The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly placed worldwide stress on economies and the travel industry. After nearly two years of severe but necessary travel restrictions and protocols, South Africans now have more options for travel at their disposal, especially if they are fully vaccinated.
Businesstech reported on the data, revealing that international flights booked by South Africans have skyrocketed at an exponential rate, following the relaxation of the reins: ‘Searches for flights within Africa for the summer period more than tripled in the past month, growing by about 276%, while searches for flights to Europe were up by approximately 65% compared to the same period in 2019.’ Along with that, the approaching summer season gives South Africans a great opportunity to travel cheaper than pre-pandemic with flight prices dropping by 26% on average compared to 2019.
The data furthermore yielded that the same could be said for domestic flights booked by South Africans: ‘Unsurprisingly for a country which has a strong tradition of decamping to the coast during the festive season, Cape Town and Durban are the most popular local destinations, with searches increasing by about 322% and 258% respectively.’
Analysing the data comparatively, Cheapflights found that from 2019 to 2021, South African searches for flights to India increased by approximately 92%. However, flight prices also took a rapid increase, costing an average of R16 400.
Zimbabwe ranked third in South Africa’s most searched country for travel: ‘Compared to 2019, there has been a whopping increase of about 677% in flight searches from South Africa to Zimbabwe. Here in South Africa, we have a sizable Zimbabwean community, which could attribute to the increase in flight searches now that Covid-19 seems to be slowing down and borders are reopening.’
In contrast to India, flights to Zimbabwe became more affordable.
After South Africa was taken off the United Kingdom’s red list, searches for flights to the UK increased by 77%, and flight costs lowered about 10%, sitting at an average of R10 200.
In a similar vein, following the reopening of the United States’ borders to vaccinated South Africans, flight searches increased by more than 50%, and flight prices decreased.
Picture: Philip Myrtorp/Unsplash
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