Vacations are an important outlet for escaping the day to day stresses of life and while the desires to desire to take a well-deserved break may be stronger than ever, travellers are also becoming more conscientious about how they spend their money.
The current boom in domestic holiday travel, according to the latest statistics released by South African Tourism, has revealed that South Africans have not lost sight of the importance of saving for vacations despite the current tough economic climate.
“They still want to experience something ‘different’ and participate in exciting activities,” says Shaun Lamont, Managing Director of First Group a leisure management company.
“But instead of taking lavish overseas holidays to exotic destinations, they are opting for more affordable budget-friendly local holidays, which can be easily reached by car or a low-cost airline,” he continues.
According to the leisure management company, there’s also been a shift in how holidaymakers plan their trips. Instead of saving all year to take one big annual vacation, many are opting to use whatever extra cash they have at the end of the month to take more frequent and cheaper quick getaways.
Last Minute Breaks
This growing trend of last-minute bookings is particularly popular among the Millennials who are more focused on seeking the ultimate Instagram-able experience.
Whereas generation X, which has larger families, focus on self-catering holiday options booked during school holidays. The Baby Boomers, most of which are reaching retirement, tend to prefer booking their holidays during the quieter periods or midweek when the hotels and resorts have fewer guests.
“For this, we applaud SA Tourism’s efforts to market campaigns that entice South Africans to travel their country and make local travel more accessible to all. We will continue to support SA Tourism’s objectives by playing our part with marketing campaigns that promote world-class accommodation and meet the growing consumer needs for value-added discounts and holiday packages,” he concludes.
