Thinking regionally: Aviation and development implications in the Karoo region, South Africa

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on regional economic development in South Africa, across provincial political jurisdictions. The article argues that remote hinterlands can be more usefully understood as forming an integrated whole, rather than functioning as the poor rural cousins of their provincial metropoles. This article considers three propositions: that key transport projects (such as airports) may unlock regional development; that this may stimulate regional spatial integration; and that this may spur the South African government to address its weak regional planning system. All three propositions are speculative, drawn from the international literature, but they contribute to an argument for greater spatial coherence in South African planning in rural regions. The argument is illustrated with reference to the Karoo region of South Africa, and the potential of a new airport to impact on regional economic dynamics. Furthermore, the article argues that such impacts will require new regional planning systems, which are currently absent from the South African political system.

KEYWORDS:

• Aviation
• rural development
• airports
• transport
• Karoo
• Beaufort West
• tourism
• planning

1. Introduction

In 1994, South Africa inherited a new system of democratic government. The previous four provincial jurisdictions were re-demarcated as nine provinces, with little regard for ecological or socio-economic principles. Over time, these provincial boundaries have hardened, and provincial politicians tend to strongly discourage their provincial officials from working in collaboration across these political jurisdictions (Saloojee & Pahad, 2011; Rossouw, 2012; Atkinson, 2015). The party-political schism between the Western Cape Province (controlled by the opposition Democratic Alliance) and the other provinces (controlled by the African National Congress) is symptomatic of this phenomenon. But the problem goes much deeper, since collaboration amongst African National Congress-controlled provinces is also virtually impossible because they serve as independent power bases (Atkinson, 2015). This is a very unfavourable environment for regional spatial planning, even though the socio-economic benefits of regional collaboration may be self-evident.

This argument will be illustrated with reference to a centrally-situated airport in Beaufort West in the Karoo region. In many other countries, remote, rural and regional areas are increasingly served by airports and aviation companies. This article will argue that central Karoo airport would unlock regional development in the Karoo, and would assist in breaking down provincial spatial barriers. This would encourage holistic regional planning, which has hitherto been poorly developed in South Africa. South African national tourism and transport policies are generally favourable to the development of regional aviation strategies, but provincial strategic frameworks tend to undermine such strategies. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. The article shows that the National Development Plan (National Planning Commission, 2011) and the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) of 2013 contribute to a regional developmental vision.

The article utilises the Karoo region as an illustration of this broader argument. The Karoo is a distinct ecological region in central South Africa, and is increasingly developing an economic identity as an agricultural and tourism region, as well as for potential mining activity. The study focuses on the prospects of an airport in the rural Karoo town of Beaufort West, a significant administrative and retail hub in the region, to provide regional aviation services to the Karoo hinterland. Karoo towns are typically located about 80 to 100 km apart, but provincial boundaries have hitherto trapped them into a fragmented planning system. This article shows how strategic regional assets, such as airports, can unlock private-sector investment and commerce multipliers in a region, as other remote areas in the world have demonstrated. The Karoo is already showing signs of this developmental trend.

2. The Karoo as a trans-provincial rural region

In this article, the ‘Karoo region’ refers to an ecologically specific arid area, dominated by small and hardy Karoo bushes, and a topography of flat-topped mountains and vast plains. The agriculture of the area consists largely of sheep-farming and game, with some cattle-farming in the wetter regions in the east, and some arid crops (such as olives, pomegranates and figs) where underground water is sufficient for irrigation. The Karoo has important tourism sectors, such as ecotourism, astrotourism, palaeotourism, rock paintings and architecturally attractive small towns. It also has distinctive mineral assets, notably uranium and shale gas. All these resources straddle provincial boundaries, and therefore they would require a regional approach for sustainable development and management, as Figure 1 illustrates.

Figure 1. Beaufort West and the Central Karoo District in the Karoo region.

The Karoo ecological region includes the rural hinterlands of four provinces: Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and the Free State. It includes at least seven municipal districts and 24 local municipalities. This institutional fragmentation has, hitherto, made joint planning impossible. The region includes several key towns such as Graaff-Reinet, Beaufort West, De Aar, Sutherland, Colesberg and Carnarvon. Patterns of retail, tourism, transport and agricultural sales typically straddle these municipal and provincial boundaries. Regionally coordinated planning imperatives need to be addressed, but this is difficult because of the numerous jurisdictions involved and a political culture which discourages inter-jurisdictional collaboration.

