Take advantage of off-peak travel
Winter tourism in SA helps stretch the buying power of your rand
Travelling to another province or country, if done with adventurous people, can leave one with fun and indelible memories.
My friends and I still roar in laughter when we reminisce about the few hilarious events that took place when we embarked on a domestic tourism venture a couple of years ago.
Those memories, however, have been few and far between as my friends have since become unreliable touring partners who complain once we start talking about costs relating to a potential excursion.
Figures Statistics SA released in March showed that my friends are not the only ones who are not keen travellers.
The report highlighted that domestic tourism was on the decline, with the amount of overnight trips falling from 50.8 million in 2013 to 47.3 million in 2014 and 45.4 million in 2015.
Due to my profession as a journalist, I have visited a handful of countries, and all provinces in South Africa.
Planning for journeys linked to business tourism, as travelling relating to one’s profession is called, usually does not come with a burden of a person having to budget and raise funds, especially if you are working for a well-resourced company.
The downside, however, is that business tourism makes one to feel restricted due to work demands that need to be concluded while on the trip, leaving a person with little or no time for sight-seeing and fun.
Leisure tourism, as travelling with friends and family is called, is a lot more different – and one must pay for it.
You dig deep into your pockets to take care of such a trip, with cost depending on the distance and type of accommodation. Food and activities add to your bill, which means proper planning is required before hitting the road – or skies.
A conversation I had with three guesthouse owners has brought to light that the average occupancy rate of their establishments hovers around 45% in winter while the average shoots up to around 80% in summer. The entrepreneurs also said they often drop their prices during winter to attract visitors.
Southern Africa Tourism Services Association deputy chair and Gauteng Tour Operator Association chairman Joe Motsogi confirmed the seasonal dynamics, saying people prefer leisure tourism during warmer periods.
“There is still an element of seasonality because when temperatures drop people tend to go to warmer places.
“During winter we have halfempty tour buses and establishments have half-empty beds,” said Motsogi.
Motsogi laid the blame on dwindling winter leisure tourism numbers on businesses, arguing that they do not market themselves well during the season.
“During winter we have a large number of teachers and school children who are on holiday (for a period of about three weeks) and businesses should learn to target them.
“And as business is hard to come by, domestic tourists should also learn to negotiate their rates in winter,” he said.
The views of the entrepreneurs show that South Africans need to have a mindset shift and travel cheaper by exploiting winter tourism.
To stretch your rand when it comes to travel you need to travel in off-peak seasons to enjoy the beauty of South Africa at a fraction of the cost.