From groups and fam trips to new routes
We are constantly reminded of just how much what we do in tourism is dependent on incredible people doing amazing things. Whether it be special interest groups travelling with us and blowing our minds away with their exceptional talents and positive attitudes or the inspirational brands and agents we partner with to help get our guests where they need to be. Tourism really is a team sport and we consider ourselves privileged to be part of a truly global team of superlative individuals.
With this in mind, we’d like to highlight some great examples of why we love what we do and who we do it with, each and every day…
Singing their way into our hearts
We recently had the pleasure of hosting the Mona Shores High School choir from Norton Shores, Michigan in the USA on their South African tour, organising all of the travel arrangements for this inspiring group of students.
The Mona Shores High School Choir is directed by Shawn Lawton and enjoys a rich tradition of excellence in choral singing as well as a reputation for offering a diverse and unique menu of musical opportunities to nurture well-rounded, enthusiastic and skilled singers.
There are four varying levels of choirs that meet as separate classes during each school day, and this touring choir is a mix of students from each of them. The choir has travelled internationally numerous times beginning in 1993. They are known internationally for presenting “America’s Tallest Singing Christmas Tree” concerts each December to more than 7,000 enthusiastic audience members and they just celebrated their 39th season.
This event has been featured on The Learning Channel, The Travel Channel, National Public Radio, PBS-Under the Radar, USA Today, the New York Times, ABC News, and the Smithsonian. The Performing Arts Department at Mona Shores has been recognised as a Grammy Signature School and has earned the National Association of Music Merchants prestigious “Best Communities for Music Education” award every year since 2016.
So, we are exceptionally proud to be working with such a prestigious group of inspirational people, at the same time showcasing our ability to organise in-depth tours for special interest groups like this.
Indeed, SW Africa is a special interest group travel specialist and works with agents and operators across the world to create amazing itineraries for groups of all sizes and specialities. So, get in touch if you’d like us to welcome your group to South Africa and beyond.
Ethiopian + Okavango = magic!
The news that Ethiopian Airlines has started flying to Maun in Botswana from Addis Ababa, via Ndola in Zambia, has set the SW Africa offices abuzz. We’ve partnered with Ethiopian – Africa’s largest airline – for our latest fam trip featuring Czech agents, using its excellent Prague-Addis-JNB routing, so learning that this amazing airline is now enabling us to add its network capabilities to packages to the Okavango Delta and Botswana’s legendary wilderness areas opens a world of possibilities.
The new route operates on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays using the 160-seat Boeing 737 Max 8 and is just the latest development in this outstanding brand’s growth across Africa and the world. We are proud to be working with you, Ethiopian!
Greater Kruger and Mozambique, here we come!
We can now send more people from Cape Town and Johannesburg to Skukuza in the Kruger National Park, thanks to our friends at Airlink increasing seat availability on certain flights between these destinations. The addition of a larger, 98-seat Embraer E190-E, with its six business class seats and 92 economy class seats, means that connecting our guests with the Greater Kruger has been made a lot easier.
Airlink has also added a fabulous new four-times-a-week flight between Cape Town and the Mozambican capital of Maputo and its peak season service linking Mbombela’s Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport with Vilanculos in Mozambique is in operation from 1 July 2024 to 5 January 2025, offering flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
It’s so good to see Airlink going from strength to strength and positioning itself as the quintessential South African airline. It’s always a pleasure working with this exceptional brand and incorporate it into our packages where we can.
Check out some great package ideas that can incorporate these latest developments here:
Greater Kruger & Cape Town:
https://swafricadmc.com/project/kruger-safari-sabi-sands-cape-town-package/
https://swafricadmc.com/project/cape-town-winelands-kruger-safari-sabi-sands-package/
Mozambique:
Welcome to our Czech agents
We are about to host an amazing Greater Kruger region fam trip with a group of agents from the Czech Republic, thanks to our partnership with Ethiopian Airlines which is flying them between Prague and Johannesburg, via Addis Ababa. Kicking off on Mpumalanga’s spectacular Panorama Route with stays at Misty Mountain and Angel’s View overlooking the spectacular South African Lowveld, we are then moving down through the Northern Drakensberg Escarpment to the safari capital of Hoedspruit and its new Radisson Safari Hotel before completing our journey in the Greater Kruger wilderness at Simbavati Waterside in the Klaserie Private Game Reserve.
A trip like this would not be possible without the co-operation and support of all involved in it. So again, we take off our hats to our amazing industry partners and the agents who make everything we do worthwhile.
If you are interested in what we can do for you in the Greater Kruger region? Check out a suggested Greater Kruger package here:
https://swafricadmc.com/project/kruger-safari-timbavati-cape-town-package/