Quarter 4 was always going to be tricky. October through December is traditionally a busy stretch of the corporate travel calendar, with the year’s final stakeholder meetings, conferences and year-end events all squeezed in before the annual slowdown. At the same time, holidaymakers and international arrivals are competing for the same seats and rooms. For SMEs used to booking as and when they need to, record fuel prices on top of peak-season demand is a costly combination.

“Smaller businesses tend to have a smaller booking window when compared to larger corporates,” says Herman Heunes, GM at Corporate Traveller. “Multi-nationals, for example, typically require flights to be booked 21 days in advance, while SMEs are far more flexible and reactive. And they need to be, but in Q4 it can get expensive, especially against a backdrop of rising fuel prices.”

So how do you keep Q4 on track without the costs running away with you? Heunes has the following advice:

Book the trips you can already predict

Look at last year’s calendar. If your team went to Cape Town in November or Durban in December, they’ll probably go again. The message is simple: lock in fares now, before the best options – and flight times – sell out.

Of course, booking is often cash flow dependent, and Heunes says partnering with a strong travel management company (TMC) can make all the difference.

“SMEs don’t have the travel volume to negotiate good rates on their own,” he says. “A TMC does. Partnering with one gives you access to its buying power, so you benefit from negotiated rates with airlines, hotels and car rental companies that you wouldn’t get booking direct. On top of that, Corporate Traveller offers clients a credit facility, so you can book now and pay later, protecting your cash flow.”

Adopt a Total Trip Cost (TTC) mindset

The instinct when prices spike is to cut costs wherever possible: book the cheapest flight, cap hotel spend and push for budget stays. But the ticket price is only part of the picture. TTC adds in the ground transport, the lost working hours and the toll on the traveller (which is particularly important if your team’s already had a long year).

Take the classic Q4 compromise: a cheaper flight with a longer layover, paired with a hotel further from the city centre. The saving looks good on paper, but it often means a tired traveller, a taxi fare to and from an outlying hotel, and maybe a lounge visit to make the layover bearable. By the time you add it all up, the “cheaper” option often costs more, in money and morale.

“Always look at TTC rather than just ticket price,” says Heunes. “Paying slightly more for a flight or a hotel near a client’s office can deliver more in the long run. You avoid extra ground costs, and your team arrives on time and ready to work.”

Pay for flexibility where it counts

December work is inherently reactive. Stakeholder meetings run long, end-of-year event schedules can shift at the last minute, and unpredictable weather can easily disrupt itineraries. In fact, research shows that both travel managers and bookers consistently cite trip instability and the financial risk of non-refundable bookings as top concerns during peak seasons.

If a client meeting moves, even by a couple of hours, a “cheap” fare instantly loses its value, forcing you to buy a brand-new ticket at peak, last-minute prices. A flexible corporate fare costs a little more upfront but acts as an insurance policy, protecting the budget when plans inevitably change in Q4.

Book the car with the flight

Ground transport should never be an afterthought, yet it is often left to the last minute. In Q4, corporate demand coincides directly with the holiday rush and, interestingly, there are a few categories that sell out first, including minivans and 7+ seaters (important to note, if you’re transporting your team to an event), automatics (across all categories) and SUVs/4X4s. Get in quick, and ensure your travellers are enrolled in ‘fast-track’ or ‘skip-the-queue’ programmes, as any time saved during Q4 is a massive win.

Look after your people

Year-end fatigue is real, and it directly affects how travellers perform when they arrive.

“Put someone on a 06:00 flight with a long layover to save a few hundred rand, and they’ll just arrive feeling flat and exhausted,” says Heunes. “But it’s important to look at ground-level friction too. Negotiate early check-ins or late check-outs wherever possible and enquire about complimentary hotel shuttles. These ‘soft perks’ are incredibly difficult to secure on your own during peak season, but ask your TMC to work their magic.”

What to do now

“Most Q4 savings come from decisions made before the rush,” says Heunes. “An hour of planning this week will make a massive difference come December.”

Here are three things you can do immediately:

• Audit your ticket credits. Cancelled meetings throughout the year leave unused ticket credits sitting forgotten in inboxes until they expire. Check what’s there before you book anything new. A good TMC will track and apply these automatically, so check in with your travel manager to confirm.
• Pull your bookings from last year. If you have recurring meetings or events, lock in flights and rooms this week.
• If you have partnered with a TMC, let them do the heavy lifting. Be proactive, make travel decisions as soon as possible so they can leverage their buying power and supplier relationships to secure the best corporate fares and rates available – alongside perks like early check-in and room upgrades.

That growth comes with travel challenges that few operators plan for. iGaming teams travel to less predictable destinations than most industries, often at short notice, and frequently into markets where security is a real concern. Many companies are also scaling so quickly that travel management falls through the cracks, leaving them with little visibility over spend or where their people are. Jonathan Scott, Senior Account Manager at FCM, one of Flight Centre Travel Group’s corporate travel brands, explains what these challenges look like and how companies can get ahead of them.

Unpredictable destinations, changing needs

Take mining, one of Africa’s traditional growth engines. “Mining travellers generally move between asset locations for a fixed, predictable reason,” says Scott. “iGaming travellers, on the other hand, are likely to travel to a wider range of often unusual destinations, driven by changing needs such as where a gaming licence is being tested or renewed.”

This makes for a restless travel pattern, one that follows regulators, partners and new markets rather than a fixed map. As a result, says Scott, these travellers “tend to be more open to exploring different options and routings.”

iGaming also sits firmly in the tech and fintech space, and its travellers behave that way. “We see travellers in these industries wanting to use technology when booking, for added efficiency and control over their planning,” says Scott. “They favour AI and mobile apps to keep them alerted and organised throughout their journeys.”

