Frequent fliers reveal their top tips for business travel

StelaDi via pixabay

Cheapflights brings the inside scoop with top tips for business travel and favourite destinations from some of South Africa’s regular business travellers.

Andrew Shelton, managing director, Cheapflights

“My best tip for travelling in my industry: learn how to fold a suit jacket. This will save you time in steaming or money in dry cleaning bills. One of my most favourite destinations is Cape Town”.

Tamika Sewnarain, brand manager South Africa, Rémy Cointreau Africa

“I was lucky enough to travel to Paris for business and my favourite thing to do was to take a leisurely stroll up to the Sacré-Cœur on an afternoon off. I walked up the stairs and found a quiet spot on the grass banks and watched the sun set over Paris. Top tip for business travellers: learn a few words of French so it’s easier to talk business with the locals. My favourite app is iTranslate, which is a free app that allows you to translate abroad without having to pay excessive roaming costs.”

Emma-Jane Harbour, wedding photographer, Lad and Lass Photography

“I’m lucky enough to travel all over the world to tell the stories of brides and grooms on their wedding day. With the amount of equipment I travel with, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is to take the appropriate plug adaptors, which can always be picked up at the last minute at airports. My favourite destination wedding shoot has to be one of our most recent which took us to Greece where we visited one of the lesser known islands in the Cyclades called Folegandros. If you get the chance to visit Greece, this place is definitely the best-kept secret”.

Dayn Mamet, brand manager, New Era and Rockport SA for Kingsley Brands

“I’ve travelled extensively and noticed that a lot of hotels don’t offer early check-in. Your best bet is to call ahead of time to arrange access to your room earlier. The best destination, hands down, I have visited for business is Barcelona. For business purposes, be mindful of their business hours - afternoon siestas are still commonplace. If you’re a first timer visitor, it’s definitely worth doing the open top bus tour – you learn so much and it’s the cheapest way to get around the city, you can hop on and off wherever you like”.

Tracy Dalton, national sales director, Über Flavour

“On a recent work trip to Cambodia, I learned that having a ton of business cards printed before you leave for a trip is crucial. Exchanging business cards is a really important part of business transactions over there. Cambodia also happens to be one of my favourite destinations to visit - get to know a bit of the history of the country and visit the most iconic temple Angkor Wat”.