An online survey commissioned by the worldwide yacht charter company, Sunsail, tracked over 2500 responses about luxury overseas travel preferences, and the results reveal that most South Africans want complete digital disconnection while on holiday; that they’re not that 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, 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 watersports 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 that the respondents are seasoned travellers, as nearly half of them (45%) travel abroad three or four times every year.
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 Aspire 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 1828 Aspire readers responded to the survey in a newsletter (total 2746 respondents). The respondents range from 28-60 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.
