Resort holidays and hotel stays in South Africa have long been seen as the domain of the wealthy, with many South Africans unable to afford a local getaway. Now, a township travel pilot is working to change that.
The project is an initiative by Dream Hotels & Resorts in partnership with TUU Post, a township tech franchise that brings new services, like travel, into community internet cafés and stores,
The initiative is currently in its pilot phase, operating across five TUU post stores – three in Soweto, one in Alexandra and one in Katlehong – and aims to put value-driven, experience-rich holidays within the reach of more South Africans.
Clyde Keevy, head of leisure sales at Dream Hotels & Resorts, says the company is looking to grow its footprint across more communities in the country to further expand access to affordable local travel.
“We’ve created a model that allows South Africans in every corner of the country to enjoy their own land in the style and comfort synonymous with a Dream Hotels & Resorts experience,” he says. “Residents can walk into a local business and book a getaway without needing a credit card, long-term contract or a big upfront deposit, which makes all the difference for households managing tight budgets.”
Stokvel-enabled travel experiences
The pilot intiative is built on the foundation of Dream Escapes, a flexible month-to-month vacation product currently offered by the company. It allows customers to accumulate holiday credits and top them up when they’re ready to travel. With no credit checks or long-term contracts required, aspirational young travellers, families and stokvel groups can benefit from a pay-as-you-go model that works with their financial realities.
With more than R50-billion estimated to circulate annually through stokvels in South Africa, the culture of saving collectively and planning as a group aligns well with the Dream Escapes philosophy.
“This market knows how to plan and save but just haven’t had the right resources or trusted channels to book holidays,” says Keevy.
The pilot also creates opportunity for local business owners. By embedding travel services into township businesses, many of which already serve as trusted payment and admin points, the initiative empowers the local economy. Store owners earn commission on bookings and can act as micro-agents, creating a new layer of grassroots entrepreneurship in the travel sector.
Blue Marlin All Inclusive Seascape
One standout property already embracing this new direction is the Blue Marlin All Inclusive Seascape, a refreshed experience at a KwaZulu-Natal resort. Designed to simplify travel planning, this all-inclusive model combines meals, selected activities and accommodation into one upfront price. It’s especially attractive for first-time travellers and group organisers like stokvels, who value budgeting certainty and curated holiday experiences without hidden costs.
Dream Hotels & Resorts is also trialling a lay-by style payment facility in partnership with the stokvel community, starting at the Blue Marlin All Inclusive Seascape. This flexible system, developed in collaboration with LayUp, allows guests to secure holidays through smaller, interest-free instalments, serving as another step in removing financial barriers to travel.
While the township travel pilot initiative is still in early days, it’s informed by insights from the repositioning of Blue Marlin, which was designed to attract younger, experience-hungry South Africans who are prioritising comfort, entertainment and value over high-end exclusivity. That same thinking now applies to the township pilot, which is already seeing early traction.
It also aligns with a broader trend, where vacation ownership is currently outperforming hotel occupancy rates in South Africa, with an average of 79%, according to VOASA in 2024. This signals a growing appetite for more flexible, long-term approaches to travel.
“Our work now lies in gently educating first-time travellers about how the system works, offering flexible payment options like PayFlex, EFT and now LayUp, and building their trust in an industry that has long felt inaccessible,” says Keevy. “There’s no reason why a young family in Soweto or a Katlehong-based stokvel shouldn’t be able to book weekend getaways with the same ease and joy as a tourist from Germany or Joburg North.”
* For more information or to explore Dream Escapes vacation ownership options, visit www.dreamescapes.co.za.