Rugby World Cup drives Australasia demand

Rugby World Cup While ITT has not yet seen a clear spike in leisure bookings linked directly to next year’s Rugby World Cup, taking place from October 1 to November 13, 2027, Rampersadh said the event was likely to become a stronger demand driver once flights open and travellers begin firming up plans. “There’s a large South African expatriate community and many supporters may find it more appealing to stay with friends and family than to pay for accommodation. We expect this to shift closer to the event – once flights open for booking and interest typically converts into firm requests or bookings.” She believes many fans will want to make the tournament part of a broader holiday, with interest likely to firm up once flights become available to book. “As a result, we anticipate the real uplift in enquiries and demand to begin around October or November this year.” The World Cup creates a strong opportunity for agents to sell Australia as more than a sports trip. “Given the cost and flight time of getting to Australia from South Africa, most fans will want to justify the trip with a wider holiday – so agents should secure flights and accommodation as soon as possible, before host-city hotel rates spike, and before availability within easy reach of the match venues becomes a challenge. “With matches spread across major cities like Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, the biggest opportunity is that the tournament can be sold as more than just a sports trip – combining match attendance with a city break, experience extension or a longer holiday.” Rampersadh provided the following tips for several regions outside the host cities that were likely to benefit from tournament-related travel:  Western Australia (Perth gateway): Margaret River for wine tourism, coastal scenery and premium food experiences; and Ningaloo Reef as a high-value eco-tourism draw for snorkelling, diving and whale shark encounters.  South Australia (Adelaide gateway): the Barossa Valley, an internationally recognised wine region; and the Adelaide Hills for boutique food, wine and countryside experiences.  Victoria (Melbourne gateway): the Great Ocean Road, one of Australia’s most iconic coastal drives; and the Yarra Valley for wine and culinary tourism. • New South Wales (Sydney/ Newcastle gateway): the Blue Mountains, a UNESCO-listed nature destination; and the Hunter Valley, an established wine region.  Queensland (Brisbane gateway): the Sunshine Coast for beaches and hinterland experiences.  Reef and island experiences (Townsville gateway): the outer Great Barrier Reef, offering snorkelling and diving on a less crowded reef system. Because many price-conscious travellers were likely to stay with family, Rampersadh recommended that agents focused less on full packages and more on securing the best flight options and curating value-added experiences around the matches. Ticket sales From the Rugby World Cup sales side, SA Rugby Travel, the Official Travel Agent for the tournament in the local market, says South African interest has already been strong. “Demand was exceptionally high when sales opened at the beginning of 2026. There were a lot of people who had planned their Rugby World Cup dream well in advance. It has slowed down slightly now, but is still consistent. Through experience in previous Rugby World Cups, we expect demand to rise and peak again 6-9 months out,” Illana Pereira, Managing Executive of SA Rugby Travel, told Travel News. Pereira added that bookings were coming from a broad mix of travellers. “We always have an exceptionally diverse mix of travellers travelling with us to Rugby World Cups, which elevates the experience for all involved. Our operations are therefore set up to provide specialist services for each type of traveller, whether they are individual supporters, families, friends, groups or corporate companies.” At this stage, SA Rugby Travel is seeing demand concentrate around the host cities, especially Sydney, where all the knock-out matches are being played. “We are not seeing a huge number of bookings for the other cities hosting pool matches, as unfortunately the pool match opposition are not very strong. So we have ensured we have enough ticket allocation for the knock-out stages to meet the higher demand there. “There are official Rugby World Cup Experiences which guests are booking. They include cruises to the Great Barrier Reef, visits to Uluru (Ayers Rock), Sydney Harbour and Opera House tours and trips to wildlife reserves,” Pereira said. Engage clients now The event creates a straightforward and potentially high-volume sales opportunity for the trade. “It offers the opportunity to sell easy-to-understand set travel packages in volume. The Springboks enjoy huge support across the depth and breadth of South Africans. We expect between 8 000 and 15 000 South Africans to attend the tournament and travel agents’ clients, the ones that travel internationally, are a key target market.” For agents looking to capitalise, Pereira said the immediate priority was education and client engagement. “Get them excited! Agents should be getting in contact with official travel providers such as SA Rugby Travel and obtaining the wide selection of travel packages on offer, asking questions and requesting training where required to fully understand the offering and the travel landscape around the tournament – then passing this information onto their clients to entice and prepare them to travel!”