With the demand for travel ramping up and not enough inventory to fulfil these needs, South Africa’s travel agents are currently facing a serious challenge.
Agents interviewed by Travel News say they are now having to turn to tour operators and suppliers based overseas to access inventory and create itineraries for their leisure clients.
An agent based in Cape Town who wished to remain anonymous told Travel News that she couldn't find a local operator to handle an incentive booking.
“I had a high-end group of 40 people and they wanted a 10-day luxury tour to Slovenia. There are no operators in South Africa that represent Slovenia, which is becoming a very popular destination for leisure clients. I reached out to a Slovenian company who handles the local market, and they put together an extremely detailed and attractive itinerary,” she explains.
The agent adds that she is finding it increasingly difficult to find tour operators in South Africa who can handle this type of booking.
“For destinations like Mauritius, Zanzibar, and Thailand, it’s easy, but for many other destinations, we’re lacking in imaginative inventory and tour operators in South Africa to handle the entire trip. This is challenging because most of the time, international operators are more expensive and exchange rates are not favourable to the rand.”
A shift to online bookings
A Johannesburg-based travel agent says she had to resort to booking online with a company in the US to package a ski trip for one of her clients.
“This adds to the client’s costs. International operators that provide good advice and information, flexible payment terms and booking options provide me with a competitive advantage and in this case, I had no choice but to source an operator online,” she says.
“I have not been able to find any local tour operators who can give me a full package for this family to ski in US resorts. On Travelinfo, there are two ski operators listed and neither of them offer US ski packages.”
Lara Saunders, GM of Outbound Corporate & Leisure Travel for Giltedge Travel, agrees that there are fewer reliable tour operators in South Africa post-COVID, in addition to less inventory to choose from.
“Many travel suppliers were severely affected by the pandemic, and they drastically reduced staff and their product inventory. There’s no question that it is more challenging for travel agents to meet the specific needs and preferences of their clients, and we’re finding that many destinations that were previously available through our operators have been completely removed from their inventory. TMCs have had to source international DMCs or ground handlers to assist with client enquiries,” explains Saunders.
She says this year she attended two trade shows in France and Turkey to make new connections and continue offering her clients better itinerary options.
“Post-COVID recovery will take some time, so I think we must remain patient and adaptable but also pro-active in sourcing services from operators that will provide exceptional experiences and services to our clients,” Saunders urges.
Angela Wood, GM of Sales at Thompsons Holidays, told Travel News that its US sales were doing well and that the Thompsons Product team is currently in Las Vegas at the Imax Trade Fair to look for more travel content.
“The most popular requests at present are for South Africa, Mauritius, Zanzibar, the Maldives, and Thailand and Bali have picked up. Budgets are tight so there is a lot of shopping around, but Thompsons is showing very good recovery.”
Wood confirms that Thompsons no longer offers destinations in South America and cruising as part of its offering.
