The tourism industry, particularly in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape, will be impacted as thousands of people including international government and consulate delegates travel through the country to pay their respects following the death of Nelson Mandela.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has issued an advisory warning of travel disruptions and a possible shortage of accommodation during this time in South Africa.
Accommodation
“Hotels in the Gauteng area have been blocked due to governmental and consulate arrangements with the hotel groups, which is restricting availability until December 16,” says GM of Flight Centre, Andrew Stark.
He explains that travellers that had booked accommodation during this period, up until December 16, are being accommodated in outlying areas or are being advised to reschedule where possible.
GM for Group Communications at Tsogo Sun, Priya Naidoo, says there has been a significant increase in demand for accommodation. “We advise travellers to contact the hotels directly,” she says. The group has set up a central service to advise on availability at alternative accommodation options.
Protea Hotels is also experiencing a higher demand for accommodation, especially in Gauteng and Pretoria. However Director of Sales, Marketing and Revenue Danny Bryer says there isn’t a major impact due to limited flight availability and all of their channels are open for bookings.
According to Bloomberg News, the Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel has been booked out for foreign dignitaries attending the funeral and memorial service. Guests who had previously reserved rooms were reportedly asked in a letter to release their bookings with the hotel and advised that no accommodation would be available in the area.
Flights
Acsa Spokesperson Unathi Batyashe-Fillis says major event processes have been activated at OR Tambo International and East London airports, including additional safety controls. Passengers have been asked to arrive at the airport at least two hours before their flight and to communicate with their respective airline to double-check travelling times.
Comair will not be adding any flights to its schedule at this stage. Executive Manager for Commercial Distribution, Iain Meaker says; “The company will continue to monitor passenger demand and react depending on resource availability.”
SA Express has warned of flight schedule disruptions over the next two weeks as people all over South Africa and the world fly in to pay tribute to Madiba, with the affected period expected to be between December 6 and December 17.
SAA will be providing chartered air transport for mourners who will attend the funeral in the Eastern Cape, which will not replace or disrupt existing daily operations to the Eastern Cape.
Car Rental
Car rental companies are also expecting to an increase in demand, especially as the state funeral, memorial and burial service coincides with the start of the annual holiday period.
Europcar has increased the capacity of its fleet in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape by reallocating fleet from low demand regions, bringing forward vehicle orders and sub-hiring in additional vehicles wherever possible.
“We believe that we have sufficient capacity to accommodate our normal demand from our customers, particularly in the smaller vehicle groups. However, in the luxury and people carrier categories, we expect supply to be constrained as there is huge government demand for these vehicles to accommodate the state visitors,” says Europcar COO Martin Lydall in a statement.
At this stage, it does not foresee any issues with meeting existing renovations and all bookings will be honoured, including new bookings. However, it is urged that these are made as soon as possible.
Lance Smith, executive for sales at Avis Rent a Car, says they have seen a demand for larger luxury type vehicles during this time. He explains that Avis has moved cars from across the country and as far as Cape Town to cater for the increase in demand.
"Once the Johannesburg leg of the ceremony is completed we will again move some of the vehicles to the Eastern Cape to cater for the formal funeral. As the high demand is for luxury vehicles for essentially this week and a part of next week, we would advise customers looking for these type of vehicles to call our call centre or their travel agent to check availability," he says.
Lance adds that there is availability for all other vehicles.
Marketing and Commercial Director for Tempest Car Hire, Mellindree Narayanasami, says they are managing their fleet according to demand and are forward planning. She urges those travelling not to book their vehicle at the last minute as they may be disappointed.