For the companies themselves, visibility matters just as much. Because travel in the sector is often unpredictable and unplanned, real-time data and reporting are essential for keeping track of spend and compliance.

When growth outpaces the travel plan

iGaming businesses can scale remarkably fast, and travel is usually the last thing anyone thinks about. “That’s the problem,” says Scott. “A startup with 20 travellers can book their own travel their own way, and that’s fine. But when that number becomes 200 and there’s no consolidated plan in place, you have no visibility of spend or travel behaviour, no duty of care measures for tracking and keeping travellers safe, and your travel is so diluted that you lose negotiating power for better rates.”

The first step, he says, is finding out what’s really happening. “Who’s booking where, and what’s actually being spent? There’s usually a big gap between that and what finance thinks. You can’t fix what you can’t see.”

From there, the work is to bring bookings onto one platform, build a travel policy around how the business actually operates, and automate approvals. “It’s never one-size-fits-all,” says Scott. “It needs to be flexible enough to move fast but structured enough that finance isn’t chasing exceptions every week.” Once that’s in place, dashboards showing spend by region and department give companies leverage for better rates and let them “forecast more accurately.”

The need for speed

In an industry where a licence deadline or a market launch can’t wait, many companies assume a consolidated programme will slow them down. Scott argues the opposite. “A messy, fragmented programme is what actually slows you down when speed matters. If the policy is already built and everyone knows the parameters, there’s more room for auto-approval. No waiting on a manager to sign off every booking.”

iGaming doesn’t keep office hours, so travel support needs to run around the clock too. Knowing where travellers are at all times matters just as much. “If a flight is cancelled or something happens, you need to be able to react immediately,” says Scott. “Without consolidation, ‘drop everything and go’ just becomes ‘drop everything and hope someone gets back to you.'”

Protecting traveller data matters too, in a sector where information security is everything.

Keeping executives safe in emerging markets

Many of iGaming’s fastest-growing markets are also where duty of care is most complex. “When executives are carrying sensitive IP or negotiating high-value deals in places like Lagos or Nairobi, duty of care can’t just mean knowing what hotel they’re in,” says Scott. “It means thinking through everything that could go wrong before they’ve even boarded the plane.”

That starts with current pre-trip intelligence on the political climate, unrest or border changes that week, rather than information from an outdated report. It also means vetted ground transport. “The twenty minutes between landing and reaching somewhere secure is often the highest-risk window,” says Scott.

For executives who need to keep a low profile, that can mean quieter hotels and less predictable schedules, “so sensitive business doesn’t come with an obvious target attached.” Medical and evacuation plans should be built around the specific city rather than a whole region, and real-time tracking should be paired with local knowledge. “If unrest is building somewhere, we often know before it hits international news,” he says.

For iGaming companies expanding across Africa, travel can’t be an afterthought. As Scott puts it: “The goal is that the executive can focus entirely on the deal. They shouldn’t be thinking about logistics or security at all.”

Cape Town, Tuesday, 29 September 2026 — As South Africa marks Tourism Month, Cape Town Tourism (CTT) and Visit Stellenbosch are joining forces to encourage visitors to stay longer and experience both destinations as part of a connected Cape journey.

The two organisations have signed a Joint Marketing Agreement (JMA), bringing together two distinctive destinations that complement one another within the same journey, from Cape Town’s coastline, city energy and cultural attractions to Stellenbosch’s wine, food, heritage, art, nature, shopping and unique local experiences.

The partnership will see the two organisations develop joint itineraries, share content and run collaborative campaigns across their digital channels, supported by joint media and trade activity. The focus will include domestic visitors during key periods such as school holidays, long weekends and the festive season, while also creating reasons to visit year-round and supporting efforts to address seasonality.

The collaboration will encourage visitors to extend their stay in either destination by adding the other to their itinerary, showing how two distinct destinations can work together to create a richer, longer Cape experience.

Joint content will showcase the breadth of experiences available across both destinations, with campaigns, competitions and giveaways creating further opportunities for tourism businesses on both sides to participate in shared storytelling. Joint media and trade engagement will also highlight the combined offering to travel journalists, travel sellers and other industry audiences.

Where relevant, international media and trade activity will position Cape Town and Stellenbosch together as complementary destinations within a longer South African itinerary.

Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, says:

“Cape Town is a destination that can easily fill a holiday, but it is also the gateway to so much more of the Cape. Stellenbosch adds another dimension to the Cape Town experience, and vice versa. There is a real opportunity to encourage visitors to stay longer, explore more and experience the diversity of our region. This partnership gives us a platform to make that connection more visible, particularly during key travel periods and throughout the year.”

The City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos, adds: “Cape Town’s visitor economy is showing strong momentum, with 1.44 million international overnight visitors and 1.42 million domestic overnight trips recorded in 2025. The opportunity now is to turn that demand into longer stays, greater visitor spend and wider economic benefits.

One of my fundamentals for tourism has always been that we must be soft on borders and strong on vision. Visitors don’t experience destinations by municipal boundaries, and neither should our tourism thinking. Our Tourism Framework recognises working with neighbouring destinations as an important way to improve geographic spread and grow the visitor economy.

This partnership puts that into practice. By connecting Cape Town and Stellenbosch more deliberately, we can encourage visitors to stay another night, explore more and spend more. Every additional night creates opportunities across the tourism value chain, from accommodation and restaurants to attractions, guides, retailers and the many businesses and people who depend on tourism.”

Annemie Liebenberg, CEO of Visit Stellenbosch, says:

“Working with Cape Town Tourism allows us to connect two complementary destinations and create a stronger proposition for the region. It also has a very practical benefit for our tourism economy. Longer stays mean more visitor spend, more nights in accommodation and more opportunities for businesses across the tourism value chain to benefit.

