Who We Are
THOMPSONS AFRICA... YOUR AFRICA TRAVEL EXPERTS
Introduction
With almost half a century of experience under our belt, Thompsons Africa is your highly trained Southern African destination management expert. Our reservations team is knowledgeable, innovative, and committed to exceptional service delivery. No customer is too big or too small and while we are big enough to buy well, we remain small enough to care. Our dedicated teams of sales, procurement and reservations staff ensure that our customers’ needs are not only met but exceeded.
Who We Are
Thompsons Africa is part of Cullinan Holdings Ltd, whose main shareholder is The Travel Corporation, a family-owned entity with 45 offices worldwide and an envied reputation for delivering quality, service, and value. We also have trusted, long-standing customer and supplier relationships that extend back more than 40 years.What makes Thompsons Africa Unique
Our History
With almost half a century of experience under our belt, Thompsons Africa is your highly trained Southern African destination management expert. Our reservations team is knowledgeable, innovative, and committed to exceptional service delivery. No customer is too big or too small and while we are big enough to buy well, we remain small enough to care. Our dedicated teams of sales, procurement and reservations staff ensure that our customers’ needs are not only met but exceeded.
Thompsons Africa is part of Cullinan Holdings Ltd, whose main shareholder is The Travel Corporation, a family-owned entity with 45 offices worldwide and an envied reputation for delivering quality, service, and value. We also have trusted, long-standing customer and supplier relationships that extend back more than 40 years.
As part of the global The Travel Corporation family, we are known for our reliability and financial solidity. It’s an ethos reflected in the fact that in a sector known for high employee turnover, our average staff tenure is ten years — a further guarantee of experience and professionalism.
Our dedicated Customer Zone can be accessed for up-to-the-minute rates, online availability, exclusive allocations and other creative and inspiring information, including a high-resolution image gallery, video library and downloadable brochures.
We can connect with you on multiple platforms, including our Thompsons Africa Online Booking and Quoting System as well as numerous XML/API Integrations, allowing for a seamless, fast, and efficient means of communicating and confirming services with us in real-time.
Inventive Incentives — We understand the specialist nature of the incentive business and are well versed in the logistics of travel in Africa. Our approach to handling incentives of any size is to understand our clients and their requirements and carefully match these to our products. It’s all about assembling the perfect combination of accommodation and entertainment to suit each group, delivered in an enthusiastic, personalised way.
Our fleet of around 170 vehicles ranges from sedans to two-passenger limousines, 8 seaters, 11 seaters and 15 seaters; luxury 44-seater coaches and 60-seater touring vehicles. This massive tyre-print across the continent also comes with a small carbon footprint and among our innovations is a water recycling plant to provide environmentally friendly washes.
Flexibility – We always offer options which provide flexible booking terms regarding unintended cancellations or changes in bookings.
Bespoke Travel — Because we tell it like it is, we are the experts in tailor-made FIT packages. Our handpicked portfolio of products is continually monitored with our own team personally experiencing them.
Our commitment is to ensure that customers get an authentic African travel experience, coupled with comfort and safety, to provide the holiday of a lifetime.
Group Travel — We are specialists in caring for series and ad hoc business. We design individual packages to suit the unique interests of school groups, sales groups, religious groups, and their like. It’s an innovative, seamless programme, implemented professionally.
We operate in the three main cities of Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, as well as from 11 reception offices in the Southern African region: Kruger Park, Hluhluwe, Hazyview, Malalane, Port Elizabeth, Knysna, Victoria Falls/Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Mauritius. All offices offer a team of permanent Tour Guides, Drivers and Guest Service Officers.
Our tour guiding professionals have honed their skills, with many holding university degrees in fields like marketing, photography, tourism, and education. They are the collective face of Thompsons Africa and proud ambassadors for our beautiful country. Our guides and reservations team guide and consult in all major languages.
The Guest Service Officers (GSOs) at four major airports meet and greet, assist with lost luggage, and undertake care visits when required. Our Customer Care Centre is available 24/7 to deal with any of your guests’ concerns and our GSOs are at hand, around the clock, to deal with any hitches or emergencies.
Free Sell Policy — A unique feature on all tours is a ‘Free Sell’ policy. Most of our Fully Guided Journeys can be free sold up to 30 days prior to departure, while our Day Tours can be free sold up to 48 hours before departure. That’s easy and efficient!
Our Guided Journeys offer something unique and memorable and after so many years of perfecting the product, these just cannot be beaten. With set itineraries and departure dates, guests will be fully guided throughout their journey.
As you might expect from a family-built company with a big heart, Thompsons Africa is about sustainability and giving back. To help shape the face of the future Africa, our goal is to ensure that the environment and communities we explore remain vibrant for future generations. We do this in two ways: through our TreadRight Foundation, and our sustainability strategy, How We Tread Right.
