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 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.”