“Importantly, this partnership is also about addressing seasonality and creating reasons to visit across the year. When we work together to grow the overall tourism pie, there is greater opportunity for both destinations and for the businesses and communities that depend on tourism.”

Stellenbosch recorded more than 1.35 million overnight visitors in 2025, contributing an estimated R13 billion in total economic impact. The partnership with Cape Town Tourism builds on the strength of both destinations while creating new opportunities to distribute visitor demand, increase length of stay and broaden participation in the tourism economy.

For visitors, the message is simple: Cape Town and Stellenbosch. One more night. So much more to experience.

#LoveCapeTown #VisitStellenbosch #MyCapeTown #TourismMonth

About Visit Stellenbosch

Visit Stellenbosch is the official destination marketing organisation for Stellenbosch, working in partnership with tourism businesses, local government and industry stakeholders to position Stellenbosch as one of South Africa’s leading year-round leisure, lifestyle and business events destinations. Through strategic destination marketing, visitor services and industry collaboration, Visit Stellenbosch inspires travellers to discover the region’s exceptional wine, award-winning culinary experiences, rich heritage, vibrant culture and breathtaking natural landscapes.

Media enquiries

Roland Muller: roland@bigambitions.co.za

Madalene Manuel: madalene@bigambitions.co.za

ENDS

Europe’s border rules have shifted again. On 14 September, nine European countries were told they could keep easing the EU’s new biometric border checks, a week after the grace period was meant to end. It follows months of long queues at some of Europe’s busiest airports.

For South African passport holders, the border has never been simple: visa applications, supporting documents and paperwork are part of almost every long-haul trip. What’s new is how quickly the rules are moving, and how easily a traveller can arrive at the airport with last month’s information.

Europe: new checks, patchy enforcement

The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) went live on 12 October 2025, replacing the passport stamp with a digital record of every non-EU short-stay traveller’s entries and exits. On their first visit, travellers register their fingerprints, a facial image and passport details at the border. South Africans are included, even if they already hold a valid Schengen visa.

The rollout has been rocky. According to Airports Council International, waits at some European airports reached up to five hours in July, with Lisbon, Milan, Rome and Krakow amongst the worst affected. Faulty kiosks, staff shortages and issues with biometric registration were blamed.

The emergency rules that let countries pause the checks at busy times were due to end on 6 September. Instead, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Switzerland have been given informal approval to keep using them, with no new deadline set. France says it will do so until the end of the year. The result is a patchwork: the experience at one airport, or in one month, may be quite different from the next.

Sinenhlanhla Mthembu, Senior Account Manager at FCM, says that fortunately none of her clients have yet missed a connection or had a trip seriously disrupted by the new checks, partly because corporate itineraries already tend to allow extra time. “There is often a preference for more conservative connection times, particularly when the journey involves immigration or a transfer through a major European hub,” she explains.

Closing the awareness gap

 Travel readiness depends heavily on the traveller. Some clients are behind, while others are well ahead: one company whose staff travel regularly to Geneva asked Mthembu to brief  them extensively on what EES means in practice. “There is still a strong preference amongst corporate travel programmes to use their TMC as a trusted source to interpret these changes and translate them into practical travel advice,” she says.

Outside dedicated travel teams, awareness is lower. “Realistically, most corporate clients are not asking proactively before booking,” says Za Nkosi, FCM Operations Manager. Questions tend to come just before departure, when a traveller sees a news report and asks their booker, “Do I need to do anything different at the airport?”, or after something has gone wrong, “when someone’s had a long queue or missed a connection and wants to know why nobody warned them.”

This is where a travel management company earns its place: flagging changes before travellers think to ask, and listing the current entry requirements with each booking. The aim is not to steer travellers away from particular airports, but to build flexibility into the itinerary. “A missed connection can have a knock-on effect on meetings, accommodation and the wider trip schedule,” says Mthembu.

Closer to home

The rules are changing in South Africa too. Since 1 July 2026, everyone entering or leaving the country, residents included, has been required to complete an online traveller declaration through the South African Traveller Management System (SATMS), via the SARS portal, the mobile app or a QR code. SARS encourages travellers to submit it before they reach the airport, although no one will be turned away for not having done so. South Africa has also launched an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for inbound visitors, which matters for companies hosting international colleagues or clients.

In Kenya, a mandatory health insurance requirement for foreign visitors was introduced, then suspended by the High Court while the case is heard. “For a corporate traveller, the practical lesson is that even when a requirement appears settled, its status can change,” says Mthembu.

Make the check routine

“We need to communicate proactively with travellers before departure rather than waiting for them to ask, and treat border processing time as a variable to plan around,” says Nkosi.

Mthembu recommends a simple “before I travel” check for every trip, whether a traveller flies four times a month or once a year. Before confirming, check three things: what documents or authorisations are needed, whether there are health or entry requirements, and whether the itinerary allows enough time for connections and border processing. Length of stay matters too, as some destinations apply different rules depending on the duration or purpose of the visit.

“The key is not to make travel preparation complicated,” she says. “A few minutes spent checking the current requirements before departure can prevent a much bigger problem at check-in, at the border or during the journey.”

People are becoming increasingly obsessed with the science of sleep. Smartwatches and rings track both sleep stages – light, deep, REM – and sleep quality; wellness schemes like Discovery Vitality encourage and reward it; and supplements promise it in a bottle. Sleep tourism, meanwhile, is one of 2026’s defining luxury travel trends, with hotels building entire itineraries around a good night’s rest.

