By ADAM IHUCHA -- The profile of the natural-resource-rich-Tanzania has raised a rung higher, as one of its airports, has been shortlisted
for the World Routes Marketing Awards.
Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA),
Tanzania’s second largest airfield, is among the worlds’ airports that have
been nominated for the global awards to be announced in Chicago this September.
KIA competes with Tampa and Abu Dhabi
International Airports as well as the City Airport Bremen, this year’s overall
winners of the Americas, Asia and Europe heats respectively.
“We hope to fight off stiff competition
to the top in the prestigious global award in September 2014 in Chicago” says Christine
Mwakatobe, the Business Development Manager for Kilimanjaro Airport Development
Company (KADCO); a firm entrusted to run KIA.
The World Routes Marketing Awards
recognizes excellence in air service development by airports, and exclusively
the airline network planning community normally votes for the winners.
It is understood, airlines over the
past few months been voting for the airports they feel have made the most
efficient use of their marketing over the last 12 months.
According to Ms. Mwakatobe, the
shortlisted airports have been contacted and asked for a submission to support
their nomination.
“This submission process is designed to
enable the shortlisted airports to provide information for the judging panel as
to why we think we should win the award, providing evidence to support our
case” she says.
African Winner
Late June 2014, KIA
was crowned overall winner of the Routes Africa Marketing Awards for the second
year running during the fourth-edition-of the Routes Africa Networking evening
took place at the Elephant Hills Hotel & Resort in Victoria Falls,
Zimbabwe.
Mattijs Smith,
Managing Director of KADCO said: "We are very delighted and proud to win
the overall Routes Africa award for the second year in a row. This award
is a true recognition by our airline customers for strengthening our existing
routes and achieving a record growth of 24 percent in traffic in
2013."
“We are now working even
harder not only to maintain this status, but also to improve our services in
order to become the world’s best airport and terminal of choice in the East
African region,” Mr Smith added.
Julius Nyerere
International Airport (JNIA), the Tanzania’s largest airport in Dar Es Salaam, handles
an average of 1.5 million passengers in a year, but with KIA recording 24 per
cent increase in annual traffic to, coupled by the fact that the terminal will
be undergoing massive upgrading and expansion from 2015, Kilimanjaro is set to
steal Dar es Salaam’s passenger flow.
KIA, which opened for
business in 1972, was designed to handle just 200,000 passengers but now
handles about 900,000.
As a result, massive
expansion, rehabilitation and upgrading project will start in early 2015, after
which the terminal is expected to be able to compete JNIA and the Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport of Nairobi in Kenya.
KADCO Director of Operations
and Technical Services, Mr Christopher Mukoma, explained that the airport
upgrading would include expansion of terminal buildings, increasing the length
and width of runaways, as well as establishing other essential services at the
terminal.
The
Netherlands’ government is assisting in the KIA’s expansion programme by
providing $36.4 million The Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) on the other hand, has
also been a frequent user of the airport for many years.
KIA currently handles
a total of 12 scheduled airlines in addition to many other unscheduled charter
planes and other flying crafts, but before the end of this year, it is expected
that KIA will be a landing site for nearly 20 airlines.
The annual routes
awards are highly regarded as the most prestigious awards in the industry as
they are voted for and judged by the airline network planning community.
They provide the
airline community with the chance to have their say as to which airport or
tourism authority they think provides the best overall marketing services to
them.
Katie Bland,
Director Routes for UBM Live said: "We were delighted with the high level
of submissions and congratulate all those that were nominated, those recognized
as highly commended by the panel of judges and of course all of the section
winners”.
Bland added that KIA
has once again shown how seriously it takes network development and their
submission included examples of their marketing material and their dedication
to improving routes to their airport.
KIA was also named
as the winner from the under four million passengers category, with Durban
King Shaka International Airport honoured from the over four million
passengers category and Madagascar Tourism Board ranked top in the Destination
Marketing Category.
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