Sho’t Left Travel Week is giving South Africans access to domestic travel deals and experiences until 13 September, as the campaign encourages local travel and creates opportunities for tourism businesses to reach domestic travellers during Tourism Month.
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Part of The Great South African Travel Sale, the campaign allows travellers to book available offers now and travel at a later date, giving them greater flexibility to plan around their budgets and schedules.
The campaign comes as households continue to make careful decisions about discretionary spending, making value, flexibility and advance planning increasingly important when deciding whether and how to travel.
More reasons to explore South Africa
Travel Week is positioning domestic travel around different motivations, from family time, food and adventure to rest, culture and discovering unfamiliar destinations.
“There are so many different reasons South Africans choose to travel. For some it is time with family, for others it is food, adventure, rest, culture or simply discovering somewhere they have never been before. That is really what we mean when we talk about 1,000 Reasons to Sho’t Left,” says Mashoto Mokgethi, hub head of domestic tourism at South African Tourism.
“Travel Week gives South Africans an opportunity to look for value and find an experience that speaks to their reason for travelling, while still having the flexibility to take the trip later. Every domestic trip also has the potential to support the many businesses and people that make those experiences possible.”
The campaign also encourages travellers to look beyond familiar destinations to smaller establishments, experiences and hidden gems across the country.
Opportunities for local tourism businesses
Domestic travel supports a wider tourism ecosystem, with spending on accommodation potentially benefiting transport providers, local restaurants, tour guides, food producers, craftspeople, retailers and experience providers.
For micro, small and medium-sized tourism businesses in urban and rural areas, Travel Week provides an opportunity to put their products and experiences in front of South Africans actively looking for somewhere to go and something new to experience.
Tourism businesses can still participate in Travel Week by loading their deals onto the Sho’t Left Partner Platform, helping make their experiences more visible and discoverable to domestic travellers.
Travellers can book now and travel later
For travellers, Travel Week offers an opportunity to compare available deals and find experiences that fit both the occasion and their budget.
Travel stokvels and other group-travel communities are also encouraged to use the campaign to plan ahead, explore available deals and make their collective travel budgets work harder.
Domestic travel does not necessarily mean an elaborate, once-a-year holiday. It could be a nearby weekend escape, a midweek break, a road trip around a sporting event or concert, a township experience, a wellness weekend or simply somewhere close to home that has never been explored before.
Shorter trips and experiences can also provide ways for families and friends to discover more of the country while sharing the cost of a getaway.
With Travel Week running until 13 September, the campaign brings together South Africans looking for value and new experiences and tourism businesses looking for more opportunities to reach the domestic market.
Travellers can explore Travel Week deals at Sho’t Left.