3. Transport infrastructure and regional development

In the macro-economic literature, there is general agreement that well-chosen and well-sited transport infrastructure tends to spur economic development (e.g. Samuelson, 1964:730). But the actual extent and nature of such impacts are more debatable. The effects would vary according to the type of transport infrastructure (highways, bridges, tunnels or airports), the scale of projects and the nature of the local region (Louw et al., 2013). Regional impacts may also vary from the employment impact of the construction phase to mid-term impacts on retailing and workforce movements, and then long-term impacts on the scale and nature of new industry investment. Over time, different types of economic impacts make themselves felt. One should also analytically distinguish between generative effects, which create new economic activity, and redistributive effects, which change the distribution of economic benefits to different localities. As New Economic Geography theorists have pointed out, part of the difficulty is that new infrastructure which links peripheral regions with economic centres may increase market access of the peripheral producers, but it may also expose peripheral businesses to new competition. The real beneficial impact of new infrastructure would be a change in the business composition of the remote region (Meijers et al., 2012).

One should therefore treat, with caution, the claim that an airport will necessarily spur regional economic development. A key question is: ‘If we build it, will they come?’ To answer this question, one needs to look at the social and economic context of infrastructural investments. In this context, the Karoo offers the potential of a positive regional economic response to the expansion of a central airport. In South Africa, the Karoo is generally regarded as a poor region. However, the economic performance of the Karoo suggests significant potential for future growth. The Central Karoo district, for example, showed a steady growth at an annual rate of 5% between 1999 and 2009 (Western Cape Government, 2012:41), consistent with that of the Cape Winelands District and the Cape Metro, and outperforming the West Coast (Western Cape Government, 2012:47). Such a growth rate is distinctly unusual for non-mining rural areas in South Africa.

The town of Beaufort West is economically robust, with at least ‘medium economic potential’ (Van Niekerk et al., 2010:vii). Beaufort West may benefit from the rise in the cost of energy and the consequent profitability of uranium mining in the area, linked to nuclear energy plans in South Africa. There are also prospects of shale gas mining (which may, however, undermine the tourism sector). The economic profile of the Central Karoo District Municipality shows an increase in manufacturing, as well as construction and business services such as insurance, finance and real estate (Western Cape Government, 2012:46–7). Government expenditure is a growing economic stimulus in the Karoo, as Beaufort West is an important local, district and provincial administrative centre. The transport sector, which currently reflects through traffic, has declined relative to other sectors, although it is still a very significant sector – and it is growing, in absolute terms. This suggests a diversifying rural economy. Consequently, a regional aviation system could act as a valuable complement to the current reliance on road and rail in the transport sector.

The Karoo, as a region, is undergoing rapid economic change. Erstwhile railway towns have re-invented themselves, such as De Aar (which has become an important administrative centre) or Graaff-Reinet (which became a key tourism and retail centre). Beaufort West is the largest, and most centrally situated, town in the Karoo, sustained primarily by the important highway and railway routes running from Cape Town to Johannesburg, as well as being a district government hub. Advances in transport systems and changes in retail patterns have concentrated the purchasing power of numerous very small agricultural service centres into larger regional towns, with vibrant retail facilities and social services (Nel et al., 2011). These strong towns in the Karoo experience substantial in-migration of city people, bringing new capital and skills, and launching new tourism and lifestyle enterprises (Ingle, 2013), an international trend which has been described as ‘rural post-productivism’ (Halfacree, 2006). Several new large investments are now being implemented in the Karoo, and stimulate further multiplier effects. These include the Square Kilometre Array project in Carnarvon, the new solar energy project near De Aar and uranium mining between Beaufort West and Aberdeen. The agricultural sector is not growing, but it remains an important generator of commodities such as mutton and wool, and it provides a stable rural economic base.

Table 1 presents an economic comparison of the Karoo districts and municipalities.

Table 1. Population levels and growth rates in three central Karoo districts and seven municipalities (shaded indicates District Municipality).

