You may pity them for having to travel to Africa and not Europe or the United States, but South African business travellers to the continent are staying in luxury hotels and being chauffeur-driven.
Corporate Traveller, one of South Africa’s top travel management companies, says statistics show that nine out of 10 business travellers to African countries stay in four- or five-star hotels, costing at least R3 000 per night.
Around 28% of all business travel by South Africans is into Africa. The top destinations for South African business travellers are Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and Algeria.
Close on half of business travellers to Africa – 48% – stay in five-star hotels, while 42% reside in four-star lodging.
Seven out of 10 are also chauffeur-driven during their stay.
But their preference is not because of entitlement, but rather for convenience and owing to security concerns.
“Proximity to work site, office or meeting venue are the primary drivers in what accommodation is selected. Almost 100% of customers surveyed indicate these as determining factors. This is often due to the traffic conditions in the destination city,” says Corporate Traveller general manager Raylene Pienaar.
“In addition, 55% of customers base their hotel choice on the security features of the property, with 33% indicating that the complimentary Wi-Fi plays a role.”
Pienaar says fewer than 30% of business travellers to Africa choose car hire when travelling in Africa.
“The majority opt for chauffeurs or airport transfers,” she says. “This is particularly true in Nigeria, Ghana, Dar es Salaam, Kenya, the DRC as well as most North and Central African countries, where our travel experts actually strongly recommend against car hire because of the poor road networks and security concerns.”
Notes:
Corporate Traveller is a division of the Flight Centre Travel Group, dedicated to saving businesses across Southern Africa time and money.
Corporate Traveller has the benefit of being part of the world’s third-largest travel retailer, leveraging its global negotiating strength. It has access to over 50 of the world’s leading airlines and deals with more than 100 000 hotels around the world to guarantee savings for clients.
Corporate Traveller provides clear, consolidated reporting of all its clients’ travel activities, helping them to control travel spend and identify opportunities to save costs.
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Lee-Ann Collingridge at [email protected] or 072 125 2826
