RECENT travel surveys
have shown that more
South Africans plan
to travel this year, and that
the amount they will spend
on their trips will increase.
According to TripAdvisor’s
TripBarometer, 40% of
South Africans plan to
spend more on travel in
2014. Stephanie Boyle,
TripAdvisor’s spokesperson
for business in Europe,
Middle East and Africa,
says that while SA
travellers are increasing
their travel budgets by
around 30% this year, they
are doing more research
to find better prices. Some
97% of respondents said
they were looking for a
good deal or special offer.
The survey found that
there would be an increase
in both domestic and
international travel, with
Australia being the top
choice for international,
followed by Brazil, the UK
and the US. The most
popular types of holidays
for SA travellers are beach,
family and adventure.
Stephanie admits
that many of the survey
respondents are likely
to book their own travel
online rather than through
a travel agent, which is
why the top destination
could differ from the
best sellers in the travel
industry. However, fewer
South Africans are making
bookings online compared
with the rest of the world.
Similar trends were
identified by Euromonitor’s
Travel Industry Forecast
Review, which was
presented by Paz Casal,
Africa research manager of
Euromonitor International,
at WTM Africa earlier this
month. Some of the key
findings were that 2014
would be a better year,
particularly for emerging
markets; that emerging
markets would spend
more on discretionary
items such as travel and
that online sales, which
account for about 25% of
all travel sales in 2013,
continued to increase.
Sub-Saharan Africa, said
Paz, was one of the fastest
growing tourism regions,
spurred by rising income
levels and improved air
access. She said domestic
tourism continued to be a
key pillar for SA as a result
of strong campaigns by
local stakeholders. Leisure
travel was four times more
common than business in
2013, however hotels in
sub-Saharan Africa were
driven by business rather
than leisure tourists, she
said.
Globally, the survey found
that medical tourism was
the leading growth category
while cruise packages
were the fastest growing
in emerging markets. Paz
added that the low-cost
carrier model was gaining
strength, which saw more
legacy carriers either
investing in a low-cost
carrier or discounting their
own fares.