It’s great news for business travellers. Especially as recent Booking.com data shows that roughly 60% of business travellers report some level of sleep disruption on the road, driven partly by the “first night effect” – the brain staying semi-alert in unfamiliar surroundings – and worsened by ambient noise, uncomfortable beds and rooms that run too hot or too cold.

For Herman Heunes, GM at Corporate Traveller South Africa, the sleep conversation is just as important as, if not more important than, discussions around flight classes.

“Travellers spend 8 to 12 hours on an airplane and a few days in a hotel. Obviously, a lie-flat seat on a plane makes a difference, but a good sleep environment at a hotel, including heavy drapes or block-out blinds, cool temperatures and acoustic insulation, is priceless,” says Heunes.

What “sleep-friendly” actually looks like

While you may have heard of sleep or pillow menus – where guests can choose from a selection of pillows (including soft, medium, firm, hypoallergenic or memory foam), the fundamentals are less glamorous: darkness, quiet, temperature control, comfortable bedding and enough uninterrupted time to sleep.

Sleep-friendly hotels have actually re-engineered their rooms to make sure they measure up, including commercial blackout curtain systems, soundproofing (because lifts, housekeeping stations, kitchens, function venues, loading bays and rooftop equipment can all create intermittent noise) and consistent climate control.

From pillow menus to sleep menus

Hotels are expanding their sleep offerings to include calming teas, lighter evening meals and snacks suited to late arrivals.

For example, Westin Hotels and Resorts’ global Sleep Well Programme centres on the brand’s Heavenly Bed – a custom pillow-top mattress with layered bedding and down pillows – alongside a bedside lavender balm to calm the senses, and a Sleep Well Menu for in-room dining built around amino acids and vitamins linked to better sleep.

Four Seasons has developed a customisable bed with mattress-topper preferences at participating properties, including Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff Johannesburg. These mattress toppers (with three distinct levels of firmness) can be swapped out by hotel staff in a matter of minutes to match a guest’s specific preferences.

The red-eye problem

Of course, none of this helps if a traveller lands at 05:00 but can’t access a room until 14:00. Standard check-in windows were never designed around overnight flights, and “early check-in requested” is not the same as guaranteed early access – it simply means the hotel will help if a room happens to be available.

This is where a travel management company (TMC) earns its keep. As Heunes explains, the most dependable options are booking the room from the previous night, flagging the traveller’s arrival time so the room isn’t released as a no-show, negotiating guaranteed early access into the corporate rate, reserving a day-use room, or confirming showers, lounge access and luggage storage as a fallback.

“Chat to your TMC about negotiating early check-in or late check-out as part of your hotel programme,” says Heunes. “If you don’t have a TMC or hotel programme, consider booking an additional night. It may look wasteful on a spreadsheet, but it can be a sensible investment before a negotiation, presentation or other high-value meeting. A good TMC will identify potential issues, like an unfriendly arrival time, ahead of time and suggest practical solutions rather than leaving the traveller to negotiate at reception.”

A handful of hotel groups are ahead of the curve, but mostly for elite loyalty members: Marriott Bonvoy Ambassadors get “Your24”, a self-chosen 24-hour check-in/check-out window; IHG Platinum and Diamond Elite members get early check-in (subject to availability); and World of Hyatt Globalists get a guaranteed 4pm check-out. The catch is that none of this helps an SME traveller booking direct with no status to leverage – but TMCs can help.

Jet lag is only part of the problem

Not every exhausted traveller is jet-lagged. Jet lag is a temporary sleep disorder that happens when your body’s internal clock is out of sync with a new time zone; sleep deprivation simply means you have not slept enough.

To counter this, travellers and TMCs should ask for:

• Full-blackout curtains
• A room away from lifts, functions and street noise
• Individually controlled air-conditioning
• Suitable pillow and bedding options
• Guaranteed rather than requested early check-in
• Late-night food or early breakfast
• Reliable airport transfers
• Day-use or shower facilities if the room is unavailable

These preferences can be stored in traveller profiles and used when selecting preferred hotels.

“Companies should also track traveller feedback on noise, darkness, temperature and early room access, not only room rates, Wi-Fi and breakfast,” says Heunes. “Direct feedback from travellers is gold.”

For SMMEs, prioritising sleep on the road doesn’t require a bigger budget. In fact, Heunes keeps the checklist short: identify the right hotels, confirm blackout curtains, soundproofing and privacy, ask whether a pillow or sleep menu exists, and secure early check-in at the booking stage for any red-eye arrivals.

“Many hotels have done the hard part,” says Heunes. “The average room is quieter, darker and better designed than it’s ever been. What’s left is choosing the right flight, class and ground transport to get your people there – prioritising ease and rest from end to end.”

Now in its second year, Visit Stellenbosch’s annual Tourism Economic Impact Study provides an evidence-based measure of tourism’s contribution to the local economy. The latest findings show that more than 1.35 million overnight visitors generated R13 billion for Stellenbosch in 2025 while supporting 48,007 direct, indirect and induced jobs across the municipality.

Every day, tourism contributes an estimated R35 million to Stellenbosch’s economy. Behind every visitor is a local story: jobs created, businesses supported, entrepreneurs empowered, and communities strengthened through a thriving visitor economy. These are the lives behind the numbers.

The latest Tourism Economic Impact Study, commissioned by Visit Stellenbosch and independently compiled by Futureneer Advisors, confirms that tourism remains one of Stellenbosch’s most important economic drivers and demonstrates how a shared destination strategy is delivering measurable value for residents, businesses and visitors alike.

