Cheapflights.co.uk has revealed the fifth and final instalment of its Rising Stars series.
Following reports on North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania and South America, we’ve turned our attention to Africa.
We’ve analysed the search data from the first six months of 2009 and 2010 and compiled the results into a table of the 100 risers.
The Africa Popularity Index shows the 100 most frequently searched destinations in Africa according to their change in popularity over 2009.
There is a noted World Cup effect; searches for flights to Bloemfontein, where England played Germany in the early rounds of the tournament, have increased by 386 per cent. Port Elizabeth (site of England v Slovenia) searches have seen an increase of 37 per cent while searches for flights to Cape Town (where England played Algeria) remained steady, with no increase between 2009 and 2010.
Other cities in South Africa feature prominently in the list, highlighting South Africa’s emergence as an attractive destination for travellers. Port Elizabeth, George, Durban, East London, Pietermaritzburg, Nelspruit, Johannesburg, Richards Bay and Hoedspruit are all rising stars.
Phalaborwa, the city that borders the Kruger National Park, is the only South Africa destination to have seen a decline (-20 per cent) in searches.