	Population			Population growth rate (% p.a.)
Municipality	2001	2011	Change in population 2001–11	1996–2001	2001–11	Change in growth rate 1996–2011
South Africa	44 819 777	51 770 560	↑	1.99	1.44	↓
Western Cape	4 524 335	5 822 734	↑	2.68	2.52	↓
Central Karoo DM	60 483	71 011	↑	1.5	1.6	↑
Laingsburg LM	6 680	8 289	↑	2.44	2.16	↓
Prince Albert LM	10 512	13 136	↑	2.01	2.23	↑
Beaufort West LM	43 290	49 586	↑	1.24	1.36	↑
Eastern Cape	6 278 651	6 562 053	↑	0.42	0.44	≈
Cacadu DM^a	388 206	450 586	↑↑	0.95	1.49	↑↑
Camdeboo LM^b	45 773	50 993	↑↑	−0.45	1.08	↑↑
Northern Cape	991 919	1 145 861	↑	−0.4	1.44	↑↑
Pixley ka Sme DM	166 547	186 351	↑	−1.27	1.12	↑↑
Emthanjeni LM^c	35 785	42 356	↑	−1.91	1.69	↑↑
Kareeberg LM^d	9 488	11 673	↑	−3.8	2.07	↑↑
Ubuntu LM^e	16 375	18 601	↑	−3.7	1.27	↑↑

Notes: The table shows that all three of the main Karoo districts have a growing population. Cacadu DM and Pixley ka Seme DM have an increasing population growth rate. DM = District Municipality; LM = Local Municipality; p.a. = per annum.

^aCacadu DM, unlike Central Karoo DM and Pixley ka Seme DM, includes a large non-Karoo area, towards the coast, and the ‘thicket’ ecological zone around Grahamstown. Cacadu DM figures are therefore not very representative of the Karoo areas (Camdeboo LM and Inxuba Yethemba LM).

^bCamdeboo LM consists of Graaff-Reinet (municipal headquarters), Aberdeen and Nieu-Bethesda.

^cEmthanjeni LM consists of De Aar (municipal headquarters), Hanover and Britstown.

^dKareeberg LM consists of Carnarvon (municipal headquarters), Vosburg and Vanwyksvlei.

^eUbuntu LM consists of Victoria West (municipal headquarters), Richmond and Loxton.

Sources: Stats SA (2012a, 2012b, 2012c).

Unlike the ‘deep rural’ or traditional areas of South Africa, the central Karoo has a significant private-sector middle class, which engages in commerce, construction and professional services. In Beaufort West, a significant number of business start-ups have been opened by people who are new in-migrants to the town (Van Rooyen, 2013:207). An airport in Beaufort West could serve an estimated current population of about 300 000 (the combined populations of Central Karoo District, Pixley ka Seme District and Camdeboo Local Municipality) (Atkinson & Myles, 2013:10). Of course, not all these people would be air travellers, but they support a local economy which is growing and diversifying.

An overview of the four strongest central Karoo towns reveals growing and diversifying local economies (Table 2).

Table 2. Economic product: Beaufort West, Graaff-Reinet, Prince Albert, Carnarvon, 2001 and 2010^a (strongest sectoral growth shaded).

Sector	Total 2001	Total 2010	Rank order of sectors in 2010	Trends (in nominal terms
1 Agriculture	179 536	328 222	4	↑
2 Mining	0	0	8
3 Manufacturing	48 487	73 835	6	↑
4 Electricity	16 580	43 455	7	↑↑
5 Construction	30 187	107 364	5	↑↑
6 Trade	146 623	330 449	3	↑↑
7 Transport	131 198	278 822	4	↑
8 Finance and business services	264 021	765 480	2	↑↑
9 Community services	460 165	1 276 823	1	↑↑
Total industries	1 276 797	3 204 451		↑↑
Taxes less subsidies on products	106 166	281 456		↑
Total (gross domestic product)	1 382 963	3 485 906		↑↑

↑↑ = nominal figure tripled or more; ↑ = increase less than triple the 2001 figure.

^aIn nominal terms: these figures therefore have to be adjusted for inflation. These are magisterial districts, which therefore include agricultural areas.

Source: Global Insight (2012) (REX figures are drawn from a variety of sources, and adjusted according to estimates and projections).

A positive trend is the growth of tourism facilities in the Karoo, bolstered by a significant degree of rural and urban commercial development. Livestock farming is increasingly complemented by agri-tourism and eco-tourism. Well-developed tourism assets in the Central Karoo include the Karoo National Park near Beaufort West, cuisine tourism in nearby Prince Albert and the well-established astronomy project in Sutherland (Northern Cape Government, 2012:67). These trends are not unusual. International precedents show that arid areas or deserts are becoming highly sought after as tourism destinations, due to their pristine environments, harsh climates, remoteness and potential for ‘extreme’ experiences (United Nations, 2006).