The research shows that international overnight arrivals increased by 12% to 641,405 visitors, while domestic overnight tourism grew by an impressive 21% to 711,330 visitors. Together, these figures reinforce Stellenbosch’s position as one of South Africa’s leading tourism destinations and demonstrate the growing strength of a balanced, year-round visitor economy.

While direct tourism value added remained stable at R6.3 billion, the sector continued to generate significant economic value despite global economic uncertainty and increasingly cautious consumer spending. The results point to a destination that has moved beyond post-pandemic recovery and into a new phase of resilient, sustainable growth.

A destination strategy delivering measurable results

Tourism success does not happen by chance. It is the result of long-term planning, strategic investment and collaboration between Stellenbosch Municipality, Visit Stellenbosch, the tourism industry, local businesses and communities working towards a shared vision for the destination.

That strategy focuses on growing year-round demand, encouraging longer stays, expanding the geographic spread of visitors across the destination, supporting tourism businesses, promoting inclusive tourism experiences and ensuring that tourism growth benefits local communities.

As one of Stellenbosch Municipality’s two official Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), Visit Stellenbosch goes beyond destination marketing. The organisation grows demand, promotes year-round visitation, supports tourism businesses, builds strategic partnerships, invests in research and market intelligence, measures tourism’s economic contribution and brings stakeholders together to deliver long-term value for Stellenbosch.

The annual Tourism Economic Impact Study is a key part of this work. By measuring tourism’s direct, indirect and induced contribution to the economy, it informs decision-making, demonstrates return on investment, tracks tourism performance and supports long-term destination stewardship.

Tourism that benefits everyone

Annemie Liebenberg, CEO of Visit Stellenbosch, said the findings demonstrate far more than visitor growth:

“Tourism is one of Stellenbosch’s greatest opportunities to create lasting economic value. Every visitor supports local businesses, creates employment and contributes to stronger communities. That is why destination management matters. Our role is not simply to attract visitors, but to ensure tourism grows sustainably, benefits residents and leaves Stellenbosch stronger for future generations.

“These results show what is possible when research, partnership and long-term thinking come together behind a shared vision.”

A partnership driving destination success

Stellenbosch Mayor, Jeremy Fasser, welcomed the findings and acknowledged the collective effort that continues to position Stellenbosch as one of South Africa’s premier visitor destinations.

“These results demonstrate what can be achieved when Stellenbosch Municipality, Visit Stellenbosch, our tourism industry and local communities work together with a shared vision.

“The Municipality is proud to invest in and partner with Visit Stellenbosch to grow a visitor economy that creates employment, supports local businesses, attracts investment and enhances quality of life for our residents. Together, we are building a destination whose success benefits everyone.”

Setting the benchmark for destination management

The study reinforces Stellenbosch’s strategic importance within the Western Cape tourism economy, attracting approximately 40% of all international visitors to the province.

As destinations across South Africa compete for visitors and investment, Stellenbosch continues to demonstrate the value of collaboration, strategic planning and evidence-led destination management. By combining research, partnership and innovation, the destination is creating a resilient visitor economy that delivers benefits for residents, businesses and visitors alike.

2025 Highlights at a glance:

• R13 billion generated for the local economy

• 48,007 direct, indirect and induced jobs supported

• 1.35 million overnight visitors

• 641,405 international overnight visitors (12% growth)

• 711,330 domestic overnight visitors (21% growth)

• R35 million contributed to the economy every day

• Approximately 40% of the Western Cape’s international visitors choose Stellenbosch

Why we measure the value of tourism

The Value of Tourism is Visit Stellenbosch’s annual economic impact study and forms part of the organisation’s commitment to evidence-based destination management. Independently compiled by Futureneer Advisors using data from Statistics South Africa and South African Tourism, the study measures tourism’s direct, indirect and induced contribution to Stellenbosch’s economy, employment and visitor volumes.

By tracking tourism’s performance year after year, the study provides the insights needed to inform decision-making, guide destination development and demonstrate the value of investing in tourism.

The findings provide a roadmap for the future. Visit Stellenbosch will continue investing in destination marketing, destination development, research, industry support and collaborative partnerships that strengthen the visitor economy while protecting the unique character, cultural heritage and natural environment that make Stellenbosch one of the world’s most desirable destinations.

Great destinations do not happen by chance. They are built through partnership, guided by evidence and inspired by a shared vision.

-ENDS-

For media enquiries, additional information, or to arrange an interview with Annemie Liebenberg, please contact visitstellenbosch@bigambitions.co.za. 

About Visit Stellenbosch

Visit Stellenbosch is the official destination marketing organisation for Stellenbosch, dedicated to growing sustainable tourism, supporting the local visitor economy and showcasing the region as one of South Africa’s premier wine, food, culture and outdoor destinations.

Carmen Hidalgo, Customer Success Team Leader at Corporate Traveller South Africa, says the framing is where most people go wrong.

“The biggest misconception is that lounge access is a luxury perk,” she says. “For frequent business travellers, it’s a practical tool, one that cuts travel fatigue, improves comfort during delays and helps you make better, more productive use of time spent in airports.”

Once you see the lounge as a high-functioning co-working space, and a chance to rest and breathe, things start to look a little different.

When it makes financial sense

For business travellers, the most common options are lounge memberships such as Priority Pass, airline loyalty programmes, purchasing day passes as needed, or accessing lounges through corporate travel agreements and company credit cards. For occasional travellers, day passes are often the most cost-effective. For more frequent travellers, membership programmes generally provide better value over time.

Hidalgo believes that if a traveller is flying every month or making 10-15+ lounge visits a year, a membership or bundled access option starts making more financial sense than buying day passes ad hoc.

