economic and social upgrading in global production networks International airline groups in Africa Piotr Niewiadomski1* 1 University of Aberdeen, UK Email:
[email protected] September 2013 Capturing the Gains 2013 Working Paper 36 ISBN: 978-1-909336-83-4 Abstract This paper contributes to the international research project ‘Capturing the Gains: Economic and Social Upgrading in Global Production Networks and Trade’. Its main aim is to analyse the operations of international airlines in Africa and assess the influence of the international aviation industry on the development of tourism in selected African states. Simultaneously, through an exploration of the different ways in which international airline groups can foster the development of the tourism sector in Africa, the paper informs the general understanding of the influence of tourism on regional development. Although in general terms the paper focuses on the whole of Africa, more detailed issues are analysed on the basis of South Africa, Kenya and Uganda. Keywords: International airline groups, the airline industry, global production networks, tourism, Africa, regional development Author Piotr Niewiadomski is Teaching Fellow at the School of Geosciences, Geography and Environment, University of Aberdeen, UK. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Dr Michelle Christian (Duke University, Durham, NC, US, currently the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, US) for providing valuable comments on the first draft of the paper and Dr Chris Gibbins (University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK) for proofreading the paper and commenting on its structure. The research project was completed between October 2011 and May 2012 at The University of Manchester, UK. This document is an output from a project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI), the Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).