4. Transport, airports and economic development

The Karoo region appears to have development potential, but there has been no government policy initiative to develop it as a region. In this vacuum, a privately-owned regional airport may provide a developmental spur towards regional integration. To assess the likelihood of such a causal relationship, it is important to consider comparative cases elsewhere in the world.

The relationship between transport systems and decision-making in firms is highly complex, varying according to different sectors and industries. Improved transport systems reduce the ‘friction’ of distance, stimulating a whole range of new cost–benefit calculations. Improved transport systems, such as airports or highways, may impact on firms’ location decisions (Holl, 2006). Key factors include the time, cost, safety and reliability of travel or transport; the management of supplies and inventories; vertical integration of firms, based on productive advantages of different regions; and the advantages of local linkages and clusters. The total balance of costs and benefits to a community would require much more analysis, as the total ‘basket’ of impacts may include factors such as changes in land use, land prices, population movements and environmental pollution (Banister, 2012). This scale of analysis is beyond the scope of this article. The focus here is the likelihood of a key infrastructural project, such as an airport, to stimulate new regional economic development, thereby challenging the existing planning system which is based on provincial jurisdictions.

Airports are increasingly recognised as key assets for cities and regions as economic generators and catalysts of investment (Stevens et al., 2010:279). Airports’ impacts on their regions can be direct or indirect. Direct impacts of airports include multiplier impacts on the regional economy, stimulated by money spent at the airport itself. Indirect impacts may be generated from expenditures by airport users or from regional expenditures at local businesses, as a result of airport use or travel. Then there are even more profound impacts. ‘Induced or tertiary impacts’ of an airport unlock further investments in the region. ‘Perpetuity effects' occur when an airport shifts the regional production function upwards by changing the structure of the economy (Button et al., 2010). Regional airports are considered to be of such strategic significance that many governments subsidise such airports (Grothaus et al., 2009:20; Donehue & Baker, 2012:234).

Airports and airfields develop in relation to one another. International experience shows that hub-and-spoke partnerships between international and local airports offer many more destinations to travellers, and thereby grow the aviation market (Burghouwt & Hakfoort, 2002). Any package that reduces the travelling costs and travelling time has great appeal. Tourists and other travellers do not wish to undertake long, arduous and potentially unsafe roads congested with heavy traffic. Small regional airports promote tourism and investment destinations (Ssamula, 2008:17). Tourism and mining are niche-based activities, focused on areas that have distinctive local assets. One such growing tourism niche market is desert and remote tourism (Reichel, 2003; United Nations, 2006).

The longer-term impacts of airports can be far reaching, as experience in rural Australia has shown (Donehue & Baker, 2012:237). Airports encourage metropolitan people to move to rural areas, because they can remain in easy contact with their families and their business clients. The rural areas with the greatest level of connectivity to cities are often most successful at attracting these new ‘amenity migrants’. The rural economy then tends to change in two ways: Firstly, by innovative new investments, reducing the dependence of the regional economy on primary production; and secondly, by new local businesses developing in response to the needs of the new in-migrants. These impacts should not be regarded as inevitable, however. A great deal depends on the local social, economic and physical environment, which needs to be sufficiently attractive to entice such amenity migrants to relocate. In rural areas that are considered attractive locations in which to stay, the phenomenon of post-productivism is likely to take place (Halfacree, 2006).

Internationally, rural and semi-rural airports are developing at a rapid rate. Rural airports can benefit from the congestion at metropolitan airports, as airlines seek uncluttered landing sites. New airlines can base themselves at rural airports, and benefit from cheaper services and flexible schedules. One of the most innovative airlines in the world, Ryanair, utilises secondary airports, many of which were unutilised military bases (Barrett, 2004). This has brought benefits for passengers, because of lower ticket prices, shorter waiting times and less airport congestion. It has also brought higher profitability for the airline, and it has revived the economy of smaller cities and towns. Throughout the world, small airports have repeatedly proven that they can be profitable. Airports make travelling easier, faster, safer and cheaper. Several factors can help to grow the number of flights, including the accessibility of the airport and tourism attractions, flexibility of landing slots, slot flexibility, handling agents as well as accommodation for crew near the airport. Technical trends support the regionalisation of aviation. In the United States, a new generation of advanced small aircraft as well as new innovations in navigation, communication and propulsion technologies will ultimately enable access to over 5000 general aviation landing facilities around the United States (Tarry & Bowen, 2001).

