An online survey commissioned by the worldwide yacht charter company Sunsail tracked over 2 500 responses about luxury overseas travel preferences, and the results reveal most South Africans want complete digital disconnection while on holiday; that they’re not as bothered about sun seeking – opting rather for getting closer to nature and feeling the elements; and that they want to have total privacy in remote destinations.
South Africans literally want to get away from it all: from their lives and from people generally. They want nature, they want to feel the wind in their hair, and they want to experience new things – but not necessarily with a load of other people.
They want to explore and go to exotic places, with over half of the sample (55%) choosing Greece, the Mediterranean and the Maldives islands as their ultimate desired destination.
They also want luxury mixed with a touch of adventure and cultural immersion, but most of all they want to relax and get close to nature (65%).
While many want what sailing holidays offer them, it’s the attendant benefits that most appeal to them, with 80% of the respondents wanting to explore islands, indulge in water sports and swimming, and to spend time wildlife spotting (80%) i.e. just 20% said they would like to focus on the actual sailing itself. They want to relax in luxury (60%), and this should be balanced with the option to indulge in some adventure and cultural and culinary experiences.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents want to explore remote areas, and half of the sample want total privacy – with a staggering 80% wanting to disconnect from technology altogether.
The survey revealed the respondents are seasoned travellers, as nearly half of them (45%) travel abroad three or four times every year.
Over three-quarters of the total sample has been on past sailing holidays and would be keen to repeat the experience. The memories they choose to bank on their holidays tend to be logged as pictures of landscapes, wildlife and nature, local culture and food (65%), and just 30% said they take and share pictures of themselves and family on holiday.
With relaxation being the primary desire for a holiday, South Africans do like a mix of adventure and cultural encounter. Interestingly, only 10% cited sunshine as being something they would want on their holiday and even less are bothered about gazing at the horizon (5%).
Sunsail marketing manager for UK, ZA and AU, Caroline Barbour, says the results have thrown up a few surprises in terms of the South African market. “At Sunsail, we obviously know our audiences, but we believe it’s important to find out more about what people want from their sailing experiences. This survey has given us an insight into how South Africans consider their options. We can help them by highlighting the remote destinations and by specifically promoting all the privacy and luxury elements they may want.
“The only cautionary piece of advice we would offer is that they need to check out and apply for all the necessary visa requirements for certain destinations around the world… and then we can do the rest for them.”
Sunsail commissioned the research through AspireLifestyle Magazine and NUE Publishing to establish the destinations and type of holiday luxury South African travellers are looking for. A total of 918 respondents completed the online survey and a total of 1 828 Aspire readers responded to the survey in a newsletter (total 2 746 respondents). The respondents range from 28 to 60 years of age; 65% of female; 35% male.
It was established that women book and often choose the holidays for the family and that most travel with their partner and/or friends (70%); only 15% would do a sailing holiday with children; and just 10% would travel solo.