Of course, it also helps to know what the passes cost. Walk-in rates at the general-access lounges, Bidvest among them, run from about R300 to R700 a visit, while premium co-branded bank lounges (like SLOW) do not allow general walk-ins and instead require specific bank card tiers or partner programmes.

The door price is only part of the calculation, though. What you’re really paying for is the quiet productivity of a well-considered space.

“The biggest value is in reliable connectivity, comfortable seating, charging facilities, a quieter working environment and complimentary refreshments. These are the features that help business travellers stay productive,” says Hidalgo. “The high-end touches like spa treatments or shower facilities are nice to have, but they’re rarely the reason an SME traveller sees a return on investment.”

That return is easiest to see when things go wrong: your flight is pushed back, your phone needs a charge and the terminal is heaving. You can brave a noisy coffee shop, or move to the lounge, plug in and clear your inbox before you fly. Six or seven trips a year can easily add up to the better part of three working days in airports, and lounge access gives you some of that time back.

A lounge reality check, and how to maximise your time

While lounges were once a quiet refuge for the select few, premium credit cards have thrown open the doors. Now lounges across the world are coming under fire for snaking queues and crowded floors, especially over peak periods. To control numbers, operators have pushed back with restrictions: entry windows that open only a few hours before departure, higher walk-in rates, caps on guests per cardholder and, in some cases, a charge to pre-book a seat. All of it chips at the overall experience, and it’s fair to ask whether a busy lounge is now simply a glorified waiting room.

Hidalgo doesn’t dodge the point. “Overcrowding has reduced some of the productivity benefits travellers used to expect,” she says. “So, we tell clients to treat lounge access as one part of the trip, not the whole experience. And you do need to be intentional about it.”

As Hidalgo explains, customers commonly allow lounge access for frequent travellers, longer layovers, delays, or trips where employees are travelling directly into meetings. The objective should be helping travellers make the best use of their time while maintaining sensible cost control.

“A managed travel programme gives businesses greater visibility and control over traveller benefits, including lounge access,” she says. “Depending on the programme, access may be linked to negotiated supplier agreements, traveller status, or internal travel policy guidelines. The best travel policies treat lounge access as a structured and managed benefit rather than an ad hoc traveller expense.”

When it comes to maximising your lounge experience, a few simple steps make a big difference:

• Check in before you arrive. Use the airline app and travel with hand luggage where you can, so you clear the landside queues and head straight through security to the lounge.
• Mind the fine print. Some lounges, SLOW among them, only let you in 90 minutes before boarding a domestic flight, while international departure lounges have different windows (for example, three hours before boarding).
• Don’t overlook arrival lounges. At the bigger hubs you can shower and press a suit after a red-eye before walking into a client meeting.
• Use the Wi-Fi for the heavy lifting. The private network will carry a video call or a large upload that terminal signal tends to drop.
• Find the quiet corners. Phone booths and work suites, where they exist, are for the calls and pitch prep you’d rather not have overheard.
• Eat before you board. A proper meal in the lounge frees the flight itself for sleep or focused offline work.
• Claim a plug early. Grab a seat near a charging point and get everything topped up before you leave, so you land ready to go.
• Check what else is included. Many lounges offer showers, printing or a fast-track security lane, so it’s worth knowing what your access covers before you pay for it elsewhere.

So, is it worth it?

For all the grumbling about crowds and cost, most travellers still answer yes. Airport Dimensions’ Airport Experience 2025 study, which surveyed more than 10,000 regular flyers worldwide, found that 97% were unwilling to give up their lounge access, and 45% would switch banks to keep card-linked lounge privileges. With terminals busier than ever, 62% said they would pay for premium services to get some breathing room, treating the lounge as a travel essential.

The top end of the market is reading the same signal and spending accordingly. Etihad’s First Class Lounge and Spa in Abu Dhabi has a gym with cardio machines and weights; Finnair’s Platinum Wing in Helsinki runs a traditional Finnish sauna; and from September 2027, San Francisco International will offer private bedrooms, showers and a speakeasy for travellers waiting out a long layover.

For most business travellers, though, the appeal is more grounded. “They can be impressive,” says Hidalgo of the flashier offerings, “although most business travellers still place the highest value on quiet spaces, comfort and the ability to work efficiently.”

Search “hotel safety tips” and women across the web have plenty to share: packing a rubber doorstop to wedge under the door at night; choosing a room between the third and sixth floors; selecting hotels with lifts that need key card access to reach the guest floors; asking reception to hand over the key quietly, without calling out the room number for everyone to hear.

It’s an unfortunate reality. Either consciously or subconsciously, women move through life on high alert, aware of their surroundings and safety – especially when travelling on their own or in unfamiliar destinations.

As Judy Jacobs, Senior Account Manager at FCM South Africa, explains, safety on a business trip, especially for women, isn’t a nice-to-have that sits somewhere below room rate and location; it’s at the very top of the list, and an important part of any hotel programme.

“Both hotel location and room location come up often,” says Jacobs. “The preference is for a mid-level floor, near a lift but not right beside it, and avoiding a stairwell or the end of a long corridor. Once inside the room, the requests are practical: a safe large enough for a laptop, blackout curtains that close fully, and no interleading door, which many women find unsettling.”

What women want

According to the team at FCM, these hotel features are important:

• Reputable chains in safe locations
• Well-lit paths from the car park to the entrance, with no dark stretches within the property
• A genuine 24-hour staffed front desk rather than a night porter (where possible)
• Female staff on duty
• Key card room access
• A room between the 3^rd and 6^th floors (high enough to prevent break-ins from the ground – but within reach of a standard fire truck in case of emergency)
• A working peephole and a secondary lock, swing bar or security chain on the door
• An in-room safe big enough to hold a laptop
• Blackout curtains or blinds that close completely
• No interleading door, or one that locks securely from both sides

Building it into travel policy

Of course, a hotel should meet other standards too, including emergency procedures clearly displayed in rooms, working smoke detectors and fire safety equipment, CCTV in public areas and entrances, and security guards on the premises. The trick is building it into your travel policy.