In terms of passenger services, new lower cost carriers have chosen secondary airports to establish their own bases and many secondary airports registered increased traffic figures due to lower cost carrier flights. In Europe, Ryanair has set the trend, and other lower cost carriers have followed (Barbot, 2006:197).

If freight is added to the equation, then three other types of interfaces between airports and their economic hinterlands can be developed (Stevens et al., 2010:279). The narrowest type of interface is an ‘airfront’, which is the aggregation of aviation-related industries and services, such as fuel supply and aircraft maintenance. A more economically diverse facility is an ‘aviapolis’, which refers to the development of airport-centred business hubs. At a larger scale, an ‘aerotropolis’ is an airport functioning as a trade, logistic and passenger network over an extended local area (Charles et al., 2007:1009). This provides a conceptual framework for future analysis of rural airports in South Africa, such as the Karoo Gateway Airport in Beaufort West.

A combination of freight and passenger services strengthens the viability of rural airports. In Australia, with its massive distances between towns and cities, there is a network of approximately 138 airports in remote, rural and regional areas. These airports provide high-speed connections between towns and cities, access to markets for a range of high-value goods and ensure access to services for remote communities. They promote tourism and economic investment, and are critical to national security and disaster relief (Donehue & Baker, 2012:232). Australian airports have also benefited from the minerals boom in certain rural areas. At least two regional airports (Cairns and Townsville) host international airlines. Australian rural airports are so profitable that many are now privately owned (Donahue & Baker, 2012:235).

The upsurge in development in Africa is also reflected in the growth in regional aviation. New regional air routes have been established for Lilongwe, Lubumbashi, Ndola and Livingstone in Malawi; Kisimu in Kenya; Nacala in Mozambique, and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe (TUO, 2013a, 2013b, 2014). The Maun International Airport in Botswana has played a major role in the facilitation of tourism development in the Okavango Delta (Mbaiwa, 2003). In 2011, it handled over 207 000 passengers, which included 44 300 international arrivals (CAAB, 2011:3). In South Africa, the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport handles 32 scheduled movements daily, with an approximately 22 000 passengers moving through the airport each month (KMIA, 2014). In the Eastern Cape, Lukhanji Airport in Queenstown is being planned to promote links with Port Elizabeth, Umtata and East London, in addition to its good road and rail network (ECDC, 2008).

Not surprisingly, the District Municipality in the Central Karoo has endorsed the airport expansion plan:

Transport is an economic driver of the Central Karoo, mainly as a result of passing vehicles on the N1 and N12 national roads. Agglomeration advantages of this sector provide potential for development, for example, the establishment of a package, storage and distribution hub. Upgrading the Beaufort West airport would assist in improving accessibility to the region. (Central Karoo, 2012:94)

The Central Karoo District Council subsequently passed a unanimous resolution in support of the Karoo Gateway Airport development. Similarly, the Beaufort West Local Integrated Development Plan supports the expanded airport, on the grounds that it will develop economic infrastructure needed for small business development (Beaufort West, 2010:55).

In South Africa, passenger numbers are growing. The number of passengers at national airports is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 8% until 2015. Similarly, the number of landings of aircraft at airports throughout South Africa increased at an average annual rate of 1% over three years, and is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 6% until 2015.¹ Profit margins in the industry are extremely tight, but the aviation sector has major potential for growth in South Africa. This suggests bullish prospects for regional and rural airports.

5. Beaufort West: the case for a regional aviation hub

At present, the growth sectors in the Karoo economy are transport, tourism and mining, although the latter is from a very low base. Tourism development offers the most powerful short-term and medium-term boost to the regional economy, because it is based on assets that are already well developed. These include sheep farms, game farms, accommodation in Karoo towns, and local attractions such as museums, restaurants and art galleries. A regional airport in the Karoo would reduce tourists’ travel time. The crucial factor would be the ability of a regional airport to attract scheduled flights, in addition to charter flights. That would make car rental services viable, and therefore make the Karoo more attractive as a tourism destination, instead of merely a through-travel route. For Karoo tourism to reach its full potential, an integrated regional tourism transport system is required. Scheduled flights to a central Karoo airport would be a base for car rental agencies, to enable ‘fly–drive–fly’ holidays in the Karoo. This would market the Karoo as a destination in its own right, instead of simply as an overnight stop. The Beaufort West airport would interact with other Karoo airports and airfields, in a ‘hub and spoke’ system of centre–periphery air transport linkages. Small airfields such as Graaff-Reinet, Somerset East, Carnarvon and De Aar would receive more chartered air traffic, shuttling between these towns and Beaufort West.

