Tough times put damper on festive fun

TRAVELLERS are not putting
their December holiday
plans on hold but they are
being more cautious when it
comes to their spend.
Over 60% of travel agents
who voted in TNW’s recent
poll, reported that there had
been notably fewer leisure
bookings for the festive
season this year compared
with last. But tour
operators say travel has not
been put on hold.
“Beachcomber Tours’
Mauritius bookings are
well up on last year with
over 10% more passengers
booked. We are expecting
our best December ever,”
says Joanne Visagie, sales
and marketing manager.
“We’ve seen a surge in
last-minute bookings for our
December guided holidays particularly the Christmas
Markets we have on offer,”
says Theresa Szejwallo, md of
Trafalgar.
Although bookings are strong
for the festive season, industry
players admit that travel and
booking trends are changing.
Chantelle Brown, senior
product manager of kulula
holidays, says various factors,
such as the unabridged birth
certificate requirement and the
weakened rand have affected
travel as a whole. “Our market
is currently unstable and
consumers are being far more
cautious with purchases.”
Travellers are staying
closer to home and taking
shorter holidays this year as
a result of the weak rand,
says Flight Centre strategic
marketing specialist, Sharmila
Ragunanan. “As opposed
to a seven- to 10-night stay,
they are now opting for five to
seven nights.”
Thompsons Holidays has
also noticed a trend toward
domestic bookings. PR
and media manager, John
Ridler, says: “We have seen
an early trend to move to
domestic holidays for those
who feel the exchange rate
is crippling. This, in turn, has
pushed up occupancies in
South Africa, especially in
the Cape, over the festive
season.”
The lead time to book has
also shortened, according to
Sharmilla. “Where domestically
it was six to 12 weeks, it is
now three to six. Lead time
to book international travel
was three to nine months
but is now two to four. In this
environment, any overseas
destination is carefully planned
around where the rand goes
the furthest.”
Cathie Bester, national sales
manager of World Leisure
Holidays, says although regular
clients have booked well in
advance for the December
period, WLH is still getting
requests from travellers with
budget constraints. “People
are waiting to see if there is
money to travel.” She adds
that travellers are also waiting
to receive unabridged birth
certificates and documentation
before booking their holidays.
Flora Fubbs, The Holiday
Factory’s senior manager
contracting, marketing and
operations, adds that demand
for luxury accommodation
seems to have taken a knock.
“Bookings for December are
busy but there is definitely
a trend towards three-star
hotels.”
Chantelle adds that couples
who do not need to consider
school holidays are also
more open to travelling during
November or January, avoiding
the peak season completely.
“We also saw this in 2014 and
are expecting this behaviour to
become more popular in the
coming year,” she says.
In terms of destinations,
travellers are opting for more
budget-friendly places. Vicky
Steinhardt, marketing and
product manager of Pentravel,
says ski holidays don’t seem
to be as popular this year,
with travellers opting for more
affordable beach holidays
in Zanzibar and Mauritius.
“New Zealand is also up 33%,
which may be attributed to
the visiting family and friends
sector,” she says.