[imagesource:rawpixel]

Discovery Bank’s SpendTrend24 report, compiled in collaboration with Visa, provides the lowdown on South Africans’ travel patterns and trends, ultimately revealing the best time to travel.

The report covered the best days to hop on a flight between South Africa’s big cities, how prices have been shifting, and the spots Saffas most wanted to jet off to internationally in 2023, per BusinessTech.

Domestic travel ruled the rust, with South Africa’s ‘Golden Triangle’ – Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban – being the top location for local travellers in 2023.

Discovery found out that about 33% of their customers snagged domestic flight tickets to Cape Town, which dipped by 1% from 2022. Johannesburg scored 31% of the flights, down by 2%, and Durban held steady at 19%, matching the demand from the year before.

The financial institution also tapped into the trend of people moving from inland areas to cities along the East Coast’s Garden Route. In this vein, towns such as George, Gqeberha, and East London saw an increase in tourists last year, securing 6%, 5%, and 2% of all flight tickets, respectively.

Alright, now to get to what you have all come here for – the cheapest times to fly.

JHB –> CT –> JHB

The cheapest time to fly from Johannesburg to Cape Town is Sunday mornings at 5AM, while the most expensive time is Friday afternoons at 4PM. When heading back from Cape Town to Johannesburg, your wallet will thank you if you book the Wednesday evening flight at 9PM as it’s the cheapest option. But if you’re eyeing Sunday for your return, watch out for those pricey flights, especially in the afternoon at 12PM.

JHB –> DBN –> JHB

When flying from Johannesburg to Durban, aim for the early bird special on Sundays at 6AM for the best deal. The pricey flights happen to be on a Friday for this route, especially at 1PM.

Switching gears, if you’re jetting from Durban to Johannesburg, Wednesday nights at 9PM offer the cheapest fares. But if you’re eyeing Sunday, prepare for the wallet pinch, especially around 4PM.

Discovery notes that flight prices on busy routes like Johannesburg to Cape Town mostly depend on how many people want to fly. So, when demand is high, like during peak times, expect to fork out more cash compared to quieter periods.

As for overseas travel in 2023; South African travellers mostly flew to the UK, accounting for 23% of all flights, while Mauritius was the second most popular destination at 7%, followed by France at 6%.

In terms of the cost of flying, the price of flight tickets in 2023 remained stable and even decreased in some cases when compared to the previous year, except for international travel which ramped up in cost some.

[source:businesstech]