The vaccine rollout in South Africa is currently underway, with many people already fully vaccinated, making them more comfortable to travel.
That, coupled with President Cyril Ramaphosa easing level 2 restrictions, have prompted travellers to venture out this long Heritage Day weekend.
According to Cheapflights data, there has been a surge in week-on-week searches for flights by about 134% for the Heritage Day long weekend.
The findings were based on searches made on cheapflights.co.za between September 13 to 19 for flights with departure from any airport in South Africa between September 24 to 26.
Moreover, the data was compared with flight searches made from September 6 to 12.
Laure Bornet, the general manager of KAYAK EMEA, a company that manages Cheapflights, said almost two-thirds of all searches were domestic flights, with about 102% increase in searches compared to the week before the level 2 announcement.
She said the most searched local destinations are Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and East London.
"It shows South Africans’ willingness to travel locally. In the meantime, searches for international flights spiked by about 271% during the last week with Zimbabwe, United States and Mauritius being in the to," said Bornet
The surge for travel also affects flight pricing. Comparatively to the week before the level 2 announcement, the average flight price increased by 35% over the past week.
She advises travellers to monitor the travel restrictions before venturing out.
"Before making any travel arrangements, please make sure to check the current travel restrictions and official advisories of your chosen destination," she said.