Cape Town - Global flight and travel search platform Cheapflights announced the winners of the inaugural Cheapflights Travel Awards on Thursday night in Cape Town.
The awards recognised the best South African travel and tourism business and brands in a range of categories from the best local airports and airlines, to the best safari and wine offerings.
South Africans casted their vote for their favourite travel brands and businesses over the past month, as nominated by the South African Travel Massive blogger community.
With over 50 000 votes cast, Managing Director of Cheapflights Andrew Shelton said: “We were overwhelmed by the response and the number of votes that came in for our first ever travel awards. We want to thank everyone for participating, and congratulate them for being recognised as one of the top performers in their category.
“South Africa is a premiere destination, with world class offerings, and it shows in the numbers with international visitors to South Africa is growing by 30 percent year on year”.
Shelton was joined by a delegation of Cheapflights colleagues, who over the course of a three-day visit met with a number of tourism industry stakeholders and partners to better understand the South African travel market, and discuss the benefits of the Cheapflights metasearch products to both businesses and consumers here.
Cheapflights has seen a 69 percent increase in demand over the last 12 months, across its web and app platforms, and revenue growth of 131 percent - evidence, he believes, of a growing wanderlust in the Rainbow Nation: “The falling value of the Pound, and the increased competition that platforms like ours bring to a market, are all good news for South African travellers.
By giving them accurate and timely information on the best value flights when they are searching, we help them to make the best choices - simplifying what can be a daunting and confusing process, and giving them to confidence to make a purchase.”
The winners of the 2016 Cheapflights Inaugural Travel Awards were as follows:
Best Airport: OR Tambo International Airport
Best Airline Lounge: Emirates at Cape Town International
Best Local Airline: South African Airways
Best Airline in Africa: Air Namibia
Best International Airline: Emirates
Best Car Hire: Avis
Best Hotel Chain: Tsogo Sun
Best Independent/City Boutique Hotel: One & Only Cape Town
Best Attraction/Experience: Table Mountain
Best Safari/Lodge Experience: Sabi Sands Game Reserve
Best Wine Farm Experience: Spier in Stellenbosch
Adapted from a press release for IOL