Ambassadors from East Africa hope to encourage Korean tourism

Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the highest peaks in Africa, is a popular tourist destination in Tanzania. gettyimagesbank

Ethiopian Airlines connects Korea with world

By Kwon Mee-yoo

As the world returns to normal in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are resuming travel around the world. While an increasing number of Koreans are choosing Africa as their travel destination, the number is still low compared to other parts of the world. A few like-minded embassies from East Africa have partnered with Ethiopian Airlines, the only African air carrier operating in Korea, in an effort to rebrand Africa for Korean travelers.

The embassies of Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania are collaborating with Ethiopian Airlines to organize a joint tour of the East African region with the aim of showcasing the multiple charms of Africa and debunking Korean inhibitions and negative perceptions about traveling to and visiting the continent.

Tanzanian Ambassador to Korea Togolani Edriss Mavura

Tanzanian Ambassador to Korea Togolani Edriss Mavura believes that Africa has a lot to offer tourists from Korea in terms of diverse destinations and unique experiences.

"But our challenge to attract tourists from Korea is a result of our brand as a continent not being well-presented and distorted by the global media for far too long. Africa is presented mostly as a desperate continent with security and health risks. Far from the truth," Ambassador Mavura told The Korea Times.

"It is important that this narration be changed. It is important to showcase Africa's diversity. It is important to demystify myths that exist including the famous one about Africa being far from Korea, while the distance between Korea and U.S. destinations is more or less the same. One can conclude that the distance is more cultural than physical."

In an effort to promote Tanzania as a travel destination, the Tanzanian Embassy participated in tourism fairs and partnered with Korea's EBS last year to promote the country as a travel destination in the four-episode "Africa Bucket List: Tanzania" on "World Theme Travel" last year.

"(It) featured the famous Mount Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar Exotic Island ― our Jeju Island ― and Serengeti National Park," Ambassador Mavura said.

The ambassador emphasized that Tanzania is a stable, peaceful and hospitable country, highlighting that it has rarely experienced internal political instability and has the only female president in Africa ― Samia Suluhu Hassan.

The skyline of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, is characterized by a mix of modern high-rise buildings and more traditional, lower-rise structures. gettyimagesbank

Kenyan Ambassador to Korea Mwende Mwinzi agreed with her Tanzanian colleague that Africa is a shorter distance than many Koreans realize.

"The average Korean believes that Africa is 'too far,' a statement which I always respond to with the question 'from what?'" Ambassador Mwinzi said.

She brought the exact numbers ― the distance between Seoul and Nairobi is 10,103 kilometers, which is shorter than 11,046 kilometers to New York.

"In essence, were a direct flight to exist to Kenya, the flight time to New York and Nairobi would be very similar, (around) 14 hours," Mwinzi said.

According to the ambassador, the diverse array of things to see and do in Kenya is so extensive that most tourists to the country become frequent visitors.

"Most Koreans center their thoughts about Kenya on coffee and safari yet there is so much more! In addition to our legendary safari excursions, Kenya's made a mark as a birders' paradise, a favorite stomping ground for Europeans and Americans seeking to frolic on golden beaches and a 'must do' for mountain climbers," she said, adding that she could go on forever about how cosmopolitan and gastronomically delightful Kenyan cities are.

The Kenyan ambassador said that Kenya is investment-worthy, trustworthy and eager to welcome Koreans ready to expand their horizons.

"There's the notion that Africa is completely underdeveloped, backward, insecure and threatening. Whereas it is true that the continent has a lot of catching up to do, this stereotype is a gross mischaracterization of its reality," she said.

"Kenya's home to countless international companies and organizations, a logistics and transportation hub for a majority of the airlines that travel to Korea, a technologically advanced country ... and offers high-speed internet, easy movement and a liberal market. It's also a country that is safe both in terms of investment and personal security."

Rwanda's Ambassador to Korea Yasmin Amri Sued said experiencing Africa will allow Koreans to appreciate its diversity and potential.

"Africa has more than 50 countries. This diversity is a synonym of rich culture, food, history, trade, breathtaking nature and wildlife. Koreans are uniquely positioned to trade with our economies. We want them to experience it themselves and Ethiopian Airlines will be a strong partner in this journey," she said.

Ethiopian Airlines, the only African carrier in Korea, operates a unique cargo route bridging Addis Ababa, Liege, Oslo, Seoul and Hong Kong. Courtesy of Ethiopian Airlines

Ethiopian Airlines cargo brings salmon to Korea

The East African embassies have a strong partnership with Ethiopian Airlines, which operates direct flights between Seoul and Addis Ababa four times a week as well as a unique cargo route that bridges Africa, Europe and Asia.

Miretab Teklaye, the carrier's area manager in Korea, said Africa's largest carrier transports nearly 260 tons of salmon from Norway to Korea on a weekly basis, making it a significant part of the Korean seafood diet.

"Our cargo hub is in Liege, Belgium. The aircraft (from Addis Ababa) goes to Belgium carrying fresh flower, and then from Belgium it goes to Oslo and carries salmon to Korea. From Korea, it carries ship parts, machine parts and e-commerce items via Hong Kong to Addis Ababa," he explained.

"(If flights) to Asia start from Africa, there is no cargo from Africa. So if you fly directly, it's empty. But if we make it from Oslo, we can carry salmon required by Koreans. It is finding out good trading commodities across the different continents and understanding what kind of commodities the countries are exchanging with each other."

He said the unique operation is possible thanks to the aviation company's traffic rights in Korea as well as its operational capacity.

"Ethiopian Airlines has the privilege to operate from Korea to any part of the world which is very rare. The second is the capability ― having a network and aircraft and operational capability," he said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ethiopian Airlines transported a record number of test kits to the U.S. and Canada from Seoul as it was able to utilize its right to fly anywhere from Korea and increase cargo flights as passenger flights were reduced due to the pandemic.

Teklaye also said the number of Koreans traveling to Addis Ababa has been increasing, particularly among younger people.

Targeting the young, adventurous tourists who fly Ethiopian Airlines and transfer to other destinations at competitive prices, the airline's Korean office ran a promotion last year offering a free tour of Addis Ababa to passengers during their stopover in the Ethiopian capital.

"They may not have the plan to land in Africa, but they enjoyed Addis (Ababa). I think that's a very good opportunity for us and we are planning (to do the campaign) this year," he said.

Teklaye also sees a possibility for more Korean businesspeople going to Africa.

"We have a growing number of Korean corporates operating in different parts of Africa. (There also are) NGOs and students coming to Korea and going to Africa. It is not as much as we expected, especially having the attractions of Africa, but it is growing," he said.

The airline plans to operate a tour program connecting different countries in East Africa with the relevant embassies in Seoul.

"We are jointly planning to rebrand Africa to show the newer portion of Africa to Koreans… We thought that we can connect the economies and people of Korea and Africa, so we are doing more branding of Africa to attract people to think about traveling to Africa," Teklaye said.