Positive sentiment among US travellers who have safely visited Africa during the pandemic is giving buyers more confidence that volumes are on track to recover to 2019 levels as early as 2023.
Africa Travel Week (ATW) attempted to measure visitor sentiment and Africa’s road to recovery in its latest ‘Unlock Africa’ podcast. The recording is just one in a series of talks ATW has hosted with overseas buyers and specialists from key source markets.
US specialists Anne-Marie Callahan from Edgewood Travel in North America, and Akash Baijnath, Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) Regional Sales & Marketing Manager, based in South Africa, reported a steady uptick in demand and forward bookings.
Pent-up demand
Many customers who are set to travel in 2022 have had to defer travel because of COVID-19. However, Callahan maintained: “There is a large population of people who are dying to get back to travel. A lot of those people are moving forward and being cautious as they go.”
Africa remains a very popular ‘bucket list’ destination but appears to be attracting a younger demographic than before COVID-19, more honeymooners and a higher number of family bookings from the US. Baijnath said the US accounted for as much as 70% of all of A&K’s Africa bookings.
Last-minute travel is (still) another prominent trend. The representatives reported bookings as late as three weeks before departure, up to 1.5 months. “All travel is now pretty much last-minute,” commented Callahan. “[Customers] finally feel secure enough to travel; they want to go right away.”
Heightened experiences
“We have been socially distancing for a number of years,” said Baijnath, describing the type of boutique lodge that A&K traditionally sells. He had high praise for local lodges and suppliers going the extra mile to give customers a good, safe experience. He said many lodges were upgrading pax when they had capacity or providing private game drives at no extra charge.
As to whether PCR test costs were enough to put travellers off visiting more than one country on an Africa trip, the partners said it came down to the individual’s budget. Some customers are happy to pay as they don’t all intend to return soon.
If the US partners could change any one aspect about booking an Africa tour, the partners said they would like to see Africa perceived as a safe place to travel; and that flying times (from the US to Africa) could miraculously be shortened.
Callahan said a 16-hour flight was enough to put some people off, and maintained that, generally, it took a bigger budget to ‘do Africa’. “I am noticing an attitude in a large majority of clients that this is their first time out since the pandemic, and that they want to do it right. Africa is not a destination where you want to be too frugal,” she commented.
According to Baijnath, by late 2021 (but before Omicron), A&K’s Africa business had recovered to around 60-70% of pre-COVID levels. “Yes, there are a lot of postponed bookings, but there are ‘real business’ people who want to travel there. From that angle, things are looking very positive, and we think that we will continue to grow and get stronger as we get into 2022 and as more confidence returns. Things are going to look a lot, lot better in 2022 and beyond.”
For anyone considering a visit, Callahan said: “I would recommend [travel] sooner than later because, now, crowds at the most popular attractions are not so bad. But, I think the floodgates are going to open, and by the end of 2022 and certainly into 2023, everyone is going to be back in the swing of things.”
Baijnath concluded: “Everyone has really banded together to get through these difficult times. We are coming out the other side together. If everyone keeps doing their bit, we will be back where we were, and hopefully even better than we were pre-COVID.”
