SA travellers prefer rail to LCCs
THE LCC market in Europe
has grown considerably
over the past few years,
creating affordable and broad
airline access throughout
the continent. This comes
after big full-service airlines
such as Air France KLM and
Lufthansa, started to extend
their networks by introducing
hybrid, or low-cost carriers
for their short-haul flights.
However, the emergence of
more LCCs and lower fares has
not encouraged South Africans
to explore the continent by
air. Tour operators say SA
travellers largely prefer highspeed
trains in Europe.
Ian McPartlan, managing
consultant at Advito, an
international travel industry
consultancy and part of
the BCD travel group, says
Lufthansa has gradually
transferred all its domestic
and regional European
services that do not operate
from Frankfurt or Munich
to its LCC, Germanwings.
Meanwhile Air France has
combined three of its regional
subsidiary airlines to form
Hop!, which will operate 30%
of AF’s domestic and regional
services. And at International
Airlines Group, British Airways
and Iberia have completed the
full acquisition of Vueling, their
LCC based in Barcelona.
Megan D'Arcy, product
manager at Holiday Tours, says
Europe has always been very
accessible through the various
modes of public transport, with
South African travellers usually
able to combine countries
within the EU with ease. “The
addition of various LCCs has
definitely upped capacity,
however it has had no direct
major impact on our figures.”
Megan says rail travel,
whether the high-speed
trains or regular services,
remains a firm favourite with
SA travellers. “Rail travel is
a fantastic way to travel as it
allows passengers to enjoy
views of the countryside
between cities. There is also
a shorter check-in period
compared with flying and
passengers can generally
walk or take a short cab
ride to their hotel in the city
centre, making rail travel an
easy, no-fuss way of travelling.
Provided that a rail journey
makes sense logistically
and fits within the time and
budget framework as advised
by clients, our consultants
try to offer rail tickets where
possible to enhance our
Europe packages.”
John Ridler, spokesperson
for Cullinan Outbound Tourism,
says: “Not only are rail passes
affordable but it is a great
way to see Europe. City-tocity
travel by rail is hugely
time saving and takes away
the aggravation of crowded
airports. Rail passes also
offer flexibility, which is seldom
available on LCCs, which
penalise any changes to your
route or dates flown.”
KLM revamps long-haul fleet
AFTER updating its Boeing
747-400 World Business
Class cabin, KLM is now
also upgrading its B777-
200 fleet, with a team
of Dutch designers and
specialists creating a more
personal, comfortable travel
experience. The B777-200
fleet of 15 aircraft will be
updated before the end of
the year.
The new economy-class
cabin will feature new seats
that offer more ‘living space’.
The seats are the lightest in
their class and will save fuel,
according to the airline.
A new inflight entertainment
system will also be installed
for both travel classes, with
rich content, a ‘seat chat’
option, 3D interactive moving
map and intuitive HD touch
screens with navigation
available in 12 languages.
World Business Class will
feature fully flat seats that
offer maximum comfort and
privacy.
Trends to look out for in 2015
DESPITE the recent terrorist attacks
that gripped Europe, the continent
remains a firm favourite with South
Africans.
France and Belgium have recently
been put on high terror alert but
this has not been a deterrent for
travellers from South Africa.
John Ridler says most travellers
tend to take isolated incidents in
their stride and will only avoid places
with sustained conflict, such as Iraq
and Syria. He says the action by
French police and army in the recent
terrorist attack in Paris was swift
and this tends to reassure travellers
that Europe is a relatively safe
destination.
Megan D'Arcy says Holiday
Tours has slowly started growing its
Europe-based product again. “The
newest additions are Budapest,
Vienna and Prague. Lisbon has also
been brought back as an add-on to
Spain itineraries,” she says, pointing
out that these destinations have
been added following demand from
Holiday Tours’ client base.
With Europe continuing to be a
popular destination, TNW looks at
the top four trends to expect this
year.
1 Hot destinations
Turkey
Megan says Turkey has been
identified by SA travellers as both a
standalone destination and a great
add-on option to Greece packages.
Theresa Szejwallo, md of
Trafalgar, agrees and says Turkey is
“definitely right up there for South
Africans”. She says a Turkish visa is
easily obtainable online at no charge,
which is a big advantage. “Turkey
is a hot destination right now as it
offers a taste of east meets west.
