Standard Bank helped fuel South Africa’s booming travel spend

South Africans continued to travel more than ever as the appetite for adventure and leisure remained high long after the end of lockdown restrictions.

Standard Bank revealed that its clients spent tens of billions on travel in 2024, double the spending levels recorded in 2021, showing that the excitement of revenge travel had not slowed down.

A total of 32% of that spending went toward flights.

This included 1.5 million bookings, most of them by Private Banking clients.

Travel and tour operators followed at 26% of total spend and accommodation was close behind at 21%, according to Standard Bank’s latest travel insights.

Over the past five years, the travel industry rebounded strongly.

Bank data showed that 2023 and 2024 recorded the biggest surge as wanderlust continued to soar. However, rising flight prices placed a strain on many households.

South Africans remained determined to keep exploring and remained part of a global trend of increased travel.

Marriott Bonvoy’s 2025 Ticket to Travel research showed that South Africans aimed to take an average of 6.5 trips in the year, an increase compared with the previous year.

“South Africans were part of the global travel boom. Worldwide, travel surpassed pre COVID levels in 2023 and we were no different. But here at home, people were hunting for better deals because travel costs kept climbing,” said Chiko Manokore, Head of Personal and Private Banking at Standard Bank.

Flight prices rose sharply, with some routes such as Johannesburg to Cape Town reaching R5000 for a single one way ticket.

The increases drew the attention of the Competition Commission and Parliament, who considered investigating pricing concerns in the aviation sector.

Standard Bank said it wanted to help households travel more affordably. Manokore said the bank revitalised its travel offering in the newly launched Standard Bank Travel service.

“We wanted to help our clients grow wealthier by reducing their travel expenses by making flight more affordable,” he said.

From November, clients were able to book flights directly in the Standard Bank app and access discounts of up to 40 percent on bookings for themselves and their families.

The bank confirmed that the savings were widely available. Clients could qualify based on criteria including their card type and UCount Rewards tier.

There were no limits on price for discounted bookings, only a yearly discount cap based on the card a client held. Any number of local or international flights could be booked under the discount structure.

All flights in a customer’s booking qualified for reduced pricing, not only the Standard Bank account holder. “Most people did not want to travel alone. For many South Africans, travel became unaffordable if discounts did not extend to family and friends. We removed that barrier by offering transparent base fares and inclusive discounts,” Manokore said.

The bank planned to expand its travel service with new features to turn Standard Bank Travel into a comprehensive companion for everyday travellers.

“At Standard Bank, we understood that travel was more than a luxury, it was a form of building wealth through knowledge and exposure to different perspectives. It was how people connected, grew and created memories that mattered. That was why we remained committed to helping our clients turn their wealth into richer life experiences, by making travel more accessible,” Manokore said.

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