Tour operator Go2Africa released its Annual State of Safari Travel Report, revealing trends for safari travel in 2023 and predictions for 2024.
Go2Africa uses enquiry data to identify trends, preferences, and behaviours, supplementing this information with Google search data.
South Africans were revealed to be among the top five consumers of safari experiences, alongside Americans, Canadians, Australians and British travellers.
South Africa also emerged as the destination global travellers want to visit the most for safari trips, attracting 24,53% of all interest, with Tanzania and Kenya in second and third place, respectively. Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia were also among the most searched destinations.
Researchers found that safari travel was typified as a romantic getaway, with most safari goers being couples (47%), while family emerged as a key source market (31%).
In terms of growing trends, the report finds a growing demand for safaris in Zambia, with an increased demand of 78%. Interest in beach and safari combination trips has also increased by 20%.
“Zambia and Malawi combination safaris are very popular at the moment. Zambia offers some great value with more untouched, uncrowded parks to explore compared to some of the more hectic areas in Southern Africa. It’s also a quick one-hour hop and a skip to Malawi for incredible beach and freshwater snorkelling, kayaking and African sundowners,” said Liesel Van Zyl, Head of Positive Impact at Go2Africa.
Sustainable safari travel continued to grow as a trend, with average monthly Google searches increasing from below 3 000 in 2021 to over 5 000 in 2023.
Safari travellers are also spending 25% more money during their trips. The report found that 24,5% of South African, European and British travellers had medium to high budgets, an increase from 18% in 2022.
“Moving into 2024 we see budgets increasing and an emphasis on luxurious experiences as we continue to focus on clients wanting a four or five-star experience. Currently, our average luxury booking values are close to $25 000 (R475 000),” said Van Zyl.
