Bargain hunters score their dream holiday

Insight Vacations staffers were busy at their stand handing out brochures to eager customers. Picture: Supplied

Insight Vacations staffers were busy at their stand handing out brochures to eager customers. Picture: Supplied

Published Feb 15, 2016

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Johannesburg - Edward Platt could hardly contain himself. Clutching his son Zama to his chest, he beamed as wife Almarlene smiled broadly for the photographer.

Their joy was contagious and understandable.

Not only had they just bagged three tickets to Paris in July – which is peak season in Europe – for only R30 000, Almarlene had also won a festival trip for two from Top Deck Tours, which provides unforgettable travel adventures across the globe for eighteen- to thirtysomethings.

For the Platts from Roodepoort, it had been a very successful day.

“We’re very happy. We’re going to Paris for our son’s third birthday in July. We always do something big for his birthday. Last year, for his second birthday, we went to London. This is an annual event for us because we get good specials here,” said Almarlene.

The event Almarlene was referring to was the Travel Expo at the Dome in Northriding, Joburg, last weekend.

The brainchild of Flight Centre, the expo has gathered the biggest players in the travel retail industry under one roof for six years to offer consumers massive travel savings.

From about 2 000 attendees and 50 exhibitors when it was first held in 2010, it has grown into the biggest travel exhibition in the country. At least 20 000 people converged on the Dome last weekend to check out the 124 exhibitors, including all Flight Centre’s brands (Flight Centre, Cruiseabout, Student Flights, Corporate Traveller, Flight Centre Business Travel and Top Deck) as well as Emirates airlines, British Airways and Club Med.

Turnover over the weekend was up 29 percent on last year, which left Flight Centre managing director Andrew Stark and his management team beaming.

“I’m very happy,” Stark admitted unreservedly. “This flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that holds that the poor state of the economy and the weak rand are discouraging travellers. Our expo showed what free entrance, value add and the predictability of the expo taking place can do.”

However, Stark, who has been at the helm of Flight Centre for a year, said that the expo visitors’ focus appeared to have shifted from last year.

“Last year there was a booking frenzy, but this year they seemed to be looking for travel experiences. They were more cautious about how they were going to spend their money,” he said.

In line with this more prudent approach, all-inclusive, family-orientated packages and value-for-money destinations like Thailand, Mauritius and Caribbean cruises were the hits of the expo.

Domestic travel also scored highly. “Local is definitely lekker,” said Stark. What did surprise him, however, was the demand for Valentine’s Day specials.

“Lots of people were looking for weekend Valentine’s getaways,” he said.

 

“There were lots of good deals and value add. I’m ecstatic that we’re stimulating the desire to travel and that we’re making travel affordable for ordinary South Africans,” said Stark.

“The expo shows that we are the only travel company that stimulates affordable and value-for-money travel for South Africans by negotiating with our preferred partners,” he added.

There was no doubt that Stark and his team had many satisified customers besides the Platts.

Among them was Natalie Jackson, who had snagged 20 percent off a 10-night trip to Bali in May for her partner’s 40th. Jannes Davenport and Michael Clifford bagged 25 percent off their Thailand honeymoon in June, while Genevieve Allen and Ray Wilke scored 50 percent off a cruise in June.

“We thought we’d get 20 or 25 percent off but got 50 percent,” said Allen, who has attended the expo for the past three years.

“It’s fantastic. That’s why I recommend people come to the Travel Expo.”

Saturday Star

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