The history of the Beaufort West airport illustrates a growing response to regional transport demand. Until 2008, the airport was owned by the Beaufort West Municipality. But because it only had a gravel runway, the airfield was not profitable and was a drain on municipal finances. The Municipality then sold the airport to a private entrepreneur, who has assiduously grown the charter flight client base of the airport, by means of additional aviation services (such as the runway and refuelling facilities) and a guest house for airport patrons and tourists travelling on the N1 highway. The number of private (chartered) planes landing at the airport has increased from about 12 landings per month in 2005 to about 80 planes per month in 2013. It has recently been extended and tarred. The major connection for scheduled flights will be the Beaufort West–Cape Town route (450 km, or five hours by road), probably followed by Beaufort West–George (400 km, or four hours by road). Important government services are provided in Beaufort West, which requires frequent travel to Cape Town and George.

Further development plans at the airport include the introduction of a flight school (to secure additional core business), fuel storage systems, a new 1200-passenger terminal building and car rental facilities. Passenger numbers could grow to about 11 000 by year two, and to about 35 000 per annum by year 10 (Nurizon, 2013, in Atkinson & Myles, 2013). The clientele is likely to include farmers, business people, tourists, school children (attending boarding schools in the cities), government officials, mining companies, staff of solar and astronomy projects, and medical patients, within a radius of about 200 km from Beaufort West. This would include the significant towns of De Aar, Graaff-Reinet and Carnarvon, and the smaller towns of Prince Albert, Aberdeen, Victoria West, Richmond, Hanover and Sutherland.

A small but strategically located town such as Beaufort West also has some claim to being a potential multi-modal freight terminal. Beaufort West already combines a major road highway and the key north–south railway line. With the development of the Karoo Gateway Airport, a third transport mode would be added. In terms of the classification provided earlier, Beaufort West is already functioning as an ‘airfront’, providing fuel and aircraft maintenance services. It is already developing into an ‘aviapolis’ or airport-centred business hubs, as it offers a guest house and conference facilities. It may develop as a rural ‘aerotropolis’, offering as a trade, logistic and passenger network by uniting the road, rail and aviation systems, which are all within a close proximity (less than 1 km). Given the relatively low price of land in the Karoo, and the large amount of road traffic currently utilising the national highway, secondary and tertiary economic impacts are likely in the longer term. In fact, the airport's medium-term plans include a multi-nodal transport hub, focusing not only on passenger travel but also on goods distribution and warehousing. Such ‘freight villages’ are typically located inland to unload and repack containers coming from major seaports (Pretorius 2013:64).

The potential centrality of Beaufort West in a potential Karoo-wide aviation system was recently underscored by a group of Karoo stakeholders. An extensive consultation process was undertaken in the Karoo by the non-profit Karoo Development Foundation, about Karoo tourism and the desirability of an expansion of the Beaufort West airport (Atkinson & Myles, 2013). The participants were overwhelmingly positive about these ideas. They agreed that Beaufort West is the best location for a regional Karoo airport, because it is better developed, more central and safer (on a plain without nearby mountains). For the first time, leading citizens of one Karoo province agreed that it would be better for the Karoo region as a whole if a regional airport was to be located in a neighbouring province. This sentiment suggests that a growing trans-provincial regional consciousness is slowly developing in the Karoo.

6. Government policies: do they encourage regional aviation strategies?

Government policies may provide a framework in which regional aviation services can flourish. Three South African policy arenas will be examined: transport; tourism; and provincial growth and development strategies. These show, broadly, that national government policies are more amenable to regional and cross-provincial strategies than are strategies drafted by provincial governments.

