In a surprising upswing, South Africa has seen an increase in tourism over the last few years, despite other African nation’s conflict.
The Voice, a Francistown publication, noted that Botswana was now one of the leading tourist providers for South Africa. In 2006, more than 760,000 Botswana tourists traveled to South Africa, making Botswana South Africa’s fourth largest source market globally. Because Botswana shares a border with South Africa, and has similarities in language, it is an important market and should be targeted accordingly. And, to secure the future for Botswana tourists, the South African Tourism Office has invited a number of Botswana journalists to sample all some of the things they offer tourists.
Similarly, Travel Blackboard, an Australian newsletter, said that around 35,000 Australians traveled to South Africa in 2007 so far. This 6.7% increase, also makes Australia one of the largest tourist providers along with Botswana. Because both Australia and South Africa are in the southern Hemisphere, it is easy for Australians to take their families on when both countries’ schools will have vacation, and when the weather is similar.
With these increases, almost 900,000 tourists have visited South Africa in the first five months of 2007.
August 10, 2007 No Comments
Buying Airline tickets can be expensive, even when flying domestically, but it doesn’t have to be. Tickets prices can sometimes be unpredictable but there are a few tricks to make sure you don’t overpay. The first tip is to buy the ticket as early as possible. Sometimes, on an unpopular or half empty flight for instance, the airline waits until the last possible minute to sell the cheapest tickets. But usually, the earlier you buy the better. Anything less than a month in advance is going to be expensive. If you know about a trip six months in advance, book it.
Next, try to be flexible about flight times. Flying at 2 a.m. on a Wednesday is going to be significantly cheaper than flying at noon on a Saturday. Red-eyes and mid-week flights are usually always less expensive. Also, as obvious as it seems, book round-trip tickets in the same transaction, on the same airline. It is usually cheaper to do so, instead of buying them separately. When flying to a heavily populated area, such as New York City, try flying into the secondary airport. For example, instead of flying into JFK, fly into LaGuardia or Newark. Also, bigger airlines, such as American Airlines or Continental will be more expensive than airlines such as Jet Blue.
According to the AARP, the best time to book tickets from an airline is Wednesday from midnight to 1 a.m. in the airline’s original time zone. “That’s when the computer systems of most airlines get rid of the reserved but unbooked lower fare reservations. Most of us at one time or another have booked a reservation, and then let it go without purchase. Snap-up these discounted fares right after this happens and you’re likely to get a significant discount.” So, if you were to book a flight with Delta, you would wait until it is 12 a.m. Eastern Time, since Delta’s headquarters’ are in Atlanta, Georgia.
The most consistent advice about booking airline tickets, is shopping around. Don’t be afraid to book an airline you’ve never heard of if the airfare is cheaper. The more airlines and prices you look at, the more likely you are to spot a deal. Also, this will make you more knowledgeable on general airline prices for next time.
July 5, 2007 No Comments
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