Remember when getting away felt like a vacation? Before trips became frantic marathons of tight schedules and endless travel logistics.
Bags were packed, the car was filled, accommodation was booked well in advance, and the destination was usually far enough away to justify the effort.
That idea of a holiday is changing, although perhaps not as dramatically as it might seem.
South Africans are travelling more domestically, while shorter breaks and weekend getaways are becoming an increasingly important part of the tourism landscape.
For small towns within easy reach of the major cities, that could be significant.
Professor Ronnie Donaldson of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Stellenbosch University, who specialises in urban and tourism studies and has written extensively about small-town tourism in South Africa, says the trend needs to be viewed with some caution.
“I think the answer needs to be qualified,” he says.
“There are perceptions that the traditional model of saving for one long annual holiday is increasingly being supplemented, and for some households perhaps replaced, by shorter and more frequent breaks closer to home.”
However, he says there is not enough empirical evidence to conclude that this is happening uniformly across the country.
“Rather than arguing that South Africans are simply abandoning the traditional annual holiday, it may be more accurate to suggest that domestic holiday behaviour is becoming more diversified.”
More South Africans are travelling
The latest SA Tourism figures certainly point to a growing domestic market.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the number of domestic tourists increased by 37.4%, from 9.7 million to 13.4 million, although the average number of trips per tourist declined by 7.2%.
Donaldson says this suggests that the growth is being driven largely by more people entering the domestic tourism market rather than existing travellers simply taking more trips.
“These figures do not, on their own, demonstrate that the traditional annual holiday is being replaced by shorter trips,” he says.
But the figures are consistent with a domestic tourism market that is expanding and in which shorter trips could become increasingly important.
And the pattern is not likely to be the same for everyone.
Higher and upper middle income households may continue taking their traditional annual holiday while adding weekend breaks during the year. Middle income families may retain the annual holiday but take fewer additional trips.
For lower middle and lower income households, shorter journeys could increasingly provide a more affordable alternative to an expensive annual holiday.
There is also the exception of visiting friends and relatives, as well as traditional journeys to former homeland areas to visit family and ancestral homes. This form of travel continues across all income groups.
Why small towns fit the weekend model
For small towns, the opportunity lies in their proximity to major metropolitan areas.
Donaldson says towns within roughly a one to three hour drive of a major city have a natural advantage.
“Location is obviously very crucial. Towns within roughly a comfortable one- to three-hour drive of a major metropolitan area have a natural advantage for weekend tourism.”
But visitors also need a reason to stop.
“Visitors are looking for something that distinguishes the town from competing towns,” says Donaldson.
That might be historic architecture and streetscapes, heritage, attractive landscapes, restaurants and cafes, local food and wine, markets, galleries, festivals or outdoor activities such as mountain biking, trout fishing and hiking.
“All these add up to a recognisable ‘sense of place’,” he says.
Cullinan, east of Pretoria, provides one example, combining historic streets and diamond-mining heritage with restaurants and cafés.
Dullstroom has developed its appeal around its cooler climate, fly-fishing, restaurants and country atmosphere, while Clarens offers galleries, restaurants, accommodation and the surrounding Free State landscape.
In the Western Cape, towns such as Riebeek-Kasteel, Greyton and Tulbagh combine food, wine, heritage and countryside experiences within relatively easy reach of Cape Town.
The KwaZulu-Natal Midlands provides Howick, Hilton and Nottingham Road forming part of a wider tourism environment built around restaurants, accommodation, crafts and outdoor activities.
The attraction does not necessarily have to be one major tourist attraction.
A breakfast, a drive through the countryside, a visit to a gallery or market and a leisurely lunch can be enough.
Small towns can benefit significantly
For small-town economies, those visitors can make a substantial difference.
“Very significant, yes, precisely because small town economies are small,” Donaldson says.
Even relatively modest numbers of weekend visitors can generate expenditure in accommodation, restaurants, cafés, shops, markets, petrol stations, tourism attractions and recreational activities.
“It can make businesses viable that the permanent population alone could not sustain.”
Visitor spending can also circulate through the local economy and encourage further investment, including second-home development and sales.
But distance remains important.
“An attractive small town two or three hours from Cape Town may be much better positioned to capture the weekend market than an equally attractive town six or seven hours away,” Donaldson says.
Tourism can change a town
The success of a small-town tourism economy, however, comes with risks.
“Ideally tourism should supplement rather than replace other economic functions,” Donaldson says.
A town that becomes too dependent on visitors can be vulnerable to seasonality, economic downturns, changing tourism fashions, fuel costs and extreme weather.
There is also the danger that tourism changes the town for the people who live there.
Homes can be converted into guesthouses, short-term accommodation and second homes, while property prices and rents can rise. Everyday shops may be replaced by businesses aimed primarily at visitors.
The historic character that initially attracted tourists can itself become commercialised.
Donaldson describes this as “tourism gentrification”, where a town increasingly serves visitors and affluent newcomers rather than its established community.
“There are small towns that prefer it like this,” he says. “They make money over the weekends and during the week they have the town to themselves.”
But the changes can sometimes be more unexpected.
“You now find padel courts springing up in some small towns,” he says.
A different kind of holiday
The appeal of the small-town getaway is therefore not simply that South Africans are travelling less.
It is that the idea of a holiday is becoming more varied.
Rising fuel, accommodation and living costs make long holidays more expensive, while a two- or three-night trip requires less money and less time away from work.
“A leisure break no longer necessarily means spending one or two weeks at a traditional coastal destination,” Donaldson says.
A weekend centred on food and wine, heritage, festivals, nature, outdoor recreation or simply experiencing a different environment can provide the change of scenery people are looking for.
For some households, these short breaks will supplement the traditional annual holiday. For others, economic circumstances may mean they increasingly substitute for it.
For small towns within easy reach of the cities, the distinction may be less important than the opportunity.
A steady flow of people arriving for a day, a night, a wedding, a festival or a long weekend can provide a meaningful boost to a small local economy.
The traditional holiday has not disappeared, but for many South Africans, it’s being joined by something smaller, closer and easier to fit into ordinary life.
willem.vdputte@nationalmg.co.za