After over two years of limited travel, overseas visitors are already booking their December holiday trips to South Africa – and with a longer lead time.

Domestic tourists, in turn, are booking their travel much closer to their departure dates than they did pre-pandemic.

This is according to a report by Sojern – a global digital marketing solutions provider for the travel industry – showing that international travellers are planning further in advance in 2022 in comparison to 2019.

It is also clear from the report that, based on the top origin countries (source markets) holidaying in South Africa that the domestic market is still strategically important to local travel suppliers.

Sojern reports that just under 40% of international travellers coming to South Africa are booking their travel over three months in advance, as opposed to two to three months 2019.

The report further shows that 8% of travellers from Europe have already started planning their holiday trips to South Africa and a further 7% of travellers from other international regions have booked their trips.

Here are some other insights from the report:

• In May 2022, flight bookings (domestic and international) were up 25% on 2021 levels.

• Some destinations are recovering faster than others: Destinations like Kimberley and Bloemfontein are up YoY, however are still a long way off their 2019 booking and search volumes.

• Flight prices are volatile: COVID-19 caused a drastic drop in inbound flight prices, however, international fares into South Africa are now in fact higher than their 2019 levels.

• Domestic travel is still booming: 49,9% of flight bookings are by locals wanting to travel within South Africa, demonstrating how crucially important domestic travel is. The UK is 2nd, at 9,3%, with the US ranking 3rd at 5,4%, followed by Germany (4%) and Zimbabwe (2,5%).

To read the full report, click HERE.