Greetings from Cape Town! 2 months to Christmas can you believe! Sticking to your rate from last year +10%? Or following the competitor down the road who could be 70% occupied but not to your knowledge, and you undercut his (higher) rate by R50 or R100? maybe you have stay restrictions such as a minimum stay, or full prepayment? Or perhaps you are ‘playing chicken’ with the last minute rush? Lastly you have maybe closed out the rooms as you will be ‘full’ anyhow – but if you are not full by now how are you expecting to sell with no inventory? We ackowledge the high demand calls for a seperate set of booking protocols but this high demand is no way different than any other high demand dates you experienced throughout the year. It is best being described as hotels handling their revenue in the best way possible. Why do we all jump for restrictions, heavy deposit terms and strict release policies? The message here is: ‘open’ to allow booking flow, at the rate the market is willing to pay, (where price meets the demand and supply curve) and don’t discount too much. Reduce restrictions and rather aim at guaranteeing the business through valid method of payment. (cash / card / voucher). Make sure your wholesale channels are closed and ensure OTA’s do not pull their tricks (incorrect promo application, overbooking and selling B2B rates on a B2C platform). Check your profile as an online shopper and make sure you are available at the specified price. General latest market observation: The market is noted a slowdown to relatively more last minute bookings. Dates Nov to 10 Dec is on a slowed booking pace compared to what October was. A recent tourist report indicated that the usual middle income earning travellers (to SA from Europe especially) are holding back on long hauls due to oil crisis in Europe and its relate dimpact in their home countries and overseas holidays are last on the agenda. Therefor the FIT’s that we see is mainly more affluent opting for 5 star type hotels Other than these we still rely heavily on the domestic leisure and neighbouring countries for our supply of tourists There is still time left, apply some logic and ‘wait – they will come’ OR if we can help you formulate a quick win strategy, CONTACT me now! Happy selling and regards, Jaco

All-round forecasts are pointing to a positive season ahead. “Better” and “Much Better” was the feedback from members regarding the performance for quarter 4 when compared with 2021. This was the sentiment from 100% of attendees of the Rethinking Tourism Webinar hosted last month. The September Accommodation Season Demand Monitor has South Africa, United Kingdom, USA and Germany as the top key source markets of demand for the upcoming season. Forecast occupancy as of September 2022 is as follows: The announcement of the return of LATAM to South Africa is the latest airline update. LATAM will return in July 2023 and is the first returning direct route between South America and South Africa since the pandemic. Arrivals reported by Cape Town International Airport have also continued its upward trajectory in both local and international passenger arrivals. Domestically, capacity and fuel shortages are cause for concern. As a result of global supply chain issues, both air and road travellers could be impacted by the fuel shortage. Fuel rationing at Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) has put pressure on seat capacity. CTIA have managed to increase fuel reserves to 4.5 days. Stay tuned for more articles/info like these! Copyright: www.capetown.travel

Traveling in and out of Cape Town has never been easier! Wesgro calculated over 1.5 million two-way seats will be available for Cape Town travellers due to increased services and new routes. “The recovery of the Western Cape economy was dependent on international travellers visiting the province, both for business and leisure purposes, and especially during the peak tourism season in summer. Check out which airlines are making this a great summer for our Mother City. Qatar Airways Increases operations to ten flights per week starting 23 December 2022. TAAG Linhas Airlines de Angola Increased operations to six times a week between Cape Town and Luanda. Emirates Increases operations to double daily service between Cape Town and Dubai starting 01 February 2023. Turkish Airlines Increases operations to daily flights between Cape Town and Istanbul starting 01 November 2022. KLM Introduces three additional flights from Cape Town to Amsterdam starting 01 November 2022 till 26 March 2023. Lufthansa Restarts daily flights between Cape Town and Munich operating from 30 October 2022 to 25 March 2023. Airfrance Restarts Cape Town to Paris operating three times a week from 31 October 2022 till end of March 2023. Air Mauritius Restarts direct flights between Cape Town and Mauritius operating twice a week from 16 November 2022 until 15 January 2023 with hopes of extension Virgin Atlantic Restarts direct flights between Cape Town and London (Heathrow) from 06 November 2022 operating daily till March 2023. Condor Restarts flights from Cape Town to Frankfurt from 08 October 2022 till 22 April 2023. British Airways Offers seasonal service from Cape Town to London (Gatwick) operating three times a week between 14 December 2022 and 22 March 2023. United Airlines Launches direct flight from Cape Town to Washington D.C. starting 18 November 2022 operating three times a week. Air Belgium Launched Cape Town via Joburg direct to Brussels operating twice a week all year-round. Edelwiess Restarts direct flights between Cape Town and Zurich from 02 November 2022 until 30 March 2023 operating three times a week. Delta Introduces nonstop service from Cape Town to Atlanta operating three times a week year-round starting 18 December 2022. Introduces seasonal triangular route Atlanta-Joburg-Cape Town- Atlanta operating four times a week starting 02 December 2022 until 25 March 2023. Cape Town and the Western Cape being an attractive, bucket-list destination for the international traveler will also increase the opportunity for growth in the tourism sector, Wesgro added. Copyright www.travelstart.co.za