13 minute read
THOMPSONS AFRICA EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
WHO WE ARE
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.
Thompsons Africa operates 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 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.
Our tour guiding professionals have honed their skills, with many holding university degrees in fields such as 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-andgreet, 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.
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. 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.
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.
At Your Fingertips — 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 downloading 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.
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!
Flexibility – We always offer options which provide flexible booking terms regarding unintended cancellations or changes in bookings.
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 abilities, the health and well-being of our workforce and guests.
OUR UNIQUE SERVICES
FREE SELL POLICY A unique feature of our product offering is a ‘Free Sell’ policy on all tours. Most of our Fully Guided Journeys can be free sold up to 30 days prior to departure and our Day Tours can be free sold up to 48 hours before departure. That’s easy and efficient!
INCIDENT MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE 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, 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.
OUR VEHICLES Thompsons Africa uses the latest and finest vehicles on the market, including Toyota Corollas, Mercedes Vitos, Toyota Quantums and Mercedes Benz Sprinters and specially modified open safari vehicles – all with the requisite permits. We select our vehicles very carefully, against a strict set of criteria, in full knowledge of what our clientele needs and wants. All vehicles are exceptionally comfortable and spacious, with full air-conditioning throughout and good sound quality when the tour director is speaking. With headrests, and ample leg and head room, transfers are comfortable, cool and professional.
WE DO TRANSFERS
Seat in Coach Transfers are done in a three-seater sedan, seven- seater micro-bus, 13 seater Quantum, or 18/22-seater mini coach with a maximum of three pick-ups/drop-offs en route to/from the airport.
Private Transfers are done in either a sedan or micro-bus, for a maximum of three or seven guests respectively, where you are transferred straight to your destination.
Luxury Transfers are done in a luxury sedan, for a maximum of three guests, where you are taken straight to your destination. Please note that with the luxury transfer, there is a luggage restriction of one standard size suitcase per person.
Vehicle Charter - Thompsons Africa have invested in some of the newest and best vehicles available in Southern Africa. Our fleet of vehicles is made up of the newest Toyota Corollas, Mercedes Vitos, Toyota Quantums and Mercedes Benz Sprinters. All vehicles are available for charter. Shuttle Services - Thompsons Africa offers a number of pre-booked fixed departure shuttles between key destinations.
Sun City Shuttle - OR Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg) to/from all Sun City Hotels. This shuttle departs four times a day at specific times.
Kruger Shuttle Hoedspruit – OR Tambo International Airport to/from 7 specific locations in the Hoedspruit area. Add-on transfers to/from the lodge would be required, at additional costs. Guaranteed daily departures with minimum 1 guest.
Kruger Shuttle Hazyview – OR Tambo International Airport to/from Perry’s Bridge Hazyview, Protea Hotel Kruger Gate, and Skukuza. Addon transfers to/from the lodge would be required, at additional costs. Guaranteed daily departures with minimum 1 guest.
View our vehicle safety measures.
View the Cullinan Holdings Covid-19 Vaccination Policy.
YOU ARE WELCOME
Welcome to South Africa! We are delighted that you have chosen to visit our beautiful country and we promise that the start of your journey with Thompsons Africa will be a First Class experience!
Arriving in a foreign country should be a celebration and our star team of Guest Service Officers are at the ready to welcome you. Whether you have been to Southern Africa before or it is your first time, you will feel like you have come home!
SILVER WELCOME, GOLD WELCOME AND PLATINUM WELCOME AIRPORT SERVICES Airports around the world all present their challenges, but with Thompsons Africa there are no challenges - only memorable experiences. Let us take care of getting you from point A to point B without any of the hassle. Guests can choose the level of assistance required to navigate our airports. We engage in face-to-face conversations with guests and discuss their journey ahead. Guests feel pampered and secure in the knowledge that they understand their itinerary arrangements, and that any questions or concerns raised, will be answered swiftly.
GUEST SERVICE EMERGENCY SUPPORT Even when guests have departed the airport our team are on call to give support when life’s mishaps occur! We visit guests in hospital or at their hotel to offer comfort and reassurance. No matter the situation, we have the experience to lend a helping hand.
