This World Tourism Day (September 27), hopes are high for a turnaround in South Africa’s tourism fortunes.
The hospitality industry has shown positive signs of income with tourist accommodation increasing by 86.6% for the year ending May 2022, according to Statistics South Africa.
The bulk of the income was from accommodation establishments such as hotels, guesthouses, villas, and distinctive offerings such as game lodges.
Additionally, Google Trends reports that in the past year, South Africans have increasingly been searching online for ‘game reserve’, ‘nature reserve’, and ‘south coast’ – over 100%, 140%, and 90% respectively – when comparing the period of March to April 2021 with the same period in 2022.
These terms showed up in queries for popular reserves like ‘Protea Hotel Polokwane Ranch Resort’ and ‘Protea Hotel Zebula’ among others.
The majority of these searches are by domestic travellers which, suppliers say, kept the industry afloat.
“The local traveller seeks to make the best of any travel opportunity they can afford. Locals are hitting the roads to explore their backyards. Some for a leisurely break, while others choose to pack up the laptop and hit the road to work from a new setting for a week or two,” said Seán Maher, Market Vice President – South Africa, Marriott International.
The latest collaboration between the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) with South African Tourism and the Tourism Business Council of South Africa – which encouraged local travellers to explore their own country through discounted rates of up to 35% across the country – has seen a rise in domestic travel.
In August, the collaboration – working with selected accommodation establishments, airlines, agents and tour operators – launched the SA is Home domestic travel campaign with the aim of stimulating economic recovery and activity in the tourism sector.
Travel programmes highlighted
Maher noted that the investment in such a partnership allowed the emergence of travel programmes such as Marriott Bonvoy, to highlight their travel benefit and offerings for local travellers.
Offers such as ‘Stay Longer On Us’ allows travellers to recharge a little longer by receiving 15% off the standard rates when they stay three nights, 20% off when they stay between four and six nights or 25% off when they stay seven nights or more.
The offer extends to participating brands under the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio such as Protea Hotel by Marriott, Autograph Collection, Westin Hotels, Marriott Hotels, and Marriott Executive Apartments.
“The determination of our partners and stakeholders in their commitment to SA tourism remains a key anchor in supporting all the properties across the Marriott portfolio offering,” concluded Maher.
