FLIGHT Centre has started the new year
on high note, recording R18m in sales
at its annual Travel Expo, which was held
at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg
on February 7-8.
The group saw an increase of 62%
compared with last year when it wrote
R11,1m in business. The number of
visitors also increased by 27% with
16 524 prospective travellers visiting
the Expo this year.
Andrew Stark, md of Flight Centre,
says the success of the show is
because customers are now aware
that the Travel Expo is coming and
they purposely saved up for the event,
knowing they could take advantage of
great deals.
Cathie Bester, national sales manager of
World Leisure Holidays,
agrees, saying most visitors
were genuine and had done
their homework before the
Expo and knew what they
were looking for in terms of
where they wanted to travel.
“They came to the show
to take advantage of the
phenomenal special offers
that were available,” she
says.
The fact that clients wait
until the Expo to book their
holidays is a sign of the
need for special offers in
this market, says Flora
Fubbs, senior manager of
The Holiday Factory. She
adds that there was a lot
of demand for honeymoons
as well as some forward
bookings for December. “We
also saw a few browsers
looking for info for trips
planned in 2016 and
beyond.”
Other operators say that
chasing special deals was
only a secondary motive for
travellers visiting the show.
“Our stand was completely
overrun with visitors who
wanted to know more about
what our offering was and
where they should go. The
special Travel Expo deal was
secondary,” says Theresa
Szejwallo, md of Trafalgar.
Theresa adds that many
people seemed to be
planning trips and used the
Expo as a means to get
the expert opinions and
information they were looking
for. “The interest was there
and people were ready to
book. It didn’t faze people
that they were required to pay
their deposits at the Expo.”
Theresa says the show is a
good indication that there is
definitely an interest for travel
again and that there could be
a pent-up demand from last
year when many travellers
put their overseas holidays
on hold due to the tough
economic climate.
