GLM TEAM 
Something has shifted in how South Africans think about getting away. The automatic impulse to book international, or default to the same beach town every December, is giving way to something more locally adventurous and much more intentional. Travellers are prioritising experiences that feel meaningful, restorative and rooted in place, rather than ticking off yet another generic resort.
At the same time, the old divide between “business trip” and “holiday” is fading fast. A midweek conference in Gqeberha or Cape Town easily becomes a long weekend. Hybrid work means it’s normal to add a laptop to the packing list and stay on for a few extra days. Guests are looking for hotels that make it easy to plug into work when they need to and unplug into leisure as soon as they can.
Wellness has moved into the centre of the picture too. It’s no longer a spa voucher bolted onto a hotel stay; it’s baked into decisions about where to go and how to travel. For many, the point of getting away is to come back feeling better in body and mind, not simply more tired and more broke.
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None of this happens without infrastructure that most travellers will never consciously notice. Biometric gates that process boarding passes at speed. Algorithms that rebook disrupted journeys before passengers arrive at the desk. High-speed connectivity and hardware that allow a guest to present to their global team from a quiet corner of the hotel, then meet friends at the bar 20 minutes later. The best travel experiences in 2026 are being built on systems that work simply and silently in the background.
The same invisible architecture is what allows people to treat work trips as part-holiday instead of a grind between airports: reliable Wi-Fi, comfortable spaces to join a call, and rooms that feel more like compact apartments than overnight boxes. When those elements are there, guests can choose one hotel that serves both the business and leisure parts of the trip, instead of paying twice for separate stays.
Take Gqeberha as an example. The Eastern Cape coast has always had serious wildlife credentials (it’s the only place globally where you can see the “Big 7”: lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, buffalo, southern right whale and great white shark). What’s changing is the supporting infrastructure – flights, roads, digital connectivity and accommodation – that makes extended stays feel less like a logistical puzzle and more like a realistic plan.
The Boardwalk precinct in Gqeberha is emerging as the natural hub for that pattern. It sits minutes from the coastline where marine safaris depart, an hour from Addo Elephant National Park’s entrance gates, and within a revitalising urban core of restaurants, retail and entertainment. It’s the kind of location that works just as well for a week of meetings as it does for a family stay tacked onto the end of those meetings – if the accommodation model is designed for both.
The Capital Boardwalk, which is set to open in the city in 2026, addresses a gap that’s been quietly frustrating travellers: finding accommodation that actually supports how people travel now. The property offers 145 units, including fully serviced apartments with full kitchens, separate living areas and laundry facilities, alongside more traditional hotel rooms. It’s an apartment-style layout that works just as well for a week of back-to-back appointments as for a long weekend once the work is done.
High-speed connectivity and flexible spaces mean guests can stay in the same room while their pattern changes: two nights of meetings, then a partner or family joins for three more days of safari and sea. Instead of paying for a business hotel in the week and a leisure resort over the weekend, one stay can stretch across the entire trip, which is a far more cost-effective way to travel and far kinder on work–life balance.
“We’re watching South African travel patterns evolve in real time,” says Marc Wachsberger, CEO of The Capital Hotels, Apartments & Resorts. “Guests are no longer thinking of travel as ‘either/or’: either I’m on a work trip, or I’m on holiday. They want spaces that let them do both. A guest might check emails in the morning, explore a game reserve in the afternoon, and still join family by the pool after that. Our job is to make that blend feel seamless.”
From the perspective of Lisa Sebogodi, MD of Batsumi Travel, the way South Africans buy travel is changing too. “Our clients are opting for destinations that give them more than one dimension. They want meetings and nature, wellness and nightlife – and they don’t want to switch hotels three times to get it,” she says. “Concierge travel services are surging in demand locally, and our affluent travellers want curated itineraries that reflect their values, respect their time, and still offer the space to rest.”
The technology you won’t notice
International travel is undergoing similar transformation. Cathay Pacific, while a global premium airline brand with a digital innovation focus, is pushing behind‑the‑scenes tech that aims to make journeys smoother and more personalised. Its ongoing investment in AI and automation, for instance, now deploying over 200 automation bots across operations, customer service, finance and engineering, means many pain points are resolved before travellers even register them. This digital scaling has supported a period of operational rebuilding, allowing the airline to handle first‑half 2025 passenger volumes of 13.6 million, up 27.8% year‑on‑year, while maintaining service consistency as network capacity continues to expand post‑pandemic.
Cathay’s approach extends to digital products that tailor the journey across touchpoints – from predictive recommendations in the app, to dynamic rebooking options, to loyalty platforms that recognise how and why a customer travels. For business travellers who are extending into leisure, that level of integration matters. It allows them to manage flights, work commitments and downtime in one coherent journey, rather than juggling a patchwork of disconnected experiences.
Wellness as standard
Health and wellness have become non-negotiable. The Capital properties have embedded wellness throughout their infrastructure: fully equipped gyms as standard rather than a rare extra, accessible outdoor spaces, and room layouts that make it easy to work without sacrificing rest.
“Wellness isn’t just about massages,” says Sebogodi. “It’s about creating spaces that work for how people actually live and work. That means a proper gym you don’t have to fight to access, outdoor areas designed for families and Instagram, and rooms where you can clear email in the morning, head to a meeting, and still make time for the beach or the wine farm by the afternoon.”
For The Capital, the mix of hotel rooms and fully serviced apartments is central to that idea. Guests can book a property that ticks all the business-travel boxes – connectivity, meeting-friendly spaces, proximity to commercial districts – and then extend into leisure time in the same space. That keeps travel more affordable, reduces the disruption of moving hotels mid-trip, and supports a healthier sense of work–life and wellness balance.
Sebogodi underscores that wellness is now integrated into the very essence of travel planning. “South Africans are seeking destinations and stays that support their mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. They’re choosing hotels that let them honour work commitments and prioritise their health, rather than forcing a choice between the two. The brands that recognise this – and build for it – are the ones that will feel relevant in the next wave of travel.”
The hidden architecture of 2026 travel may never trend on social media. But it will quietly define which journeys feel effortless, which hotels earn repeat bookings, and which destinations become the natural choice for travellers who refuse to choose between work, wellness and wonder.
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