Some members of the South African accommodation industry have expressed concern regarding the impact that the rand could have on their bottom line this year.

Vernon Wait, Marketing Director at Lalibela Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape, says: “The elephant in the room is the strengthening rand, so this year and leading into next year rates are going to be a big factor with our trade relations. We will be taking a cautious approach and hope to avoid a rate increase for 2019.”

He adds that the strengthening rand will make the South African tourism product more expensive, “Our aim is to work with the travel trade and assist them in ensuring that SA as a destination remains competitively priced. We will do this by ensuring minimal, or no rate increases and ensuring we honour our relationships with the trade. We have undertaken that under no circumstances will we sell our beds to the direct channel (such as OTAs) at anything less than full rack rates.”

He adds that high demand in the last two years should not mean an automatic rate increase in the next year or two. “As an industry, we need to work smartly to ensure that arrivals grow. Lalibela is already partnering with other tourism products and putting together offerings that the travel trade can use to market the destination and keep us at the front of travellers’ minds.”

Lalibela’s main focus has been on partnering with Cape Town and Garden Route products to offer a circuit that naturally includes an Eastern Cape safari as part of the itinerary. “This example is specific to us, however I believe the trade as a whole would benefit from collaborating to enhance the marketability of the destination.”