Property Newsletter | October 2022

Leisure activity recovers slowly

from Covid-19

South Africans are returning to their pre Covid-19 leisure activities – but in some cases the recovery is uneven, with four out of the six categories that Lightstone has assessed regressing in the 12 months to June 2022.

None of the six leisure activities assessed – Entertainment, Holiday, Recreational sport, Stadium, Airports and Nightlife – have yet to reach their 2019 levels.

Lightstone aggregates telemetry activity – stops by anonymised telemetered vehicles – within 50 metres of the central point of 35 000 sites every June. While Lightstone’s telemetry analytics typically zones in on in-carpark activity via pre-constructed geofences around malls and petrol stations, data can also be accessed to understand activity that takes place in the general vicinity of different un-geofenced locations. In such cases* we use an approximation of a radial reach around a map point to make an assumption.

We have examined data from the vicinity of 35 000 different locations belonging to six broad un-geofenced location types related to what we do during our leisure time and it shows (graph below) that none of the six types have returned to 2019 levels (ie all remain below 100%). However, activity at airports (67% of 2019 levels) and stadia (90% of 2019 levels) have continued their recovery into 2022, while activity at entertainment venues, holiday accommodation, nightlife and recreational sport facilities have all dropped in 2022 after rallying in 2021.

June activity levels around sites (relative to June 2019)

The insights into the data sub-categories (see below) suggest people still prefer smaller outdoor establishments over larger indoor ones with B&B and camping sites recovering more than resorts and hotels. Likewise outdoor sports are preferred to indoor fitness and dance centres. Theatres, concert halls, zoos and aquariums remain the least recovered entertainment venues.

June 2022 recovery against June 2019

Does this suggest a delayed return to pre-Covid activity, or a permanent change in consumer behaviour?

Lightstone can identify visitor patterns across any element of interest, helping companies identify who is visiting what leisure venues, and when. For example, a company may want to know more about activity split between weekdays and weekends, or between night and day activity.

Lightstone works with a full range of companies across different industries to assess and package the wide range of data that they have, according to specific client needs.

For more information about how Lightstone can help future-fit your strategy, contact info@lightstone.co.za using the subject line: Please put me in touch with the Location & Commerce sales team.