Identifying Travel Trends: Part 4
The mini series continues with insights from an African safari operator
Fresh off a safari in Sri Lanka (more on that next year!), the thrill of the safari experience is inspiring my 2025 travel wishlist—and apparently, I’m not the only one.
In continuation of Jilux’s trend-centric mini series, today I’m sharing insight from Liesel van Zyl, head of positive impact and product development at Go2Africa, a Cape Town-based travel operator.
Van Zyl’s witnessed an uptick in SKIing Trips, or Spending the Kids’ Inheritance trips, a growing trend within multigenerational travel where clients are focused on milestone trips outside special anniversaries.
Among these SKIing trips: safaris.
As part of their process to identify trends, van Zyl says that every year, Go2Africa produces an African Safari Travel Report that explores the state of safari, spotlighting new travel trends, consumer booking habits, and the surprising destinations in demand as they reflect on data from over 50,000 inquiries and bookings annually.
This year, SKIing trips are a key highlight, alongside sustainable safaris, as well as beach and safari combo trips.
In case you missed it: I started a mini series that highlights the perpetual, often unspoken, effort required by industry leaders in hospitality. Here’s why:
As a travel journalist, I am consistently impressed with the detail and diligence that luxury hotels provide their guests. It’s something that I’m inherently aware of, yet, when I travel with friends or family who may not realize the sum of logistics that add up for a seamless stay, I can’t help but want to educate them (politely of course).
After a series of conversations with industry leaders, I decided to start this mini series to enlighten travelers about the significant BTS work that accounts for the details of a luxury trip. Being in the travel industry has redefined how I travel and where I spend my money; I’m taking this chance to extend that opportunity to you, too.
In this issue, Liesel van Zyl shares more on Go2Africa’s safari insights for 2025.
At what point do you consider a new interest as something bigger that could perhaps turn into a trend?
Go2Africa sees certain destinations receiving greater interest based on new hotel openings, new flight routes and new activities emerging. Once our team recognizes and sees an increased interest in certain trending destinations or types of safaris we begin to build out potential programming for these experiences.
Destination Rising: Zambia
Go2Africa predicts Zambia will be the next place to go for a safari, as it saw a 78 percent increase in demand for the destination. Go2Africa is also predicting a 20 percent increase in interest for beach and safari combo trips, and the Zambia and Malawi combination is deemed to be the most popular combo, with Zambia offering great value with untouched, uncrowded parks to explore and a quick one-hour flight to Malawi for incredible beach and water activities. We are expecting this to become a trending destination in the upcoming years based on considerable interest.
Sustainable Safaris
The interest in sustainable safaris grew by 6.4 percent in 2023 compared to 2022 but has seen more than a 1000 percent increase in interest over the last four years. While searches for ‘sustainable travel’ have seen a sharp growth in monthly searches since 2018, the eco-travel trend has now filtered into more specific travel niches, including safaris, as more travelers become aware of choosing trips that positively affect the areas they visit.
Positive Impact Safaris
As demand for family safaris and honeymoons in Africa surges in popularity, sustainability and ecotourism have become the fastest-growing interest of safari-goers. Combining Positive Impact Safaris and Trips with a Purpose, Go2Africa aims to provide exceptional, meaningful experiences for its clients while creating a sustainable and prosperous future for Africa’s natural ecosystems and the people whose livelihoods are directly linked to them. On the heels of becoming B Corp certified, Go2Africa has year launched over 300 itineraries aimed at delivering meaningful experiences for clients that serve as an aid to conserve and protect Africa’s wildlife and wild places and empower communities.
Voluntourism
We’re definitely seeing an increase in our guests’ interest in connecting with the local communities. Our clients look for experiences that foster authentic community engagement during their trip to Africa, and have specifically asked if they can volunteer for a day on their safari.
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XO,