With domestic demand dipping, the inbound tourism market is proving to be a lot more profitable for South Africa’s car-rental companies.

Martin Lydall, Sales Director for Europcar, says the inbound tourism market has shown growth, with a rising number of foreign visitors renting cars for up to two weeks.
He says Europcar has developed certain services that meet the needs of international visitors, including emergency medical assistance and tyre and windscreen cover. “In certain areas where driving conditions could be a challenge, such as Namibia, a briefing is held with customers to assist them with safer driving tips to cater for situations they may encounter on our roads,” he says.
A spokesperson from Avis agrees that the international market is a very important one for the car-rental industry. To attract more international customers, Avis attends global trade shows, works with international tour operators, airlines and online travel agents amongst other marketing methods.
Despite the growth of the inbound market, all travellers can expect to see an increase in car-rental rates this year. Gaynor Von Loggenburg, Sales & Marketing Director at Budget Car Rental, says that since 2010 industry average car-rental rates have remained low, only increasing marginally by a cumulative 5%. “This is neither sustainable nor responsible and customers can expect to see higher than inflation increases, driven by external factors such as vehicle price increases, interest rates, fuel and shareholder expectations,” says Von Loggenburg.

Lance Smith, Executive: Sales at Avis, says the company will be implementing general increases of around 8%. He says the increases are normally negotiated when the rates are up for renewal in terms of a contract. But in the case of non-contracted rates, Smith says Avis reviews the rate increases required on a quarterly basis.