Tourism in Southern Africa Soars as CemAir Adds New Aircraft to Regional Routes

Published on December 1, 2025

Further expanding its operational capacity and regional footprint, South Africa\u2019s expanding regional airline CemAir received its ninth CRJ900, this time from the United States. This addition to CemAir\u2019s fleet confirms the airline\u2019s growing prominence in Africa\u2019s tourism market and the development of the continent\u2019s aviation tourism. Increasing the capacity to airlift tourists, the CRJ900 will also open more routes to South Africa and its neighbouring countries and unlock more opportunities to introduce and market new and under-marketed destinations to the travelling public.

This fleet growth is also aimed at developing and servicing more scheduled routes as well as the expanding ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) agreements and leasing opportunities available on the continent. By adding more regional jets to finalise the growth of the fleet, CemAir will reduce its operational costs and, therefore, improve its efficiency in responding to demand and its flexibility for partnering airlines needing capacity. This will firmly establish CemAir as a pivotal player in the African market, advancing its tourism sector through enhanced connectivity.

CRJ900: Catalyst for the Growth of Tourism in Africa

The comfort and fuel efficiency of the CRJ900 quadjet have made it one of the most sought-after regional jets around the world. In addition, because the aircraft can land in small and regionally underserved markets with varying levels of airport infrastructure, they open up a variety of new opportunities for airlines. In the African region, where many economic development opportunities exist, the CRJ900 is perfect for serving the region’s smaller cities. With the growing popularity of the region’s large international tourist centers (e.g., Cape Town, Kruger National Park, and Gaborone, Botswana), the CRJ900 serves cities that may lack direct international flights.

The expansion of the CRJ9 fleet has offered many internal African tourists access to previously hard-to-reach tourist destinations in underserved markets. The additional flights have offered tourists travelling to Cape Town and Kruger National Park safaris faster, more direct, and more convenient access, as well as to Gaborone for urban and wildlife activities.

In addition, CemAir’s new CRJ900s will meet the growing continental demand for eco-tourism and cultural tourism activities. Numerous African nations contain natural attractions, including national parks, natural reserves, and UNESCO World Heritage sites, and historical and cultural sites that draw in international tourists. The increased capacity on these regional routes will allow more tourists to appreciate the heritage and attractions of Southern Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

CemAir’s Position in the Tourism Industry: Adaptability and Accessibility

The growth of the regional fleet that CemAir is undertaking goes beyond simply adding more flights and more frequent services to an itinerary. It is about providing more adaptable and flexible services for the tourism industry. With the airline’s ACMI leasing services, African airlines can enhance their route and service offerings without the capital expenditures associated with introducing new aircraft. This flexibility is especially important to tourism businesses and operators, who often deal with high seasonality.

CemAir is helping airlines like LAM-Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique, CAMAIR-CO in Cameroon, and Afrijet Business Services in Gabon, along with CemAir’s ACMI Services, maintain operational reliability through wet-lease contracts. For tourism experts, the efficiency and flexibility of operational scaling mean available seats for high-demand tourism periods and quick flight configurations in response to shifting market demand.

With the arrival of European, Asian, and North American Visitors, tourism to Africa is growing rapidly, further increasing the importance of regional connectivity. Streamlined routing benefits travellers to major tourist destinations like Victoria Falls, the Serengeti, and Lake Malawi by affording easy access to and from international gateways.

CRJ900 customers with expanded fleets are positioned to help African tour operators and destination management companies by providing the reliable airlift necessary to move tourists for a range of regional attractions. Greater flight frequency enhances the range of travel packages and makes travel more organised and affordable, particularly in under-served markets.

Southern Africa is a region where safari tourism is a key attraction, and the region’s air travel is essential for creating and maintaining a seamless and memorable travel experience. As CemAir expands, tourists traveling on package tours will have low-cost options for visiting a range of destinations in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, and Namibia and enhance the convenience and enjoyment of their travel experience.

Challenges and Opportunities in the Growing African Tourism Sector

There is no doubt that African tourism is broadening, especially in cultural heritage and related niches like adventure tourism, wildlife safari, and soft adventure tourism. Africa’s tourism-related infrastructure improvements and access to underserved markets need to rise to the occasion. Most of Africa is tourism-dependent on air travel, and the fewer flights to a region, the more under-marketed or ‘hidden’ the tourism destination is.

CemAir’s role in the regional aviation is in the gap created by other airlines. Once the airline is able to provide more efficient and lower-cost flights to tourism destinations like Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Livingstone Zambia, it will help in creating and promoting new tourism circuits and increase Africa’s tourism revenues.

The regional CRJ900 fleet reflects how regional tourism is growing in Africa. With tailored services and the opening of routes to blanked destinations, CemAir improves Africa’s tourism support.

Conclusion

The growth of the fleet with the new CRJ900 is advantageous for the airline and the tourism industry of Africa. With the airline’s offering of greater accessibility, flexibility, and responsible regional air travel, the airline is assisting the upliftment of the tourism industry in Southern Africa and beyond. With improved accessibility to destinations that attract tourists and greater efficiency of travel, tourists experience the diverse offerings Africa provides and the travel experience is uplifted. With the CRJ900, tourists have access to the cultural and safari opportunities of Africa.

The development of the tourism sector in Africa is progressing rapidly. During this development, regional air travel offered by CemAir is essential to Africa tourism growth and economic development in underserved regions.