T
RAVEL agents have
seen a significant
decline in both corporate
and leisure bookings to
destinations that have recently
been affected by terrorist
attacks.
According to Mohammed
Mirza, travel consultant of
A2Z Travel Services, Istanbul
is the single most affected
destination. He reports a 98%
decline in flights to and via
Istanbul since the shootings
and suicide bombings at
Atatürk Airport in June last
year.
Siobhan Nel, travel
consultant of Travel
Counsellors, says travellers
are even refusing to fly on
Turkish Airlines. “Travellers
would much rather pay a
couple of hundred rand more
to fly via another destination
than Istanbul,” she says.
Rachael Penaluna, business
manager of Sure Maritime
Travel, agrees. “We even had
one corporate client, who
has a contract with Turkish
Airlines, who told us that
Istanbul is no longer an option
to connect to Europe after the
attack there,” she says.
France and the UK are two
other affected destinations:
with the shootings in Champs-
Élysées on April 20 and terror
attacks in Manchester and
London in May and June
respectively. Siobhan says
she’s had some clients who
were originally flying via Paris
to the USA who no longer
want to in spite of Air France’s
competitive fares. Similarly,
Mohammed has seen a 20%
drop in travel to the UK.
However, agents agree the
drop in interest to these
destinations may also be
attributed to the weak rand.
Hélène Bezuidenhout,
regional manager of Atout
France, said she observed a
slight drop in travel to Paris
following the shooting, but
that numbers are now back to
normal, which was expected
as Paris is considered one
of the world’s most popular
tourist destinations.
According to William Smook,
spokesperson for British
Airways, flights to the UK
do not appear to have been
affected.
Agents agree the one
destination that has not been
affected is Thailand – where
a bomb blast took place in
Bangkok in May. “We have
not experienced a decline in
sales because of the attack.
SA travellers are resilient
and we do not expect this
to change in any way,” says
Jessica Clark, brand manager
of Busabout. Candice Perry,
marketing campaign and
brochure coordinator of
Thompsons Holidays, adds
that most travellers who go to
Thailand want to travel beyond
Bangkok anyway.
Maggie du Toit, travel
consultant of Travel
Counsellors, points out how
these recent attacks remind
agents how important it is to
be able to get hold of a client
in case of an emergency, such
as over WhatsApp. “We have
to work around the clock to
ensure that our clients are
safe,” she says.
Turkish Airlines had not
commented at the time of
going to print
Terrorism takes a toll on travel
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