Plett takes top spot in visitor influx
It does not take much to notice that Plettenberg Bay is a hive of activity over December with vehicles and people buzzing around the small town, but this observation is now official after analysis into the travel habits of holidaymakers across the country confirmed that Plett received the highest inflow of visitors.
Data analytics group Lightstone analysed the data provided by vehicle tracking company Tracker, to see which towns experienced the highest increase in activity over the past festive period.
The data covered a large portion of Tracker-fitted vehicles from across the country – on an aggregated and anonymised level – to determine which areas showed the highest increase in traffic volume.
Lightstone’s head of commercial property Linda Reid said they looked at the coastal holiday traffic from two perspectives. Firstly it looked at which towns gained the most visitors, and secondly how much this was percentage-wise compared to the November activity. “Both perspectives tell part of a bigger story. For example, a large town could have an influx of many people but relative to its out-of-season size, that growth may not be as radical as that of a smaller town populated by fewer people than doubles in size,” Reid said.
When looking at the highest inflow of visitors, Plettenberg Bay took the top spot with an increase of about 180% compared to its November position. Mossel Bay came in second with a 150% increase.
Towns with the highest increase in activity compared to their November averages included Struisbaai with 358%, Stilbaai with 331% and Southbroom on the South Coast of KwaZulu Natal with 310%.
“Although the smaller towns show a smaller inflow, the volume of activity compared to their November averages are trebled. It’s quite clear that areas in the Western Cape seem to be a holiday destination favourite,” Tracker’s product and marketing executive Michael du Preez said.
Lightstone said using analytical insights into the mass movement of South Africa’s population over the festive period meant towns across the country as well as the businesses and retailers that are operational there, could forecast and better prepare for their December seasons.
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Source: Knysna Plett Herald News