By Simon Nare
South African companies in the tourism sector are slowly warming up to the concept of offering cheap and affordable rates to locals to enable them to travel and explore the beauty of their country.
This bodes well for tourism growth and translates into job creation, said Tourism SA domestic head Mashoto Mokgethi.
Mokgethi said this significant shift was brought about by the Shot Left campaign set up in 2004 to solely focus on developing a domestic travel market for locals.
Almost two decades later the campaign is starting to reap the rewards, said Mokgethi.
Talking to Inside Travel remotely on the sidelines of the Africa Travel Indaba at the Durban Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre Mokgethi said there were still challenges to get South Africans to travel but improvements are being made as new ways of travelling are introduced when information is shared. But she was quick to say that many more people are still unable to explore the natural exquisite part of the country and its natural wonders.
Mokgethi said Shot Left was using the Indaba to get South Africans to go out and enjoy the rolling mountains, pristine beaches and the breathtaking landscapes.
More encouraging, she said, local companies were buying into the concept of offering South Africans cheaper rates. This was partly in response to the South African National Parks initiative of a free week for locals where residents are eligible to visit any park for absolutely free.
“It’s a slow progress but it is happening. Companies are slowly coming to the party, and this is good because it allows locals to enjoy their country. Travelling is good for the soul. It makes you feel great and at peace and makes you relax. It is also good for the kids,” said Mokgethi.
She said over the years, the campaign has grappled with the challenges of convincing locals to travel and what has been found is that people just could not afford to travel. This is due to lack of information of the cheaper ways to travel.
“We have found that some people would rather spend money to renovate their houses or on something else because they just didn’t have enough information,” she said.
This is changing because now with information people are realising that they could pay monthly for a planned vacation. For example, the campaign has opened a window for people to use initiatives such as stockvels to travel as a group.
“We are partnering with stockvels and travel agents. Now young people are also using them to travel. It is not like in the olden days when our mothers were using them for funerals,” she said.
Stockvels can get as much as 25% discount when booking through these initiatives.
Mokgethi said applications opened at the Indaba for tour operators to get the best deals during the free week which always opens annually between 2 and 8 September. Potential travellers can get between 30 to 50% discount for any destination of their choice at any time of the year.
Discounts are given for accommodations and tours.
She said this campaign had set a target of 400 deals, but she was unable to say how many had been sold since the Indaba opened on Tuesday. Last year the campaign registered over 900 travel packages.
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