6.1 The South African transport policy framework

In South Africa, various policy papers have expressed support for rural aviation. The National Department of Transport's Airlift Strategy (NDOT, 2006) suggested two important goals: firstly, promoting the South African civil aviation industry, by encouraging new entrants to the market, and expansion of existing markets; and secondly, creating an ‘enabling framework’ which allows reasonable flexibility and choice to both consumers and service providers. An expanded airport at Beaufort West would fit these policy goals, as it opens the way for a new destination, which would favour tourism as well as sectors such as retail, personal services and mining in the region.

In South Africa, the domestic air transport industry was deregulated in 1990 and therefore there are no obstacles to any airline operating in any part of South Africa. Seven major domestic airlines operate in the country, as well as a number of smaller charter airline companies. Low-cost airlines such as Kulula.com and Mango have entered the South African domestic market, and they have grown new clienteles.

6.2 Tourism

Tourism is undoubtedly a major, and growing, economic sector. Non-traditional destinations can make major headway in attracting international tourists. In South Africa, tourism indicators have improved significantly since late 2011 (Grant Thornton, 2012). The National Development Plan (National Planning Commission, 2011:131) identifies tourism as an important sector of the economy, which contributes 9% to national gross domestic product, and the sector accounts for 4 to 5% of total employment in South Africa (NDT, 2011).

The National Tourism Sectoral Strategy, developed by the National Department of Tourism, highlights several goals which can be met by developing tourism in rural regions such as the Karoo: increasing the geographic spread of tourism, particularly to provinces which receive relatively few tourists; increasing rural tourism; showcasing South Africa as a distinct and globally recognised tourism destination; decreasing seasonality; and developing new international markets (NDT, 2011:22). South African Tourism, the official tourism marketing agency in South Africa, has identified important ‘development levers’ which also have implications for Karoo tourism and an airport in Beaufort West (SAT, 2010). These include lengthening tourism stays in a region, stimulating new tourist products, and attracting travellers who have not visited South Africa before. The Beaufort West airport will appeal to travellers who have not before contemplated the Karoo as a tourism destination, because of long road travel distances.

South African policies have recognised the crucial linkage between tourism and rural aviation. The National Department of Tourism has argued that there are a number of tourist destinations whose growing popularity requires the development of new domestic air services): ‘Easy access to tourist destinations in terms of international transport and facilities is a prerequisite for the development of tourism. This includes an extended domestic air network, frequent flight schedules and linkages through hubs’ (NDT, n.d.:1). The National Tourism Sectoral Strategy also identifies the importance of new aviation routes which contribute to the development and expansion of domestic airlift in South Africa: ‘The strategy should include issues of routes, frequencies, pricing, airports, volume levels, marketing, and government support’ (NDT, 2011:65).

At a national level, there is a growing awareness of the need for regional development coordination. Significantly, the National Tourism Sector Strategy emphasises the need for inter-jurisdictional collaboration: ‘Often, neighbouring municipalities or provinces plan to develop very similar experiences within their areas, but lose sight of the fact that their product offering can be improved through coordination with others. Tourism does not follow political boundaries’ (NDT, 2011:42). A central airport could change the spatial tourism and development planning dynamics fundamentally in the Karoo region.

However, at the provincial level, potential collaborative synergies seem to disappear. While tourism is a strong focus for all provinces, regional planning is not. For example, the Western Cape's Government's Five-year Economic and Tourism Strategy, 2010–15 is also compatible with the expansion of the airport in Beaufort West. The Strategy proposes that tourism needs to be promoted by visitors to the province spending more – by staying longer, and possibly travelling further away from the entry point into the Province. This includes assistance with the development of new sites, attractions, facilities, routes and infrastructure. The Western Cape Government intends to promote tourism in the rural hinterland, so that ‘New business and tourism product is spread as widely as possible, both geographically and seasonally through (public and private sector) investment recruitment and enterprise support’ (Western Cape, 2010:99). However, there is nothing in the Western Cape's Strategy to encourage collaboration with its neighbouring provinces.

Similarly, the Eastern Cape Province has no mention of synergies with its neighbour in the west. Part of the Eastern Cape Province (the Graaff-Reinet/Aberdeen district) falls within the Beaufort West zone of economic influence. The Eastern Cape Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (2004–14) aims to address uneven development and spatial marginalisation, diversifying tourism and developing infrastructure. But despite these laudable goals, there is, as yet, no hint about collaboration with its neighbours, and no regional vision. The Strategy specifically argues for ‘regional tourism integration’ (Eastern Cape Government, 2004:87), but nothing has yet been done to advance this idea.

