What South Africans are looking for when it comes to local travel
Travel in Mzansi is at an all-time high – from January to August, South Africans booked 21.3 million overnight trips, compared to the 8.9 million in the same period last year (2021) and 13.8 million in 2019.
In terms of holiday trips, 5.3 million trips were taken from January to August compared to 1.5 million in 2021.
South African holidayers are rediscovering that local is indeed lekker, and South African Tourism is taking advantage of this trend by promoting its Gimme Summer that Sho’t Left campaign – which offers South Africans affordable and accessible travel deals.
This campaign runs throughout the summer travel season, and all tourism industry members are encouraged to upload their deals to the Sho’t Left platform.
Promoting your holiday packages
If you are wondering what South Africans are looking for when it comes to their travels, Sho’t Left has your back.
Below, it has detailed five essential things South Africans deem important when making travel plans this festive season.
1. Budget-friendly travel and activities
This tip is at the top of the list for a reason.
South Africans are willing to travel, but the cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation make it very difficult to do so.
It should therefore be unsurprising that the world’s largest travel intentions survey, conducted by Travel Lifestyle Network, revealed that South Africans value budget-friendly travel and are opting for local travel due to financial constraints.
You should therefore make sure your deals and offers suit the South African pocket without compromising on quality.
2. Personalisation
Everyone wants to feel like they are special, and this is no different for travellers.
People crave flexible experiences tailored to their needs – so offer your guests a customer-oriented service to meet and exceed their expectations.
You should also tailor your marketing strategy to reach your preferred audience.
3. Less fuss
Consumers are looking for more convenient ways to do everything – from making payments to booking flights.
An estimated 700 million people will make a booking online by 2023 – and South Africans are aligned with this global trend.
This makes it important that you give travellers a seamless, efficient, and digital booking system.
4. Staycations
Staycations spiked in popularity during the pandemic, and research suggests this global travel trend is here to stay.
A staycation is when travellers travel domestically, often involving day trips and exploring local restaurants and attractions.
Staycations provide a more accessible and affordable change of scenery and make travellers feel safe and secure as they are travelling closer to home.
5. On-the-grid stays
South Africans experience enough load-shedding when they’re at home – they don’t want to sit in the dark when on holiday, too.
What to know about Sho’t Left
Once you’ve planned your travel offerings with these points in mind, you should upload these offerings to the Sho’t Left platform.
Here are some key points about Sho’t Left:
- All tourism businesses can upload deals and packages – including tourist attraction and activity providers, accommodation establishments, airlines, and car rentals.
- Registration is free.
- There is no limit to how many deals can be registered.
- Deals can be added, edited and even removed at any time from the platform.
Visit deals.southafrica.net and register for the Gimme Summer that Sho’t Left campaign today.
All deals that are loaded will be available to South Africans on www.shotleft.co.za.
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