Cape Town named top long-haul holiday for UK travellers

Source: Traveller 24, 11/10/2016

Cape Town - Cape Town is offering the Brexit-hit British top value as
the cheapest long haul destination option for 2016.


This is according to the UK`s annual Post Office Report best value
resort chart, which sees Bali unseated as the top spot into second
place, followed by Tokyo in third place. The annual Long Haul Holiday
Report by Post Office Travel Money is said to be the UK`s leading
foreign exchange provider, "accounting for 1-in-4 currency
transactions".


After three years at the top of the best value rankings, price rises
in Bali mean the Far Eastern favourite has been overtaken by Cape
Town, which emerges as the cheapest of 34 resorts and cities surveyed
for the annual Long Haul Holiday report.


Using prices researched by long haul tailor-made holiday specialist
Travelbag, Cape Town proved the clear winner in the ninth Post Office
survey. Britons currently enjoy a R17.10/£ exchange rate. Before
Brexit the exchange rate was hovering at about R20.85/£1.


`Tourist prices 28% lower in Cape Town`
At £48.89 (about R836 at R17.10/£) for a `basket` of 10 tourist items,
including meals and drinks, the Cape Town is significantly cheaper
than runner-up Bali (£62.56 or about R1 069), where the cost of eating
out has mushroomed by over 50 percent in the past 12 months. As a
result, tourist prices are now 28 percent higher than in Cape
Town.


For example a visit to Cape Point (125 per adult), Table Mountain
(R255 return per adult) and Robben Island (R320 per adult), besides
the in-destination essentials as detailed below in the survey will
cost a total of £40 - and that's besides the City's excellent Blue
Flag beaches which are essentially free.


And considering that Cape Town is home to some of the best restaurants
in South Africa, with the city edging out a number the other 34 cities
by as much a £10 difference between it and Bali for a 3-course meal
for two including a bottle of wine - British visitors will score all
round.

(Long Haul Holiday Report by Post Office Travel Money)
'SA exchange rate extremely favourable'
Cape Town"The Post Office Travel Money Report is a respected barometer
for the costs of international travel from the UK, currently South
Africa`s number one source market. That Cape Town has been named the
best-value long haul destination goes to show that the exchange rate
is extremely favourable, not just for visitors from the UK, but for
those converting US dollars and the Euro too,"says Cape Town Tourism
CEO Enver Duminy.


"This year global currencies have been impacted by events such as
Brexit, but despite this, South Africa still presents affordable
luxury for international visitors. As long as local tourism-related
businesses maintain reasonable pricing, locals, too, will be able to
enjoy all of the experiences and attractions on offer, and the
exchange rate for locals may encourage them to travel locally rather
than internationally."


"Development in the city is also at an all-time high, with eight hotel
developments across the city that will provide thousands of beds and
employment opportunities."


Three new Marriott International developments will provide 500 more
beds and 470 jobs, in addition to the employment the construction
phase will provide.


Developments such as the Century City Conference Centre, Zeitz MOCAA
and all of the hotels indicate the levels of investor confidence in
Cape Town and its potential for growth within the tourism sector.


Duminy also states that there is no reason why other emerging
economies shouldn`t also be considering Cape Town as an ideal
destination for business and leisure travel, "since there are
increasingly more direct flights available as a result of the Air
Access initiative and increased capacity at Cape Town International
Airport".


But while local price rises of 30 per cent in Bali will compound the
impact of the weak pound on holiday wallets, competition between
shops, restaurants and bars in Tokyo has reduced local prices in that
city and cushioned the effect of a 24 per cent surge in the yen`s
value against sterling.


At £63.87 or about R1 092, Tokyo remains third cheapest in the value
chart but an eight per cent fall in local prices means the Japanese
capital is now challenging Bali for second place.
Tourist costs up 25% across all 34 surveyed destinations
The Survey suggests that although tourist costs are up by an average
of 25 percent across all destinations once the sterling exchange rate
has been factored in, Tokyo is among the 40 percent of resorts and
cities surveyed by Travelbag researchers where local prices have
fallen below 2015 levels to cushion the negative impact of the falling
pound.


Grand Baie, Mauritius (£83.70) made the Post Office top 10 for the
third consecutive year –proof that the island`s claim to offer
`affordable luxury` is well placed.Prices in Grand Baie are down 16
per cent on the costs that UK holidaymakers would have faced five
years ago.


Echoing last year`s results, Jumeirah Beach, Dubai was the most
expensive destination surveyed at £199.34 – over four times the price
for the same tourist items in Cape Town.


Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money says, "Costs may be higher in
long haul holiday resorts this year for UK travellers but the good
news is that local price cuts in many of the most popular ones will
help to lessen the impact of the weaker pound.


"More than ever before, it will pay dividends to do some holiday
homework before booking to find out where meals and drinks are
cheapest. This can make a big difference to the overall cost of a
holiday."