Original Story Published by: Fundisiwe Maseko for IT News Africa
Data released by the hospitality community, Airbnb, reveals that guests are travelling off the beaten track, to towns and cities others often overlook. According to the data, Bloemfontein, South Africa’s judicial capital, has tripled the number of guest arrivals in an Airbnb listed home compared to summer 2016/2017. As expected, South Africa is still the country with the most guest arrivals on Airbnb with a 60% increase in inbound guests compared to last summer.
Pretoria saw a 177% increase in guests on Airbnb while Grahamstown went up by 155%, proving that inland travel in South Africa is giving coastal destinations a run for their money. That said, Cape Town still reigns supreme with the third-most guests of any city in the southern hemisphere, behind only Sydney and Melbourne.
New Year’s Eve was not only the biggest night for Airbnb globally but also for South Africa. Roughly 40 000 guests booked an Airbnb home somewhere in the country to ring in the New Year in style – a new record for SA.
But it’s the tale of the rest of Africa than illustrates accommodation sharing’s true impact on the continent. Egypt saw a 134% increase in guest arrivals compared to last summer, with two of its cities seeing the biggest percentage growth.
To read the full article, visit IT News Africa.
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