IT HAS been a great year for
wholesalers in travel, with
numerous tour operators
citing double-figure growth in
sales compared with last year.
At a recent event, Trafalgar
ceo, Gavin Tollman, said the
operator had realised doubledigit
growth in the SA market
in the current year, despite
some difficult hurdles such as
the weak rand.
eTravel Holidays has also
seen tour operator revenue
grow in double digits.
Operations director, Tammy
Hunt, says leisure travel has
picked up, despite the difficult
economic climate. “Perhaps
South Africans are making the
best of the current situation,
which shows how resilient they
truly are.”
“I thought the industry would
battle this year,” says Mark
Buck, md of United Europe,
but the operator has seen
overall growth of 57% year-onyear.
He says January was the
worst month the company had
in a long time, whereas sales
doubled for the month of June.
Development Promotions has
also reported a very good year,
with ‘a prominent increase
in sales’ compared with last
year. Md, Jackie Adami, says
South Africans are resilient
and will always travel despite
challenges. “Our cruising and
small group touring products,
namely G Adventures, have
noticeably exceeded across
the board. I believe these
products’ growth potential is
huge and [they are] becoming
well known to the consumer.”
“We have definitely seen
increased demand in packages
and have had amazing growth
in passenger numbers yearon-
year. All our destinations
are outperforming last year,”
says Flora Fubbs, marketing
manager of The Holiday
Factory. She says passenger
numbers are a more reliable
benchmark than revenue,
as the rand devaluation
has resulted in increased
package prices, which means
tour operators could report
improved revenue even if
passenger volumes remain the
same.
The bulk of the growth is
in the four-star market, Flora
says. “Clients are shopping
around a lot more than in the
past as they are hunting for
the best deals.”
For the Harvey World Travel
group, tour operator and
international cruising packages
are the sectors showing best
growth, says Monica Horn,
product manager of the HWT
franchise support team. “We
are performing exceptionally
well with our preferred tour
operators.”
“This year, Serendipity ITCs
have met every single tour
operator target,” says Dinesh
Naidoo, group operations
director of Serendipity
Worldwide Group (SWG). He
says both leisure and incentive
travel are growing segments in
the South African market.
A reason why most large
tour operators are reporting
exceptional growth is because
competition has diminished,
says Dinesh. For example,
JetStar Tours closed its doors
earlier this year. Also the
rebranding of Holiday Tours to
kulula holidays has created
opportunities for other tour
operators to take over some
clients, he says.
Despite a flourishing leisure
market, travel agents are
still struggling. Economic
uncertainty has impacted
heavily on corporate travel,
leading to a lack of growth
in that sector, says Tammy.
“Business overall is only
slightly up year-on-year.”
“Generally the market is
down. One look at BSP sales
tells it all,” says Wally Gaynor,
md of Club Travel. He says
there is a definite cut in travel
spend and a big move to using
low-cost carriers. Wally adds
that the Indian Ocean Islands
and Thailand might be selling
well but, apart from those
destinations, travellers are
looking for “closer to home”
and “value for money”.
