By Kaya 959 Lifestyle
More people are travelling thanks to the country’s move to an adjusted level 3 lockdown.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the move, which saw the permitting of travel for leisure, three weeks ago.
Travel experts say there has been an influx of travellers from Cape Town to Gauteng while more Gautengers are travelling to Gqeberha.
There has been an increase in travel between South Africa’s three major cities; Gauteng, Durban and Cape Town.
Cheapflights.co.za, a global flight search aggregator, said the biggest week-on-week jumps were for flights from Cape Town to Johannesburg, Johannesburg to Durban and for Johannesburg to Cape Town, which shows a significant jump of about 76%* in flight searches.
Month-on-month results are similar, including a 71% increase in flight searches from Johannesburg to Gqeberha.
“While flight searches are still down vs. pre-COVID, we’re seeing encouraging signs following the recent announcements with data suggesting that locals are very keen to get back to travel and to support domestic tourism.”
READ: Tbo Touch encourages South Africans to test for COVID-19
Demand for pet-friendly accommodation rises
The latest report on travel trends for 2021/2022 predicted that due to COVID-19, the demand for accommodation in holiday homes or apartments will increase in comparison to hotels or Guest Houses.
Elize Sewell from Camps Bay Apartments said many travelers opt to order in or cook rather than visiting restaurants and therefore well-equipped kitchens will be essential.
“Local travel is obviously very popular at the moment and will probably stay that way for the next year. Holidaymakers are worried about getting stuck in lock-down in foreign countries or that they will not be able to get flights back. As the vacationers are travelling locally they would like to bring their furry friends along – the demand for pet-friendly accommodation will rise,” she said.
“Accommodation establishments have increased their social media presence and using influencers to show off their properties. During lockdown TikTok became very popular and more time is spent on social media lately.”
Many holidaymakers check out the health and hygiene policies of holiday accommodation before booking.
Photo by Jess Loiterton from Pexels