“Many of our customers, for example, those in the mining sector, have stringent travel, safety, and duty-of-care standards. These non-negotiable requirements directly influence which hotel and accommodation suppliers are considered suitable for their travellers,” says Saskia Fourie, Account Manager at FCM South Africa. “Wherever possible, we also encourage the use of our preferred hotel partners. While these partnerships offer commercial benefits, the bigger advantage is that the properties have already undergone a degree of vetting and due diligence. We have established relationships with these suppliers, understand their standards, and have clear escalation channels should issues arise. This level of familiarity and accountability enables us to better support our customers, ensure compliance with their travel and safety policies, and provide travellers with a safe and consistent experience.”

Regional knowledge is also important. For example, key card-only lift and floor access is standard in large city hotels but not always feasible elsewhere. The same goes for monitored rather than merely recorded CCTV. A good travel management company will know which standards a hotel in a given location can realistically deliver – and how to spot the red flags.

For Jacobs, these might be dismissive responses to security questions, “that’s never happened here” deflection, inconsistent messaging from staff, or common areas that feel poorly lit, unmaintained or deserted at night.

“Thankfully, there are plenty of green flags too. For example, visible but not intrusive security; staff who share direct ‘in-case-of-emergency’ telephone numbers; staff who are quick to respond to a guest’s requests or concerns; and other business travellers staying in the hotel, which demonstrates corporate confidence,” says Jacobs.

Asking the right questions

When negotiating a hotel agreement, you need to ask the right questions: What is the hotel’s protocol if a guest reports feeling unsafe or harassed, and how quickly does it respond? How does the property keep the guest’s information secure (including floor and room number)? What background checks are run on staff, particularly night and maintenance teams who can access rooms? And can room assignments avoid predictable patterns, such as always placing solo travellers in the same wing?

The strongest programmes then go a step further and put agreements in writing. These might include the right to change rooms at no charge if a traveller feels unsafe, and a set window in which any incident is reported to the company or its TMC. As Jacobs puts it, “It’s easy to assume a hotel or chain’s standards cover this, but having it contractually documented gives us recourse and shows the hotel we’re serious.”

Finally, listen to your travellers.

As Nomapelo Kova, Senior Account Manager at FCM South Africa, points out, the people using your hotel programme are the ones best placed to tell you whether it is working. “The most valuable feedback often comes directly from travellers themselves,” she says. “They experience a hotel’s safety and security first-hand, so listening to them, and acting on what they say, is how a hotel programme stays up to date, reliable and safe.”

Importantly, getting delegates there is no longer the logistical question it once was. Proflight Zambia, the country’s largest airline, operates scheduled services connecting Johannesburg and Cape Town directly to both Lusaka and Livingstone, and has opened various new regional routes in the past few years, including to Maun and Windhoek, removing one of the historic objections to Zambia as a conference destination before the conversation even begins.

But to understand why Zambia’s MICE (Meetings Incentives Conferences Events) moment is happening now, you need to understand what’s happening across the continent…

The market making this possible

Africa’s MICE sector is in the middle of a growth cycle that is outpacing every other region globally. Valued at $16.6 billion in 2023, the market is projected to reach $65.6 billion by 2032, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 17%, according to Business Traveller. Furthermore, business tourism demand across the continent is up roughly 40%, and more than 48% of multinational companies operating in the region have increased their event-related spending.

The incentive travel segment is growing the fastest of all, at 17.2% CAGR, and this is where Zambia’s geography becomes a notable competitive asset. Rather than looking for another hotel ballroom, incentive buyers are looking for transformative experiences that a top-performing sales team will still be talking about two years later. Victoria Falls, the Zambezi River, South Luangwa National Park, Lower Zambezi National Park – these are not consolation prizes for delegates who couldn’t get a room in Cape Town. They are, increasingly, the point.

But a booming market does not distribute itself evenly, and the race to capture Africa’s MICE windfall is already well underway.

The competitive landscape is shifting

For years, Africa’s MICE map has been drawn around a small number of established centres. South Africa leads the continent with 115 international association meetings recorded in ICCA’s Globewatch 2025 data, with Cape Town, Marrakech, and Kigali the only African cities to regularly feature in the global top 100 MICE destinations.

But the race for the next tier of African MICE destinations is wide open. Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Accra, and Lusaka are all being actively positioned. South Africa’s National Convention Bureau is pushing planners beyond Cape Town; Johannesburg, Durban, Stellenbosch, and Tshwane are all building their pipelines.

The distribution of Africa’s MICE boom is not yet settled. Destinations that move now, with the right infrastructure and the right connectivity, will capture disproportionate share. Those that wait will find the ground already taken.

Zambia has read the room, and it is building accordingly.

Zambia is building

The Livingstone/Victoria Falls corridor is being actively repositioned as a year-round business events destination – a deliberate diversification away from seasonal safari dependency that reflects both commercial pragmatism and growing international demand. The Zambia Tourism Expo, ZATEX 2026, ran in June at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka, drawing international buyers and trade partners to assess the country’s offer firsthand.

Behind the scenes, the professionalisation of Zambia’s hospitality sector is accelerating. The recent launch of a Hotel Managers Registration Council demonstrates that the country is aligning its standards with what international MICE organisers require before they will commit a conference bid.

The strategic opportunity now is to convert Zambia’s leisure familiarity into conference and incentive bookings. The destination sell is largely done. What has historically been missing is the infrastructure confidence – the certainty that delegates can get there reliably. 

