Travel News South Africa

SA can expect an influx of international visitors over Easter

South Africans can prepare for an influx of foreign visitors over the Easter week with data pulled by Cheapflights showing a 61% surge in searches for travel into South Africa over this period compared to the previous period. Cheapflights Managing Director, Andrew Shelton, says: “We attribute this to a number of factors, including the continued relative affordability of vacationing in South Africa, the great weather this time of year, and a general trend that we've witnessed since the beginning of this year of consumers looking at emerging or alternative destinations, over those that have had a near monopoly on the travel market in recent years - like the US.”
RyanMcGuire via
RyanMcGuire via pixabay

Americans and Brits a real opportunity for tourism businesses

The data shows that South Africa continues to be a desirable destination for Europeans, with searches from Germany for the Easter week going up 90% versus the four weeks leading up to the holiday; with Sweden up 97% and Spain up 123%. A surprise result from the data shows that Romanians as are looking to escape to the south for Easter, with searches from that country up a staggering 335% on previous weeks.

“Despite that, however, our data shows once again that the highest amount of inbound travel over the Easter period will be from the United States and the UK – countries that continually see South Africa as a popular destination. Americans and Brits massively dwarf the numbers searching for travel here from other countries, and that itself represents a real opportunity for tourism businesses here who should be focusing their marketing accordingly,” explained Shelton.

Travellers from around the continent are also looking to flock into South Africa over the Easter holidays. Searches from Nigeria are up 144%, from Namibia 189% and from Tanzania, an impressive 250%, compared to previous weeks.

South Africans flock to international destinations

The data from Cheapflights also shows that South Africans are continuing to travel overseas in droves. Beach holidays are in the biggest demand, with Mauritius, Phuket, Zanzibar and Bangkok taking up the top four places of destinations searched for by South Africans over the Easter period.

“London still features in the top five destinations South Africans are looking to visit, which is likely due to South Africans taking advantage of the slightly stronger Rand and weakening Pound,” explains Shelton.

The data also shows that many expats from African countries residing in South Africa are planning on taking advantage of the Easter break to go home and visit families. Searches for travel from South Africa to Malawi are up 105% over Easter compared to previous weeks, with searches to Namibia up 163% and Zimbabwe 103%.

When to travel

There are still some good deals to be found for those wanting to book last minute getaways. The cheapest day to fly over the Easter period is Thursday 13 April, with the most expensive being on Easter Sunday, 16 April.

Despite being the cheapest day to travel, Thursday 13 April will also, unusually, be the busiest day for that period.

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