Travel & Leisure

South Africa’s hotel development market, and specifically Cape Town’s, is showing astounding buoyancy despite a tough economy and the after-effects of the drought. Innovative ways of accommodating corporate and leisure travellers, such as ‘aparthotels’ or serviced apartment-style hotels, are quickly gaining momentum.

We have unveiled 10 bold predictions about the technology shaping how passengers will move through the airport of the future, based on unique insights, driving industry forces and emerging technologies. The airport experience has morphed dramatically in the past 10 years with the introduction of biometric security, mobile check-in, and baggage tracking. And there is much more to come.

If you’ve ever felt stressed or anxious about business travels, know that you are not alone. In fact, experts have come up with a new term to describe this very common phenomenon. It’s called 'Permanxiety'. Coined in 2017 by global travel industry platform Skift, permanxiety refers to a permanent state of anxiety widely experienced across the world.

In 2018, 1.4 billion people crossed an international border to take a holiday, and this number is set to rise with an estimated 5 billion people travelling internationally by 2050. SA tourism must work to capitalise on the social megatrends that are influencing how and why people travel, and what they look for when they do.

Airbnb launched in South Africa in 2015. Since then, the number of home hosts has grown to more than 35,000 with South Africans pocketing more than R3.8 billion over this time. The ripple effect of this booming Airbnb community has also proved significant, resulting in an economic impact of approximately R10 billion and supporting upwards of 22,000 jobs. So what’s the catch?

A refreshingly practical guide to evaluating captive wildlife attractions and activities will be unveiled following extensive research undertaken by us, which represents South Africa’s tourism private sector. While the guide is comprehensive in its assessment of animal interactions in the tourism industry, and is the first to pin its approach on a locally-born ethical framework, its utility peaks in an interactive tool – an easy-to-use ‘decision tree’ which will allow tourism bodies, tour operators and tourists to assess animal interaction operations, and make informed decisions to support ethically sound and responsible operators in South Africa.

In a general South African sense, the word 'transformation' has taken on an important, but perhaps singular and distinctive meaning. To be of real economic value to the nation as a whole, transformation needs to be inclusive across a broad range of South African society.

With economic growth considered the main driver of corporate travel, emerging economies such as South Africa are increasingly adding to the international pool of business travellers. Predicting positive growth in 2020, analysts say there is good news for South African SMEs, whose bargaining power they see rising with the market’s size and spend.

Little is known about where the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) will take the tourism industry globally, or indeed what the full impact of 4IR will be.

Just one year ago, the South African tourism market had set its sights on a bumper festive season that would see it sail through some of the economic challenges it has encountered, and into a brighter future. But 12 months down the line, its challenges today weigh even heavier on the market.