For culture, history and religious
iconography, Turkey is hard to beat.”
Greece and Italy
Megan says Greece has always
been a staple for Holiday Tours,
as is Italy.
“We have seen a fair amount
of enquiries for these
destinations already this year,
even though we are not yet in
the traditional Europe booking
season.”
Theresa agrees: “We believe
Greece is in the ascendant
and we’ve also introduced a
new Greece guided holiday that
encompasses Corfu.”
2 In-depth, personalised experiences
Inge Dobihal, owner of Austria
Connection, says travellers are looking
for a more in-depth experience, allowing
them to really get to know a country.
She says travellers no longer feel that
once they have seen Prague they have
seen the Czech Republic, or once they
have seen Vienna they have seen
Austria.
Theresa says more travellers are
looking for a smaller, more intimate
setting, which is why Trafalgar has
introduced Hidden Journeys. “Hidden
Journeys takes smaller groups deeper
into the destinations the company
already serves. The 11 Hidden
Journeys trips will each have no more
than 26 travellers. Destinations include
Italy, France, Ireland, Switzerland,
Greece, Turkey, Newfoundland, Panama,
Japan and China.” She says the new
product is all about access. “We
have introduced selected trips that
take our guests into the hardest-toreach
destinations. Hidden Journeys
is an extension of Trafalgar’s Insider
Experiences, which launched in 2011
and offers dining in the homes of
locals, introducing travellers to native
industries, talks with local experts and
inside-access activities.
3 Culinary tours
Inspired by Masterchef and
Gordon Ramsay, travellers are
increasingly enquiring about
culinary tours.
Megan says she has
definitely seen an upward
trend in gastronomyrelated
tour requests, one
of the reasons Holiday
Tours decided to introduce
‘delicious’ city stays
throughout Europe.
According to Theresa,
Trafalgar is also continuously
expanding on its culinary
offering. “On our Flavours
of Italy trip we ramp up the
whole culinary experience.
In Florence our guests visit
a food market with Libero, a
local chef who gives guests
an insight into Italian cuisine.
Purchasing the produce from
the food market is followed
by a cooking lesson where
everyone spends time
together preparing a delicious
lunch, which is then shared
over a glass or two of wine!”
Inge has also seen
increased demand for culinary
tours, leading her to design
a few self-drive programmes.
These include the ‘Wine, Beer
and Culinary Delights’ tour,
which takes travellers to
cities such as Prague,
Salzburg, Budapest and
Vienna to sample the local
delicacies.
“We have been asked, how
we can offer a wine, beer and
culinary self-drive tour.
“Well, the answer is quite
simple. During the day
sample the culinary highlights
and in the afternoon/evening
enjoy the wine and beer
specialities.
4 Family travel
Family travel continues to
be a popular trend for travel
to Europe, according to
Theresa. She says Trafalgar
has released an entire
brochure dedicated to the
perfect family holiday where
mom, dad, gran, grandpa,
uncles, aunts and all the
kids can travel and learn
together.
John agrees that
family holidays are on
the increase and says
demand from families
includes self-drive and rail
packages as well as the
ever-popular Paris Disney
combinations. “Cruises in
the Mediterranean are also
popular as well as Croatian
cruises that have access
to small ports and coves –
away from the crowds.”
Book single trips with Trafalgar
THIS year Trafalgar will cater
for single travellers by waiving
or significantly reducing single
room supplements on many
of its packages. The discount
is usually about 50%, but can
be as much as 100%. These
single-friendly deals will be
valid on selected departures
for 17 of the popular
itineraries.
“Single guests often feel
penalised because they
have to pay more, so we’ve
addressed this by creating
portfolios that have been
branded for the single
traveller,” says Theresa.
Book It!
Wine, Beer and Culinary Delights
Austria Connection has introduced the ‘Wine, Beer and Culinary Delights’ tour from €1 038pps
(R13 569). It includes nine nights with breakfast in three-star hotels, eight days’ car hire group A
with unlimited mileage, CDW, theft insurance and VAT. This special also includes the Vienna Card
(includes Hop on, Hop off bus), a sightseeing tour in Budapest, Salzburg and Prague, a boat trip
in Budapest and Prague, coffee and cake in Vienna, Budapest and Prague, the ‘Original Mozart
Kugel’, and a three-course traditional meal in Vienna, Budapest, Salzburg and Prague.
