Africa: business travel slowly recovering

Business travel in Africa Will they quickly return to their pre-Covid form? Despite the vaccinationThe shadow of testing PCRand quarantines and closed borders continues to haunt short business trips to the continent. A uncertainty which struck the passengers on the Air France flight on 4 March 2020: in the vague early days of the pandemic, they had narrowly escaped the then inconceivable possibility of being quarantined on arrival in Brazzaville, a measure decided by the country's authorities during the flight. In the days that followed, the epidemiological situation deteriorated further, and African countries took it in turns to impose quarantine measures. The number of flight cancellations multiplied, and soon airlines between Europe and Africa were suspended one after the other.

The virtual blackout lasted until last summer. From July onwards, however, a sort of grey zone began to gain ground: first and foremost for business travellers from the African continent wishing to travel to Europe, which at the time had not introduced overly severe restrictions. South African business travellers tell of how they were able to reach Europe, albeit with great difficulty, by taking flights to repatriate their nationals.

Then scheduled flights began to resume. In the west of the continent, the Ivory Coast was the first country to reopen its borders in mid-July, after three months of total closure. Air France and Corsair then resumed a reduced number of flights. Visit Nigeria followed suit in July, as did the Ghana in August. In East Africa, only theEthiopia has chosen not to close its airport while imposing a fourteen-airport ban. NairobiKenya's capital reopened its airport in August, but the deteriorating health situation since the third wave of the pandemic broke out has since led to the entire region being confined. Information on the actual health situation in several states remains fragmented (see box: where to find information), and the continent currently has the lowest percentage of vaccinated people in the world.

Half-empty booths and new procedures

In other words, the reopening of airports and the accessibility of Africa's main economic metropolises have been far from synonymous with a return of business travellers. And certainly not at the same level as in 2019. Passengers on recent commercial flights to Africa describe half-empty cabins and more complex travel procedures on both the outward and return journeys: PCR test, proof of employment contract, but also invitations from local organisations, travel tickets or, depending on the country, forms to fill in to obtain boarding authorisation from the consulate.

The procedures of African airlines are generally clearly specified on the spot, but it can be difficult to make a smooth, fast, multi-stop trip to Africa with just one PCR test. Similarly, the challenge to consider is the return PCR test. Frequent travellers recommend select centres capable of delivering test results within 24 hours or even 12 hours and to find structures that are not overwhelmed. In this context, most major international hotels provide information on the availability of the best centres to carry out these PCR tests, and some can even organise them.

Movements in dribs and drabs

Between health risks and procedures French companies that usually send employees to Africa have opted to significantly reduce the number of trips they make. This is the case, for example, of JA Delmas. This company, which employs over 2,200 people and has a presence in 11 African countries, has in recent months been sending just one or two people on trips to the continent, compared with 10 to 20 before the pandemic. " Movements in dribs and drabs ", " trips that can be counted on the fingers of one hand "These are expressions that are often used by heads of general services departments, even in groups such as Meridiam that are used to frequent international travel. We still follow the same restrictive policy on air travel, with trips that focus on activities without which the business cannot continue: this could be meeting a local player who is essential for the project to be completed or progress made, or signing a project, but under no circumstances can it be exploration. So there are very few trips. Each trip is examined and validated internally with the manager. "explains Arnaud Kalika, Director of Security at Méridiam.

Hybrid demand for web meetings

The status quo may be hard to understand for sales people who are adept at human contact, the "face-to-face" contact so appreciated by managers on the continent. But, as Arnaud Kalika points out, " Africans are very adept at videoconferencing, which means that negotiations can be conducted remotely. ". Hence the arrival of a new hybrid demand for web meetings. At Accor, Daniel Karbownik, Regional Director for West and Central Africa for the group's brands Accor and new manager of the Hôtel Sofitel Ivoire in Abidjan has noted the interest in the solution Accor All Connect which offers the possibility of organising " meetings with part face-to-face and part via Teams or Zoom on a large screen in specially adapted rooms "(read interview).

Videoconferencing, teleworkingThe financial repercussions of the health crisis: by drastically reducing the flow of business travel to Africa, Covid-19 has also had a severe impact on the French economy.business travel insurance. Insurers are already reporting that some groups have asked to suspend cover in view of the interruption in travel. This development does not appear to have caused a wave of cancellations, even though insurers and their customers anticipate a reduced frequency of business travel over several months.

As a corollary of the health crisis, companies are also placing greater emphasis on risk management : " Travel has certainly fallen, but our business has not declined because our customers who continue to travel use us up to five times moreemphasises Cécile Caplin, Head of Security at International SOS. It is estimated that travelling is more complex and requires five times more help from us. Preparing a trip is a headache, and preparing a trip to Africa is even more so because of the health conditions in some countries. Added to this are the risks inherent in certain parts of Africa, which are exacerbated by the Covid ".

New hotel trends

For example, International SOS carries out many security audits for expatriate residences in Africa (see interview). For Cécile Caplin, " our customers' concerns are more focused on the electoral deadlines, which will be numerous in both 2020 and 2021, and the possible outbursts and violence involved ".

Against this backdrop, the Covid crisis is not making it any easier for business travellers who stay in hotels for a few days and are looking for a safe place to live and work. Indeed, it has been estimated that 78 % of hotels in sub-Saharan Africa have closed for several months. Their reopening is gradual and complicated by health restrictions. Above all, it depends on air traffic fully recovering. In the third quarter of 2020, occupancy rates at African hotels fell by more than 60 %. Financial tensions are likely to be felt quickly. In the leading business capitals, from Casablanca to Cape Town, via Dakar and Abidjan, the agreements and international exhibitions which attracted a considerable number of business customers, have not yet resumed, with many events having been postponed until autumn 2021. Hotel chains, where two-thirds of customers are foreign, are particularly hard hit. At South AfricaAs a result, some major chains have decided to temporarily close their stores.

Coworking and "remote paradise

Others are feverishly trying their hand at conversion: catering, or offering virtual safaris in East and Southern Africa, as well as the emergence of the coworking. Casablanca is banking on partnerships between hotel groups and coworking spaces to offer rooms to teleworking professionals. Accor is also thinking of extending its "coworking" scheme to Abidjan and Dakar. European strategy with its subsidiary Wojo to set up coworking spaces in hotels.

Finally, in a more original vein, some of the continent's most attractive business destinations aim to become a refuge for teleworking professionals. This is the case for Mauritius and the South African metropolis of Cape Town. These destinations want to introduce special visas for this type of long-term business traveller. A sort of heavenly distanceThis is certainly the most attractive legacy of the Covid crisis to save hotels, but it should not replace short-term trips for regular exchanges with Africa. It remains to be seen if, and when, these trips will return to their previous cruising speed.