South Africans waiting to the last minute to book their festive breaks

©Iakov Filimonov via 123RF

This in a departure from the two to four months that it used to take to book an international trip and three to six weeks for domestic travel, showing a decrease in lead times to book. Lead time to book international travel was three to nine months about three years ago, and six to 12 weeks for domestic journeys.

Economic and job uncertainty, industry competition and travel discounts are behind this change in behaviour, says Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG). FCTG statistics show that almost twice as much domestic travel was booked in December 2015 compared to November 2015.

“The trend that emerged last year is continuing this year and it shows that while South Africans used to finalise their travel plans in August to October, that is no longer the case,” says Carlos Luis, land product leader for FCTG. “Our data is showing that they are now waiting until November and December to book their flights and accommodation, especially for local travel.

“Affordability is definitely behind the shift. People are waiting to see if they will be getting a bonus or whether they will have a job before finalising their travel plans. Intense competition among airlines and fantastic deals are also causing people to wait before committing.”

Luis says while there is still availability for flights and accommodation in Europe and Asia, FCTG expects to see availability reduce drastically in the next few weeks. Availability in Mauritius is scarce.

Deals in South Africa are still available, but will become scarcer as South Africans finalise their holiday plans. There is also limited availability of family units available for the peak season, especially at the coast. “While there is availability, we expect prices to start rising sharply as travellers finalise their plans. So if you want to go away for the festive season, you need to finalise your arrangements as soon as possible to get a better deal,” says Luis.