The tourism industry is gearing up for a bumper holiday season, with advance bookings for some weeks 6% up on last year’s figures.
Most travellers are going for tailored or personalised experiences, as shown by the fact that guesthouses (at 32.5%) and self-catering (at 17%) are the top accommodation choices.
This is according to accommodation and booking management company NightsBridge, which analyses data from Booking.com, Expedia, Lekkeslaap, Airbnb and others.
“November is one of the highest volumes of bookings in the year, where 250,000 bookings were processed this year and 10,090 bookings were made just on November 25,” NightsBridge CEO and founder Theresa Emerick said.
She said the data showed this holiday season would at least be on par with last year when “revenge travel” — the pent-up desire to go away for a holiday after the pandemic — was at a peak.
Over the past two years South Africans have increasingly planned their trips several weeks in advance, rather than waiting until the last minute. The figures show that 41.9% of bookings are now made more than a month in advance.
“People are geared up and ready to spend at this time of year. There will always be those booking at the last minute, that’s just a cultural trend,” Emerick said.
Sue Garrett, marketing manager at Flight Centre, reported “great” bookings for December and January.
People are geared up and ready to spend at this time of year
— Theresa Emerick, NightsBridge
“Domestically, we’re seeing strong bookings across our coastal destinations, with Cape Town leading the pack, followed by Durban, Gqeberha and the Garden Route. In terms of popular destinations, Sun City remains a consistent performer.”
She said all-inclusive, resort packages were growing in popularity and that the average length of trips was increasing.
Cape Town is expecting a bonanza festive season, as seen in an increase in international flights and a heavy influx of vehicles from other provinces on the road in the past week.
Cape Town Tourism said the city’s airport was buzzing with a “record-breaking” 226 weekly international flights, while the cruise terminal was set to host 88 ship visits during the 2024/2025 cruise season.
Tourism was worth R27.3bn for the city in 2023, supporting about 91,400 jobs, according to James Vos, member of the metropolitan council for economic growth.
George municipality said accommodation bookings in November already reflect a 6% increase in average occupancy for the next six months.
The eThekwini municipality is predicting an “economic boost” for greater Durban from an estimated 1.3-million visitors, a 75% occupancy rate at hospitality establishments and R2.5bn in direct spending.
“To enhance safety and convenience, the metro police, along with law enforcement agencies, are ensuring high visibility at key tourist hotspots,” it said.
“Measures include access-controlled roads, a free park-and-ride system, and the deployment of 500 newly trained metro police officers with over 170 high-performance vehicles. The city is partnering with the National Prosecuting Authority to address crimes targeting tourists.”
Despite concern about the closure of several beaches last week due to high E. coli levels, the city said 21 beaches and 30 public swimming pools are open and water quality will be closely monitored.
Duncan Heafield, Umhlanga Tourism Association chair, said hotels in the upmarket town are between 75% and 90% booked for the festive period.
“But it seems that again the tourists will only be coming in any quantity after the December 16 long weekend.”
Heafield said bookings for the summer holiday were better than in previous years because “the beaches have been open for the last 60 days”.
Vicky Schnetler, precinct manager of Umdloti Smart Village — an NPO based in the north coast seaside village — said accommodation establishments were “almost at capacity”.
The CEO of South Coast Tourism & Investment Enterprise, Vusumuzi Sibiya, said the organisation is “anticipating bumper numbers this year”.
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