The United Kingdom is a popular holiday destination for many South Africans and vice versa, and many South African expats have also immigrated to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. So with thousands of South Africans that may have family in the UK, it’s no surprise that travel experts are reporting a surge in flight bookings from South Africa after getting off the UK’s red list.
Glenfinnan Viaduct, Scotland
READ: SAA will not resume flights to London
Indeed, by 13 October, the country had seen air ticket sales from South Africa to London triple since South Africa’s removal from the UK’s travel red list on 7 October, said Flight Centre. ‘Our mobile app was also hugely popular with overall website traffic up by 50% since the announcement,’ said Andrew Stark, Flight Centre travel group MD.
David Frost, the CEO of SATSA told IOL that the opposite is also true. ‘Our UK operators have already seen a surge in enquiries from sun-starved Brits looking for an escape. Early estimates suggest that upwards of 300 000 British passport holders expect to visit friends and family or take advantage of highly competitive holiday deals across Southern Africa in the coming months,’ he said.
Rosemary Anderson, chairwoman of hospitality association FEDHASA, said she is also seeing ‘a flurry of activity of South Africans wanting to travel to the U.K. and British people wanting to come to South Africa,’ according to AP.
‘We are going into summer, the U.K. is going towards autumn and many British people have not been able to travel to sunny places, so that makes South Africa a great destination for them,’ she said.
South African tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu said the country is ready to welcome British tourists in time for the South African summer season and that ‘we will continue to work tirelessly with all our national and international partners to ensure the success of South Africa’s tourism recovery.’
Picture: Gateway gallery
ALSO READ
Covid-era travel trends: Digital is the way forward, industry experts say
