HOSPITALITY

Reviving travel

HEALTHY TRAVEL

With severe lockdown restrictions eased and government’s drive to revive the local tourism economy, TREVOR CRIGHTON unpacks the loyalty and rewards programmes promising to make travel more accessible for the local consumer

COVID-19-related lockdowns that have kept international (and at times provincial) borders shut have not only decimated the industry, but also taken a huge slice out of the entire country’s revenue.

But as travel options open up, more locals have been taking the chance to explore their country. Recognising this, travel providers are increasing offers focused on helping the industry get back on its feet and making travel more accessible and affordable.

Brian Kitchin

TIER POINTS

Having suspended operations for much of the lockdown period, Comair has worked hard to continue to deliver value to its Executive Club frequent fl yers, who earn Avios points locally and internationally with British Airways. The company has extended the tier status of members to allow those with tier point collection end dates before 31 March 2022 to enjoy their status for another year, irrespective of how many tier points they earn. It’s also decreased the number of tier points needed to upgrade to higher tiers by 25 per cent until 30 June 2022. “For members in South Africa, there are benefi ts for collection and redemption, and the earning goes beyond air partners,” says Brian Kitchin, Comair’s executive for sales, distribution and marketing. “Members can also earn points with local partners such as Absa, Diner’s Club and Sotheby’s, as well as several international nonaviation partners such as Booking.com, Avis and Airbnb.”

Apart from being able to redeem “locally earned” points on international fl ights with British Airways, members can also redeem their points with global partners such as Avis and Avios Hotels. While there are currently no plans to add a loyalty programme for kulula.com passengers, they and British Airways operated by Comair passengers can access discounts through Discovery’s Vitality platform. Discovery’s Vitality programme, although branded as an incentivised behaviour change programme, does offer rewards, which are based on healthy living and positive behaviours, rather than loyalty.

At the beginning of October, Vitality CEO Dinesh Govender announced changes to Dinesh Govender the programme, effective in December this year. Vitality Travel is an end-to-end travel platform that will run within the Discovery Bank app, allowing customers to book and manage fl ights, accommodation and car hire in one place, while earning discounts by engaging with Vitality and Discovery Bank.

“We realised the need to change things to offer travellers value, fl exibility, choice and ease of use, and to reward them for engaging,” says Govender.

The value aspect continues in terms of discounts of up to 35 per cent for engaged Vitality members and up to 75 per cent for Discovery Bank members. “In terms of fl exibility, the team saw the change in search patterns towards smaller, self-catering establishments, so we’ve added B&Bs,

“MEMBERS CAN ALSO EARN POINTS WITH LOCAL PARTNERS SUCH AS ABSA, DINER’S CLUB AND SOTHEBY’S, AS WELL AS SEVERAL INTERNATIONAL NONAVIATION PARTNERS SUCH AS AVIS, BOOKING.COM AND AIRBNB.” – BRIAN KITCHIN, COMAIR

lodges and resorts to offer more than 2 000 accommodation options for booking,” says Govender. “We’ve also expanded our fl ight partner list beyond Comair to include Airlink, FlySafair and Lift, and added holiday packages, which provide great value.”

Vitality Travel’s fl exibility options now include being able to book international fl ights within one week (as opposed to the previous six weeks) and local accommodation with 48 hours’ notice, rather than the previous 21-day window. “We found that if we encourage people to manage their health and their fi nancial wellness, they present a lower risk profi le,” says Govender. “Those who are going for screenings, eating well, exercising and managing their money well are likely to travel more safely and responsibly, so we want to reward them.”

FAST FACT

The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that 100 million tourism-related jobs have already been lost globally, including nearly 8 million in Africa, due to the COVID-19 crisis.

BON VOYAGE

The Marriott Bonvoy hotel group – which includes Protea Hotels by Marriott, Protea Fire & Ice, Autograph Collection, Marriott and Westin brands – has a global loyalty programme and a local stand-alone benefi ts programme, Prokard Explorer.

“Members may belong to both programmes,” explains Volker Heiden, area vice president for sub-Saharan Africa at Marriott International. “Prokard Explorer offers dining discounts, accommodation vouchers and preferential rates on accommodation. Through the Marriott Bonvoy programme, guests can earn Marriott Bonvoy points on hotel stays and redeem those points at over 7 600 hotels around the world.”

Heiden says the company understands that the travel restrictions have been hard for its members. Marriott Bonvoy extended the validity of member status earned in 2019 through to February 2022, paused expiration of points until 31 March 2022, extended validity of Free Night Awards and gave members the option to donate Marriott Bonvoy Points to relief organisations active in COVID-19 responses globally.

“We’ve added benefi ts and offers for local travellers to help stimulate the industry, including family offers with 50 per cent off a second hotel room at certain properties, kids stay and eat for free at selected hotels, and the combo of 50 per cent off the second hotel room and kids stay and eat for free at others,” says Heiden.

Volker Heiden

THE FUTURE IS LOYAL

Heiden believes that loyalty and rewards programmes will play a major role in the future of travel. “Travel booking has become a much bigger decision, with more elements to consider and more expectations on the experience itself after a period of very limited or no travel. Consumers will be looking for the maximum value, not only in monetary terms, but also in terms of the experience for them – what they get out of a holiday personally.”

He says that giving guests a sense of recognition, added value and welcome will become even more important. “Existing members of Marriott Bonvoy already benefi t from this, in terms of upgrades and exclusive member offers and experiences. Rewarding our most regular, most valued guests underpins everything we do – and this will become ever more important for us and our guests as travel returns.”

Kitchin also believes that loyalty programmes will continue to play a signifi cant role in travellers’ choices. “They’re an important tool for airlines to maintain customer retention, connection and engagement while rewarding customers for their loyalty. We have many business travellers collecting and consolidating their Avios throughout the year, using their rewards to take their families on holiday.” Govender says that the natural link between health and leisure is seeing people look after themselves so that they can reward themselves with the chance to unwind. “We must encourage people to get out there and travel safely; we have a responsibility to back the local travel industry. Our travel partners have recognised Vitality as the country’s biggest travel agency – in 2019, our customers booked one million fl ights and over one hundred thousand hotel nights. So we’re able to help the travel industry, and our customers, in a major way.”

DID YOU KNOW?

A study by the World Travel & Tourism Council showed that the South African economy lost over R26-million every day while on the UK’s “red list”.

THE EFFECTS OF COVID-19 ON THE LOCAL TOURISM INDUSTRY

According to Statistics South Africa’s Tourism 2020 report, foreign arrivals dropped by 71 per cent from just over 15.8 million in 2019 to fewer than 5 million in 2020.

The report says the overall number of travellers (arrivals and departures) also decreased by 71 per cent between 2019 and 2020. The overall number of travellers decreased by 50.7 per cent over a 15-year period from nearly 24.6 million, recorded in 2006, to 12.1 million travellers in 2020.

Deputy tourism minister Fish Mahlalela says the department estimates that the industry has shed more than 300 000 jobs due to hard lockdowns.