Sue van Winsen finds out which trends are impacting on Nordic travel into Southern Africa.

 

1. Exchange rates

Carlos Leite-Ferraz, Owner of Credo Travel Marketing in Finland, says the weakened euro has had a major impact on travel, particularly to Southern African countries with dollar-based pricing. “This has meant that the value-for-money offering in some destinations is not as good as it may have been in previous years and, in some cases, when coupled with price increases, overall costs have gone up considerably. This has made cheap packages more sought after in the middle market, but the top end are mostly unfazed and continue to book as usual,” he says. Of course, the weakening of the rand has also made South Africa particularly attractive to travellers looking for good deals.

2. Increasing demand for FIT but groups also strong

Rung Button, Sales and Operations Manager for Inspirations ITT, says she has seen an increase in requests from FITs as well as more enquiries from groups requesting the services of Scandinavian-language-speaking guides. “Unfortunately, Scandinavian-speaking guides are in short supply in South Africa,” she adds.

Leite-Ferraz agrees that growth for both FITs and groups is strong and that the market has weathered the various storms, such as Ebola, that have had a negative impact on other source markets. He says this is largely due to the fact that Nordic travellers tend to be well read, and realised that Southern Africa was far away from countries where Ebola was an issue and continued to travel there.

3. Child regulations

Button says the unabridged birth certificate requirements have been very badly received by the Nordic market. “Agents have queried the reasoning and said this would definitely influence family travel,” she says. “It is a bother to have this documentation and there is still a great deal of uncertainty around exactly what is required if a child is travelling with only one parent or without parents. There is also uncertainty around whether affidavits have to be in English, which authorities can issue them and what format they need to be in.”

GM of Oslo-based Destination Africa, Rune Engstrᴓm, agrees and says his company had been working on various school groups, which have now become too complicated to manage. He adds that the regulations are impacting one of the most lucrative segments of the Nordic market – multigenerational family travel.

Leite-Ferraz says the new regulations appear not to have hurt the Finnish market just yet but adds that he will only really have a clear picture of their impact when the booking season kicks off in September. 

4. New and unique perspectives

Nordic tourists want experiences that give them new perspective into their lives. This is according to a reported by Nordic-based travel marketing company, Related, focusing on the Nordic outbound travel market. “As people in general travel more and gain greater insights through their own experiences and the Internet, they also become more demanding in relation to future vacations. Unique experiences that have not been tried before will become more popular. This could be a culinary experience such as cooking local meals. Remote destinations are also expected to become more popular,” says the report.

5. Long-stay seniors

Retired couples with no children living at home are a growing travel segment with huge potential for Southern Africa. According to the Related report, this group used to focus their time on their children and grandchildren but as the family grow up, the couples will spend more time on themselves, with travel accounting for a huge portion of this. By 2050, empty nesters will make up 21% of the world’s population and in Denmark, people over the age of 60 will make up 33% of the population.

Engstrᴓm says areas such as the Garden Route have huge potential to attract long-stay seniors. The report says that, generally, empty nesters will not “waste their time relaxing in a hammock”. “Instead, they want to take different trips that are more physically demanding, such as cycling and hiking in the countryside. More than half want to make unusual trips to have holiday experiences.” Seniors also enjoy visiting cities to enjoy dining experiences.

6. All-inclusive luxury packages

According to the Related report, all-inclusive package tours are growing in popularity, particularly for families with children “These are popular due to convenience and the need to know the exact cost of a holiday,” says the report. However, this does not mean a move away from luxury – in fact, Nordic families are showing a greater focus on luxury than ever before. “This means choosing four- or five-star hotels, and some travel agencies are experiencing an increase in exclusive family travel, including safari trips where parents take their parents on great adventures.”