Connectivity is the unlock

MICE destinations are made or broken by airlift. A destination can have world-class venues, compelling experiences, and competitive pricing, and still lose conference bids because planners can’t guarantee their delegates a reliable route in and out.

“Regional carriers like Proflight Zambia now operate scheduled services connecting Johannesburg and Cape Town directly to both Lusaka and Livingstone, with routes to Windhoek and Maun further extending Zambia’s regional connectivity. For a South African corporate travel manager who last assessed Zambia’s accessibility several years ago, the current network would look significantly different to the one they remember,” says Captain Josias Walubita, Proflight Zambia’s Director of Flight Operations.

“Air access is one of the most powerful enablers of tourism and business events growth,” he added – a position that aligns with the broader direction of Zambia’s Airlift Zambia Initiative, a strategic programme aimed at strengthening connectivity and attracting new international carriers to the country.

The initiative’s ambitions received significant external validation in June, with the announcement that Zambia will host AviaDev Africa 2027 – the continent’s leading air service development conference – with Zambia Airports Corporation confirmed as official host partner. Previous editions have been held in Windhoek, Zanzibar, and Botswana. Zambia’s selection reflects a growing consensus among airlines and aviation decision-makers that the country’s connectivity story is one worth investing in.

The window is now

Africa’s MICE boom will not wait. The destinations capturing share in 2026 and 2027 are the ones that will define the continent’s business events landscape for the decade that follows.

“Zambia has the venues, the experiences, the government backing, and, increasingly, the air access to compete seriously for that share,” concludes Walubita.

The question for South African corporates and conference planners is simple: how much longer will you keep booking the same rooms in the same cities, when one of Africa’s most extraordinary destinations is now reliably within reach?

Zambia is ready, and the flights are there. The only thing missing is your delegates.

It’s evidence of an invisible itinerary: the planning, coordination and caregiving responsibilities that happen behind the scenes, before a single flight is booked. Think school runs and lift clubs, dog walks and vet visits, stocked fridges and pre-cooked meals, medication schedules for elderly parents or kids, emergency contacts briefed well in advance, and detailed instructions so everything runs like a military operation.

Gen X and older Millennials, in particular, feel the strain. The modern “sandwich generation” find themselves juggling dual caregiving responsibilities that directly impact professional obligations, including work travel.

The encouraging part of the research is what follows – clear evidence that the right organisational support and policies ease the load and support traveller health and wellbeing.

“The first fix is making sure every trip has a clear purpose, for the business and for the traveller,” says Elize De Jager, Operations Team Leader at Corporate Traveller South Africa, a global travel management company (TMC) that specialises in providing tailored business travel services to small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). 

“It’s a principle that matters for any company watching its travel spend, particularly SMEs, but it carries extra weight for the person weighing up whether a trip is worth the disruption at home. Few will say that part out loud, though. Admitting to the caregiving and coordination happening behind the scenes takes a genuinely safe workplace, and not everyone has one. In the wrong environment, the cost of staying quiet can be steep: with women turning down worthwhile trips – for their personal development, career and for the business itself – simply because of what’s happening at home. That’s not ideal.”

Better policies and systems

De Jager’s view is a practical one: the fix isn’t asking people to share more about what they’re carrying. Visibility only helps, she says, if a workplace receives it well – and in the wrong culture, disclosing too much too soon can do more harm than good. Instead, it’s about fixing outdated policies.

“Some workplaces can feel as if they’re structured around an imaginary worker who has no caregiving responsibilities and unlimited availability,” she says. “That person is increasingly rare – and was probably never the norm.”

Douglas’s research with the University of Pretoria touches on how important organisational support is when it comes to traveller wellness and wellbeing. Put simply, higher levels of organisational support lead to higher levels of employee engagement. This could mean offering employees an opportunity to recover after a trip; providing the necessary training and coaching ahead of key trips (including cultural awareness guidance, which can help travellers navigate unfamiliar environments with greater confidence and reduce unnecessary risk); allowing more comfortable travel (including premium economy or business class for long-haul flights); and ensuring that all the travel arrangements run smoothly. And of course, this shouldn’t just be understood – it should be written into policy.

De Jager says this might include:

• Giving travellers a say in flight timing, particularly for early departures or late arrivals.
• Giving travellers a choice in ground transport, i.e. a pre-booked shuttle or transfer instead of defaulting to the cheapest option, especially after dark.
• Choosing accommodation with safety in mind, including 24-hour reception, security and security cameras, key-card access to lifts, safe locations and positive reviews.
• Building in recovery time after long trips, rather than an immediate return to a full schedule.
• Canvassing cross-departmental input into policy design, so travel policy reflects real working lives.
• Flexibility to extend a trip so the family can join, where workable. Excursions, outings and leisure activities all play a role in employee morale and satisfaction.

For De Jager, none of these are radical. They’re achievable, and TMCs can help draft the policies, vet accommodation and transport suppliers, and negotiate corporate rates to help make it happen.

Closing the gaps

“A policy that books the cheapest available flight without factoring in who’s collecting children from school or covering an elderly parent’s evening care, isn’t neutral; it simply shifts a cost from the balance sheet onto the traveller’s household,” says Christelle Louw, Operations Team Leader at Corporate Traveller and mother of three.

“Companies must recognise that women bear a disproportionate share of caregiving,” says Louw. “But many men are caregivers too. If HR policies are routinely built around flexibility, and reflect the realities of the world today, it becomes a choice for everyone – not a special favour for a woman in a man’s world.”

This Women’s Day, the business case is simple: sustainable corporate travel is fair, flexible and designed for real life and real people.