SALES for the Flight Centre
Travel Group’s (FCTG)
8th annual Travel Expo,
held recently in Johannesburg,
showed a 25% increase
compared with 2017 figures,
despite having roughly the
same attendance.
Over 22 000 people attended
the travel expo again this year,
interacting with over 150 Flight
Centre preferred exhibitors.
The top selling destinations
for the event were South
Africa, Mauritius, Thailand and
Australia.
Previously the show was free
but the group introduced a
R50 entrance fee for the first
time this year with the results
revealing better conversions
across the board, according to
FCTG Middle East and Africa
md, Andrew Stark.
Andrew said he was filled
with positivity following this
weekend’s expo. “The change
in outlook is palpably different
compared with last year. The
strong rand and the possibility
of political change have
given South African travellers
renewed energy and optimism,
which is reflected in their
willingness to commit to travel
bookings. While this time last
year immigration fare enquiries
were common requests, this
year we saw a number of
families commit to securing
holidays in excess of
R300 000 on the day…”
Honeymooners, couples and
families were the big buyers at
this year’s show, said Lesley
Smith, sales manager at WLH.
She said matriculants were
also among the buyers, looking
to buy holidays before starting
their tertiary studies. Like
Andrew, she said demand
was high. “Our stand was
busy from start to finish on
both days.”
André Dafel, national sales
manager – trade at Club
Med, said there was high
demand for snow holiday
favourites such as Val Thorens
Sensations and their newly
launched Grand Massif ski
resorts. They also saw a sharp
increase in families looking for
real all-inclusive packages and
new experiences specifically
on beach destinations like,
Mauritius, Bali, Bintan Island
and Kani. It also came as no
surprise that the top months
for travel requests were
December and January.
Andrew said the additional
R1 million that the expo
entrance fees had brought in
this year were not considered
an additional revenue stream,
as the expo cost about eight
times as much to host. While
he conceded that the entrance
fee revenue had helped to
offset some of these costs,
he said the real benefit of the
fee was the non-stop stream
of good quality customers who
attended this year and the
greatly improved conversion
rates for both FCTG and its
suppliers.
The group also launched a
Travel Stokvel concept at the
expo this year as an initiative
to stimulate the spirit of travel
among South Africans who
may not have been able to
travel previously.
Lance Nkwe, FCTG
marketing manager –
Emerging Market, said that
aspiring travellers could create
their own Stokvel group to
contribute toward their dream
holiday.
“By participating in the
Stokvel, members receive
expert travel advice, as well
as exclusive discounts and
promotions not available to
other customers.”