As part of Cullinan Holdings Ltd, we have a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan comprising of protocols, checklists and action plans ensuring, to the best of our ability, the health and well-being of our workforce and guests.
Finally, you can take comfort in the knowledge that when dealing with Thompsons Africa, you are dealing with a company with substantial liability cover, well above the minimum requirements, and a strong partnership with SATIB24, the continent’s leading incident management unit.
Thompsons Africa is part of Cullinan Holdings Ltd, whose main shareholder is The Travel Corporation, a family-owned entity with 45 offices worldwide and an envied reputation for delivering quality, service, and value. We also have trusted, long-standing customer and supplier relationships that extend back more than 40 years.
As part of the global The Travel Corporation family, we are known for our reliability and financial solidity. It’s an ethos reflected in the fact that in a sector known for high employee turnover, our average staff tenure is ten years — a further guarantee of experience and professionalism.
Our dedicated Customer Zone can be accessed for up-to-the-minute rates, online availability, exclusive allocations and other creative and inspiring information, including a high-resolution image gallery, video library and downloadable brochures.
We can connect with you on multiple platforms, including our Thompsons Africa Online Booking and Quoting System as well as numerous XML/API Integrations, allowing for a seamless, fast, and efficient means of communicating and confirming services with us in real-time.
Inventive Incentives — We understand the specialist nature of the incentive business and are well versed in the logistics of travel in Africa. Our approach to handling incentives of any size is to understand our clients and their requirements and carefully match these to our products. It’s all about assembling the perfect combination of accommodation and entertainment to suit each group, delivered in an enthusiastic, personalised way.
Our fleet of around 170 vehicles ranges from sedans to two-passenger limousines, 8 seaters, 11 seaters and 15 seaters; luxury 44-seater coaches and 60-seater touring vehicles. This massive tyre-print across the continent also comes with a small carbon footprint and among our innovations is a water recycling plant to provide environmentally friendly washes.
Flexibility – We always offer options which provide flexible booking terms regarding unintended cancellations or changes in bookings.
Bespoke Travel — Because we tell it like it is, we are the experts in tailor-made FIT packages. Our handpicked portfolio of products is continually monitored with our own team personally experiencing them.
Our commitment is to ensure that customers get an authentic African travel experience, coupled with comfort and safety, to provide the holiday of a lifetime.
Group Travel — We are specialists in caring for series and ad hoc business. We design individual packages to suit the unique interests of school groups, sales groups, religious groups, and their like. It’s an innovative, seamless programme, implemented professionally.
We operate in the three main cities of Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, as well as from 11 reception offices in the Southern African region: Kruger Park, Hluhluwe, Hazyview, Malalane, Port Elizabeth, Knysna, Victoria Falls/Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Mauritius. All offices offer a team of permanent Tour Guides, Drivers and Guest Service Officers.
Our tour guiding professionals have honed their skills, with many holding university degrees in fields like marketing, photography, tourism, and education. They are the collective face of Thompsons Africa and proud ambassadors for our beautiful country. Our guides and reservations team guide and consult in all major languages.
The Guest Service Officers (GSOs) at four major airports meet and greet, assist with lost luggage, and undertake care visits when required. Our Customer Care Centre is available 24/7 to deal with any of your guests’ concerns and our GSOs are at hand, around the clock, to deal with any hitches or emergencies.
Free Sell Policy — A unique feature on all tours is a ‘Free Sell’ policy. Most of our Fully Guided Journeys can be free sold up to 30 days prior to departure, while our Day Tours can be free sold up to 48 hours before departure. That’s easy and efficient!
Our Guided Journeys offer something unique and memorable and after so many years of perfecting the product, these just cannot be beaten. With set itineraries and departure dates, guests will be fully guided throughout their journey.
As you might expect from a family-built company with a big heart, Thompsons Africa is about sustainability and giving back. To help shape the face of the future Africa, our goal is to ensure that the environment and communities we explore remain vibrant for future generations. We do this in two ways: through our TreadRight Foundation, and our sustainability strategy, How We Tread Right.
As part of Cullinan Holdings Ltd, we have a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan comprising of protocols, checklists and action plans ensuring, to the best of our ability, the health and well-being of our workforce and guests.
Finally, you can take comfort in the knowledge that when dealing with Thompsons Africa, you are dealing with a company with substantial liability cover, well above the minimum requirements, and a strong partnership with SATIB24, the continent’s leading incident management unit.
Incident Management & Insurance
Take comfort in the knowledge that when dealing with Thompsons Africa, you are dealing with a company with substantial liability cover, well above the minimum requirements, as well as a strong partnership with SATIB24, the continent’s leading incident management unit. To further mitigate risk, we enjoy a strong partnership with SATIB24, Africa’s leading incident management unit led by a specialist team of doctors and incident managers who are on call 24/7/365 and provide a comprehensive management service from the moment a call is received.
