Africa product to put on your radar

Initiatives such as Zambia’s decision to halve the cost of its tourist visas can’t hurt. Neither will new experiences such as Desert & Delta Safaris’ Makgadikgadi Salt Pan Sleep Out, or 2021’s big-bang openings such as Habitas Namibia and Botswana’s art-filled Xigera Safari Lodge, which clients can finally get to experience.

Operators reporting 2022 bookings upswings include Gold Medal, where “January room nights, sales and booking numbers for Africa were higher than the previous six months combined” according to destination manager Diane Prendegast. “Most mainstream destinations are back in full swing,” echoes Candice Buchan, Rainbow Tours’ head of product, who advises haste to secure first-choice slots. “Availability is starting to become a problem, so there’s a bit of urgency around getting booked as soon as possible.”

Here’s a look at some of the trending product.

SAFARI, SO GOOD

Clients are making up for lost time, booking bigger and longer – a trend reflected in epic new offerings such as KE Adventures’ 15-day Wild Trans Kalahari Expedition, promising “hands-on adventure” in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe (from £2,695pp land only; keadventure.com).

G Adventures reports renewed interest in “big achievement-based holidays” such as ascents of Kilimanjaro, while Kathy Vigolo, senior long-haul product manager at Newmarket Holidays, is seeing strong demand for “wish-list holidays”, with African safaris the fastest growth area. Encouragingly, half of such recent bookings include an extension.

To satisfy demand, Newmarket has four new products for 2022/23, namely On Safari in Kenya; two new South African safaris; and a Madagascar: Red Island Wonders escorted tour.

“With a maximum of 16 in the group and small, open-top vehicles, the experience is set up for the post-pandemic traveller,” she says. “The accommodation on these trips is really unique too, such as Irene Country Lodge and Camp Bethel [in South Africa].”

BOOK IT: Newmarket’s 15-day Madagascar: Red Island Wonders costs from £3,056pp, including flights and park fees. Departing 7 November.

• newmarketholidays.co.uk

PYRAMID SCHEMES

Egypt is riding high, thanks to the latest archaeological discoveries from Saqqara and renewed interest in Nile cruises following Kenneth Branagh’s big screen adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. This year’s big news is the November opening of Cairo’s Grand Egyptian Museum. With 2022 also marking the 100-year anniversary of Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb and the 200-year anniversary of Champollion’s deciphering of the Rosetta Stone, there’s much to celebrate.

For Discover Egypt director Philip Breckner, “Egypt is a treasure trove that keeps on giving, with new finds almost daily, and it’s the best winter sun option for those looking to combine sun and sea with what the ancients created”.

He adds: “The upturn has been excellent, especially from the trade, with bookings coming in strong for the current year and into 2024.”

BOOK IT: Discover Egypt’s new seven-night Egyptologist-accompanied Nile cruise onboard Jaz Yakouta, a six-cabin dahabiya, costs from £1,988pp full-board, including flights departing on 26 September.

• discoveregypt.co.uk

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH

With its perennially popular Big Five game parks, world-class gastronomy and epic Garden Route drives, South Africa is similarly well placed for a UK bookings boost, buoyed by Cape Town’s bubbling hotel scene.

Diane Prendegast, destination manager at Gold Medal, lauds the four-star Kloof Street Hotel and recently renovated One & Only Cape Town. Premier Holidays, meanwhile, spotlights the freshly refurbed Winchester Hotel and new, contemporary-styled sister property The Rockefeller.