THE TRAVEL industry is expecting a bonanza after the news that South Africa has been taken off the United Kingdom's travel red list.
A few hours after the announcement, tourism providers said they'd been inundated with enquiries and bookings from people wanting to travel from the UK to South Africa, and also outbound.
The tourism industry, which was hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, also reeled from the decision by the UK to put South Africa on its travel red list.
Cape Town Tourism said UK-based tourists, including South African expats, were expected to visit the Western Cape from the end of October through to December.
"Cape Town Tourism is definitely delighted at the news that South Africa has been taken off the UK’s restrictive red list, after months of lobbying. In South Africa, travel and tourism account for 8.6% of the economy's output and 9.2% of the jobs, so this decision is a big one as it is the first step in restoring the tourism industry and subsequently those who work within it and their livelihoods," said the organisation’s chief executive, Enver Duminy.
Chief executive and founder of Rhino Africa, David Ryan, said that shortly after the news, the company received 177 new enquiries from the UK and 74 from Germany.
"We expect to see momentum continue to build through October. We are back at pre-Covid-19 enquiry levels by attribution channel, which is wonderful to see, and our surest sign that travel interest in South Africa has not declined. Guests are looking forward to getting back for summer," said Ryan.
Since October 7, the company had confirmed more than R11 million in new sales, with 60% of them for the November-to-December travel period.
"This is exciting news for our industry and no doubt our next collective challenge will be the capacity of our industry to cope with the increased demands given the significant but necessary cuts we were forced to make," added Ryan.
The UK is a key market for tourism, trade and investment for the Western Cape, accounting for almost 15% of foreign tourists visiting the province.
Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC David Maynier said in a statement that the tourism sector generated R15,5 billion in gross value add, and supported 174 982 jobs in 2019 in the Western Cape.
The tourism sector was estimated to have lost about 75 477 jobs in the province in 2020, Maynier added.
Chief executive of New Frontiers Tours, Craig Smith, said the number of quotes requested for travel to South Africa was the highest in 19 months, with those from the UK up 150% and confirmed bookings up 100%, compared to last month.
Smith said 25% of the quotes were for travel for the remainder of the year, and a number of previously cancelled bookings for November were reinstated.
"This was just in anticipation of the green list and we expect significantly higher numbers once the revised status has been digested by the marketplace," said Smith.
Duminy said Cape Town Tourism was now launching an international campaign to attract tourists back to the city, and urged Capetonians to vaccinate.
“We believe that many British and international visitors will look to the vaccination rates within South Africa as a guide to their confidence in choosing Cape Town as their holiday destination of choice, and our campaign thus encourages eligible South African citizens to go and get their jab," said Duminy.
He said the hospitality industry had also made adjustments to incorporate safety and boost confidence.
"Restaurant seating plans have changed, hotels have adapted to serve food in a completely different way and hotel check-ins are mostly being done digitally. Many establishments have also changed their menus, elevated their outdoor offerings, upgraded certain facilities and also embraced a digital approach, which reduces one-on-one interactions," he added.
Air ticket sales from South Africa to London had also increased since the October 7 red list announcement, according to flight operators.
The Flight Centre Travel Group said its revenue for October shot up by 89% across its leisure brands, with the UK overtaking Mauritius and Dubai as the most booked international destination for South Africans.
“We have been inundated with enquiries for travel to the UK since the long-overdue announcement by the British government,” said the group’s MD, Andrew Stark.
He said the group saw a spike in enquiries and bookings across its travel booking channels.
“Last weekend, our network of 48 shops and 350 travel professionals were flooded with walk-ins and website enquiries," said Stark.
Virgin Atlantic announced this week that it was expanding its portfolio of flights to South Africa.
From November 8, flights between Johannesburg and London Heathrow will increase – from three times a week to a daily service.
The relaunch of the airline’s Heathrow to Cape Town service has also been brought forward, following a huge surge in customer demand, said Liezl Gericke, Virgin Atlantic head of Africa, Middle East and India.
From December 17, Virgin Atlantic will fly three times weekly to the Mother City.
“We know there’s pent-up customer demand for travel since our removal from the red list. I am thrilled that we will be increasing capacity from Johannesburg as well as the reintroduction of the Cape Town route. It will make it even easier for our customers to travel for business and leisure between South Africa and the United Kingdom,” said Gericke.