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
Welcome board with printed guest names clearly displayed Hand over and explanation of travel documentation Assist guests to hired vehicles, transfers and connecting flights Complimentary bottle of water on arrival, plus a sit down liquid refreshment whilst discussing travel arrangements Assistance to airport facilities including foreign exchange, cellular rental, airport clinic etc. Offered in our centres -
Met on arrival on the airside by our ‘security-approved’ sub-contractors. AIRPORT SERVICES Silver Gold Welcome Platinum Welcome - -
JHB & CPT Only
OUR GUIDES
BY THOMPSONS AFRICA
Our NQF (National Qualifications Framework) and FGASA (Field Guides Association of Southern Africa) qualified permanent Tour Guides are the very best calibre of staff. Join them on one of our exciting Guided Journeys or Tailor-Made packages – you will be completely blown away by their knowledge, excitement and passion! They speak English, German and Spanish, and our wider network of Tour Guides speak most other languages.
All of our Safari Guides have completed additional courses enhancing their skills to ensure the best possible experience for guests. These include the Kruger National Park Orientation Course, a botany course at Skukuza Nursery by a qualified botany expert and some have completed the VPDA Course (Viewing Potential Dangerous Animals).
Our tour guiding professionals have honed their skills, with many holding university degrees in fields such as marketing, photography, tourism and education. They are the collective face of Thompsons Africa and proud ambassadors for our beautiful country.
GUIDED JOURNEYS
BY THOMPSONS AFRICA
In the arranging and operating of variable sized tours in Southern Africa, with set itineraries and frequent departures, Thompsons Africa leads the field. These packaged holidays offer something special, unique and memorable. Our tours have been operating since 1994 and we proudly claim that our service cannot be beaten. Our signature product, ‘Fully Guided’ means what it says: we do all the work, you relax and enjoy the experience, knowing that you are in capable and experienced hands.
FULLY GUIDED PRIVATE JOURNEYS
FOR FAMILIES AND SMALL GROUPS
If anyone understands family travel, Thompsons Africa does. We offer the perfect package: just the family or small group (four to eight people), a Tour Guide and the most flexible of itineraries to suit younger members especially.
The number and length of game drives, content and timing of meals, and length of the safari is entirely flexible so as to fully accommodate your needs. Lively kids? Nobody’s fussing. There’s no finer way for a young family, or small group, preferring a less structured holiday, to travel together.
We have a selection of entirely private tours for intimate groups of four to eight people, travelling with your own Tour Guide and Driver - a superb option for a 50th birthday party treat for esteemed clients, or simply family or friends who prefer exclusivity and privacy.
FAMILY MATTERS
At Thompsons Africa we pride ourselves in the many years we have operated as a family style business. It is an ethos that we are passionate about and with the average stay of our people being 7 and a half years, we are proud to say, WE ARE FAMILY. We are committed to ensuring that our reservations teams are knowledgeable and innovative and for this reason we invest in comprehensive training that includes not just destination and product knowledge, but also service delivery. Every day we continue to build on our solid reputation for reliability and unparalleled service delivery, striving to deliver the best possible guest experience at every point of contact they have with us.
As part of Cullinan Holdings Ltd. and as a member of the family owned The Travel Corporation (TTC), this ethos of family is carried through the group at a global level.
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®
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.
TreadRight Foundation
We are proud to be part of a joint initiative by The Travel Corporation family of brands, called The TreadRight Foundation — a not-for-profit supporting sustainable tourism projects around the world. To date, TreadRight has helped fund more than 60 projects worldwide. Learn about our project partners at treadright.org.
How We Tread Right (HWTR) is The Travel Corporation’s (TTC) five-year sustainability strategy, which sets the mandate on sustainability at Thompsons Africa and our sister travel companies. Our strategy is based on 11 measurable goals, anchored to the United Nations Global Goals, which were developed to address Thompsons Africa’s impact on Planet, People, and Wildlife. Learn about our goals at ttc.com/hwtr.
Through our foundation and our strategy, our three pillars of support are:
Planet – sustainability and conservation: ensuring that we’re protecting our invaluable landscapes and natural resources
People – cultural preservation: ensuring that the true economic benefit of travel is felt by local communities
Wildlife – protection of our world’s wildlife: while advocating for the highest standard of ethical wildlife experiences
OUR PLEDGE:
At Thompsons Africa we are mindful of the plight of wildlife across the globe and in Africa in particular. We are especially conscious of the importance of conserving our wildlife heritage. After all, we are blessed to be the caretakers of an abundance of wildlife that brings so many travellers to our shores. Thompsons Africa does not support any wildlife interaction that we deem to be unethical in either its purpose or in any way results in cruelty as a side effect. As a priority we ensure that we are 100% involved with our partnered wildlife organisations, and as a member of The TreadRight Foundation, we practise the promise to make the welfare of our wildlife our number one concern. Our endorsement of the SATSA Animal Interaction Charter further reinforces our commitment to an ethical approach to the long-term conservation of wildlife welfare.
