The South African travel
sector consists of more
than 1 780 branches,
while turnover from the travel
sector affiliated to Asata was
approximately R39,5bn last
year, with corporate travel
accounting for 56% of this
spend.
These are some of the
findings of a Travel Market
Index study commissioned by
Asata – a first of its kind in
this market. The association
says it represents over 95%
of South Africa’s travel sector,
which gives weight to its study.
“A significant amount of
research is done into inbound
tourism to South Africa, but
there is no research into
South Africa’s travel industry,
such as destinations to which
South Africans travel, most
popular travel suppliers for
South Africans and how much
they spend on travel,” says
Asata ceo Otto de Vries.
According to the study, the
industry achieved a 6.2%
growth in turnover from 2016,
which saw a turnover of
R37bn.
Key findings include:
Government spend on travel
with Asata-affiliated travel
companies accounted for
around R8,2bn in 2017
(21% of total turnover).
The leisure market spent
R7,8bn with Asata-affiliated
companies in 2017.
Air travel accounted for 60%
of all travel turnover – some
R23,6bn from Asata-affiliated
travel companies in 2017.
Nearly a quarter (22%) of
total travel turnover was
spent on accommodation
or venues, 7% on tour
packages and 5% on car
hire.
Booking demand for air
travel is influenced by
holiday periods, with reduced
number of bookings in
December, January, April and
somewhat in July.
For domestic flights, SAA
is the top selling airline
by a considerable margin,
followed by BA Comair and
Airlink.
SAA remains the top-selling
airline for international
flights, but Emirates the
second-highest selling
international airline, also
has a significant share of
the market. British Airways,
including BA Comair for
regional flights, is the thirdhighest
selling airline.
Top South African
destinations for air travel
bookings, in order of demand
are Johannesburg, Cape
Town and Durban.
Internationally, top
destinations for air travel
bookings are (in order
of number of segments
booked): London, Dubai,
Mauritius and Phuket.
First-ever market study unpacks SA travel industry
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