6.3 New potential for regional planning

In South Africa's spatial planning system, there is currently very little precedent for planning across provincial boundaries, often resulting in either duplication of services or unawareness of potential synchronicities. However, two new policy instruments now provide for regional and cross-border planning. The government's National Development Plan notes:

The current system has reified municipal and provincial boundaries, making it almost impossible to undertake cross-border planning, or to secure collaboration between one province and another, or between municipalities. This has seriously bedevilled development planning as many developmental issues (e.g. environment, transport, and economy) straddle political boundaries. (National Planning Commission, 2011:244)

It therefore proposes a key recommendation (2011:253): ‘Make provision in legislation for cross-boundary plans that would promote collaborative action in areas including biodiversity protection, climate change adaptation, heritage and tourism, and transportation’. This is an important new shift of emphasis in the South African planning system, and it finds expression in Section 18 of the new SPLUMA, Act 16 of 2013, which provides for the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform to declare regional spatial planning areas and overcome the heavy hand of provincial separatism.

Fortunately, the Northern Cape Province sets a new benchmark. This province's Spatial Development Framework (SDF), drafted in 2013, uses a ‘Man and Biosphere’ approach (Northern Cape, 2012:255), which holds much potential for regional, cross-border development planning. The ‘Man and Biosphere' approach argues for ‘co-operation between all tourism regions or smaller units [to] be actively encouraged’, on topics such as tourism planning, environmental conservation, and regional education and training services. Furthermore, the Northern Cape SDF argues for ‘a large initial capital injection to “kick start” a major tourism development thrust’ (Northern Cape, 2012:260). This idea encapsulates precisely the logic of an investment in strategic regional assets. It could be argued that the best location for such an airport may well be located just outside the boundaries of the Northern Cape, in Beaufort West, but with significant benefits inside the Northern Cape. The Northern Cape Spatial Plan was drafted in terms of SPLUMA, which clearly recognises the need to identify functional regions. Significantly, neither the legislation nor the Northern Cape SDF was drafted by provincial government officials; they were drafted by national government officials, in the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. Such officials are not beholden to provincial politicians or provincial boundaries.

The real challenge will be to encourage provinces to collaborate on regional issues. Although there are commonalities between the three provincial strategies (such as a focus on tourism and rural development), there is virtually no synchronisation between their development visions and strategies. The national vision of regional aviation planning does not as yet dovetail with provincial development plans. In this context, private-sector investment may well outstrip provincial planning. The expanded Beaufort West airport is likely to impact on retail, agriculture, personal services and government services in the region. It may trigger industrial investment, based primarily (but not exclusively) on the transport sector, gradually developing into a freight transport hub. There is sufficient land near the airport for such investments. A regional airport will impact on provincial and inter-provincial policies regarding spatial planning, economic development and urban facilities. It will stimulate downstream industrial, commercial and residential developments. This, in turn, will require the management of strategic, financial, compliance, economic and operational risks associated with airport development (Stevens et al., 2010:279). These are complex, multi-layered, multi-sectoral questions, which need to be addressed at a regional scale and will force a re-think about provincial planning systems in South Africa.

7. Conclusion

This article has argued that future regional planning in the Karoo needs to reach beyond the political boundaries of each constituent province – to promote tourism, transport systems, wholesale and retail trade, mining and even manufacturing. In particular, a regional aviation strategy can bring huge benefits to an entire arid region in South Africa, spanning at least three provinces. The economic base of the area is strong enough to sustain a regional airport, and will, in turn, benefit greatly from the new economic multipliers generated by this facility.

However, the current political system in South Africa remains largely inimical to regional development, as it requires working across provincial boundaries. Because of this difficulty, rural areas do not achieve the level of economic development which befits their economic potential.

Latest evidence shows that the expansion of the airport is proceeding. A new investor partner is establishing a flight school, and is undertaking the tarring of the runway. Such strategic private-sector assets may well assist in shaping a new regional approach to development in South Africa, breaking down political barriers and promoting rural development on a more effective basis than before.

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the contributions of Mr Peter Myles (Tournet) and Dr Deidre van Rooyen (Centre for Development Support, University of the Free State, South Africa).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Embassy of the Netherlands [grant number PKP ODA 03/2012].

Notes

1. See http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/transport.htm Accessed 25 March 2014.