Tag: international travel

Did you know that a seemingly innocent souvenir could turn your dream holiday into a nightmare? We are warning travellers about passport mistakes that could invalidate your travel document and potentially cost you thousands of Rands – derailing your long-awaited getaway. Your passport is more than just a travel document – it's your key to exploring the world.

International travel is a mind-expanding privilege, but it is also immensely painful, mainly because of how dependent we are on paperwork. Have the wrong piece of paper, or the wrong credentials on a piece of paper, and a routine process can become a nightmare.

With 2024 approaching, many businesses will be reviewing and adjusting their travel budgets in light of spending predictions for the coming year. In terms of benchmarks, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) puts the average global spend at around $829 per business trip (R14,922).

Unmarried, no kids, and a bank balance that’s a little low? Your chances of successfully getting a visa to travel just got slimmer. Not everyone’s equal when it comes to visa applications. Factors such as your marital status, whether or not you have children, ownership of property, how long you’ve worked for the company, your bank balance, and even your social media activity can count against you.

Prior to 2019, anyone booking travel would have considered cost saving their key priority. Not anymore. Although travel bookers are, obviously, still keeping an eye on expenses, they (and their clients) are now more concerned with wellbeing.

As pandemic restrictions slowly ease, SA’s economy is being imbued with a fresh sense of hope for a better 2022. Recovery after the virus-induced downswing is sorely needed - Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) shows that the total number of liquidations in the country increased by a staggering 46.2% in the second quarter of 2021, compared with the same period the year before.

A Global Travel Industry Roundtable has defined a unified roadmap with safe alternatives and specific actions to phase out the use of long-term quarantine policies and travel restrictions. Comprising 20 major trade organisations, including the World Travel Agents Associations Alliance (WTAAA), of which we are a member, the global coalition was formed to accelerate the recovery of the travel industry by aligning global efforts behind common messaging and industry standards in collaboration with medical and policy experts.

Travellers won’t book without flexible Ts & Cs and health and safety protocols in place, with the majority saying they want to travel internationally in 2021. A recent survey we conducted shows how COVID-19 has changed how South Africans travel. Most survey respondents stated that they still want to travel internationally in 2021, provided there is booking flexibility and that health and safety protocols are in place.

As President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a return to Level 1, there is a renewed sense of positivity in the air and the potential for new beginnings. Now is the time for businesses to rebuild what was lost or damaged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and to start getting back to ‘normal’. It is time to get up, get moving (literally) and resume corporate travel.

The ongoing developments around Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) globally have led to many governments and authorities implement stringent safety measures to tackle its impact. Measures such as increased travel restrictions and, in most countries, complete travel bans restricting all international travel, have created a seismic shift in the tourism and travel supply chain.