How tech can enhance your travel experience in rural SA
SOUTH Africa has a lot to offer when it comes to rural travel.
Options range from exploring wine-making in the Winelands to supernatural attractions like the mythical carnivorous Modimolle mountain in Limpopo, and world-renowned geological marvels like the Bourke’s Luck Potholes in Mpumalanga.
According to the online booking platform Jurni, picking your ideal travel experience from a wide range of options can be daunting but thanks to tech advances in the travel market, the best of cultural and rural travel is now found on digital platforms.
The question then is, how can tech better help travellers experience the best of South Africa’s isolated rural and cultural travel?
Tech enhances safety
Jurni’s head of marketing Tshepo Matlou believes that using tech to buy travel and tourism products and services from a centralised repository, like a digital booking platform, enhances the safety and security aspect of your purchase.
“The digital footprint makes the whole marketing experience safer for customers compared to the old way of doing it, where there would often be a less tangible track record of the transaction. This is seen as a deterrent to crimes like human trafficking and abductions, for example,” said Matlou.
More control
Matlou says modern tech gives you control over your own travel preparations, from helping you to ensure the quality of your stay through other traveller reviews, to providing a plethora of options to choose from through online booking platforms. “A platform like Jurni eliminates the hassle of having to look up accommodation providers in brochures and magazines and then having to call them to secure your stay before paying or having to pay a travel agent.”
Quality of travel products Matlou says modern travellers have become accustomed to the convenience of looking for, and booking, their stays online, so for any accommodation provider, an effective online presence is a must if they want to remain competitive in the market. “Digital accessibility helps travellers compare products and select a stay closest to what they want, within their budget. It’s also good for the tourism space as a whole – the better the competition in the market, the better the products and services that are out there.”