Global traveller spend has been breaking records in 2024, according to a new report by the Mastercard Economics Institute which has identified key tourism trends based on consumer spending.
The Travel Trends 2024 report revealed that the global travel sector is flourishing, with nine of the last 10 record-setting spending days in the global cruise and airline industry occurring this year.
It also identified other key trends of note for South African operators:
Leisure for longer
Global trends show that the duration of the average holiday has increased by about an extra day, going from four days between March 2019 and February 2020, to five days as of March 2024.
In South Africa, this trend is even more pronounced, with the average length of stay increasing by almost three days from 7.8 days to 10.6 days currently.
“Longer stays generally translate to more spend per trip. This increase in the number of days translates to a greater economic boost for businesses supporting local economies in the travel industry,” the report states.
Two clear factors are driving the length of stay namely affordability and the weather.
Researchers studied the prices paid at hotels in over 100 destinations and found that the cheaper the destination, the longer people opted to stay.
It also found that travellers will spend more time in warmer destinations, noting that each extra six degrees Celsius translates into an additional day’s stay.
The Middle East is paying attention to South Africa
The report tracks cities where demand is gaining momentum over the three months between June and August.
Cape Town ranks at number three for tourists from Saudi Arabia, and at number seven for the Middle East and African region.
Outside of this region, Johannesburg is ranked at number eight for travellers from New Zealand.
The top five trending destinations for South African travellers meanwhile are Dubai, Plaisance in Mauritius, Istanbul in Turkey, Frankfurt in Germany and Kenya’s Nairobi.
The number one global destination for the northern hemisphere summer is Munich, probably driven by its hosting of the first game of the European Championship football tournament.
Events
Travellers are packing their bags for memorable events, ranging from solar eclipses to music and sporting events, which the report says provide strong spending lift to nearby businesses.
Spending at restaurants, bars and grocery stores during the 2024 Rio Carnival was 156% above what it would have been without the event, while hotels in the path of the US solar eclipse in April saw a 71% increase in sales.
Restaurants within a 4km radius of Taylor Swift concerts in 2023, saw sales increase by 68% from normal business days.
Spending on nightlife and experiences
At 12% of global tourism spending, tourists are spending more than ever before on nightlife and experiences, according to the report.
An analysis of outbound travellers from six different countries, Australia, Germany, China, Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom, found that Australians were the biggest spenders in this category.
“Australians tend to spend one of every five dollars on experiences and nightlife, compared to the global average, which is closer to one in every 10 dollars,” the report states.
Demand for experiences for outbound Chinese tourists has also shown growth over the past year, jumping from 7% of total spend last year to 10% in March 2024.
Tourists are using less cash in sub-Saharan Africa
Visitors to sub-Saharan Africa are withdrawing less cash from ATMs than ever before, driven primarily by the region’s efforts to close the digitalisation gap.
Tracked as a percentage of card spend, ATM withdrawals declined by 10 percentage points between 2019 and 2024.
“This formalisation of the payments ecosystem has implications across sub-Saharan Africa, from supporting tax revenues that fund public services, to giving businesses a more efficient means of providing consumer goods and services,” the report notes.