consultant will support the Committee in the implementation of the action plan through technical and operational guidance. Activities will include:

• Prepare specific and detailed airline route business cases where needed, in a professional form, ready to be presented to prospective airlines
• Guide and accompany the Committee (or its selected interlocuter) in presentation of business cases to airlines.
• In collaboration with the Committee, conduct continuous follow-up with airlines that have been approached with a business case
• In collaboration with the Committee, periodically (e.g. annually) update previously conducted detailed airline route business cases for presentation to airlines.

• Other activities in support of this agenda

The consultant may be called upon to support other, related tasks under the air service development agenda of the ZDDP.

Tourism is Vanuatu’s largest industry. Air Vanuatu is the national carrier. As a small-scale and Government-owned international airline, it faces substantial competitive and financial pressures, and a high degree of exposure to external shocks. Despite these challenges, the airline has shown growth and returned a positive operating result in recent years. Air Vanuatu also provides a vital domestic service connecting Vanuatu’s many isolated island communities.

Looking to the future, the Government is interested to explore options to expand Vanuatus air connectivity and boost tourism. This includes considering different airline ownership structures, partnerships or other operating models that may enable it to increase connectivity and access a greater share of the tourism market, whilst controlling the level of Governments direct and indirect exposure. 

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is providing advisory services to the Government of Vanuatu on these issues. IFC is seeking to engage a qualified aviation consultant to support this work. 

The objective of the assignment is to prepare a strategic options report that will guide Government consideration of how it may choose to structure Vanuatu’s future aviation arrangements. Whilst primarily focused on how to underpin and grow the tourism sector, the report will consider both international and domestic aviation needs.

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