The tourism economy is one of the best performing economic sectors in South Africa and is a dominant tool for economic growth in developing and transition economies. Following its recent spotlight on the world stage as the only African nominee, and winner of a World Travel Award as ‘World’s Best’ in its category, Hayward’s Grand Safari Company backs the Department of Tourism’s strategy to grow rural development through tourism with its 5-star leverage into the sector, promoting sustainable and cultural tourism with big group mobile expeditions to areas traditionally inaccessible to the business of tourism.

“The first question we ask our clients is ‘We have a 5-star tented Safari Lodge; where would you like it?” says Peter Hayward, owner and Adventure Extraordinaire who has been taking blue chip corporates, European royalty, Hollywood celebrities and Miss World pageants on authentic African safaris for over 20 years. `

“We promote the investment of luxury lifestyle tourism into remote areas and destinations where there is no hotel, no tourism, no international visitors; by taking large groups of affluent guests on authentic journeys into unchartered territory and connecting them to Africa’s heritage and local arts and culture never experienced before.

“Working with communities in these areas, we connect and trade cross-culturally, sharing traditions which pre-date the first Portuguese explorations and which originally opened the spice trade routes across Africa. Each bespoke Grand Safari translates to 400 tonnes of rolling equipment to cater for camp setup which includes 36 000 items from silver salt spoons to conference white boards, in remote wilderness regions. These are never to be forgotten lifetime experiences into natural and cultural areas tourism has never touched before.”

INVESTMENT AND SOCIAL LEGACY

As the only dedicated, 5-star rated mobile Safari operator on the continent with the ability to showcase rural areas for sustainable and inclusive tourism development across private business‚ government and the public sector‚ Hayward’s aims to work collaboratively with tourism’s economics and re-establish tourism investment stability for the continent.

Applauded by the World Travel Awards for ‘pushing the boundaries of excellence’, Hayward’s offers a niche tourism hotspot for high-end travellers bringing high value business and luxury leisure tourism to the far reaches of sub-Saharan Africa where visitors have an opportunity to leave a social responsibility legacy and offset their carbon footprint.

“We have the structure, tech capability, expertise and experience required, backed by a team of service orientated and capable people. As dedicated adventure specialists we pinpoint areas of sustainable eco and cultural tourism and paleo-tourism so groups may experience the region’s diverse cultures from proud Zulus nations to the nomadic San of the Karoo desert, creating relationships and storylines on the ground for local artists, musicians and the creative traditions of each country or area. Just as the guests have never seen such places and people, in many of the places we enter, its local communities have never seen tourists, especially at this level of engagement.

LUXURY MARKET ALLURE

“We cater to the celebrities looking for complete discretion, where there is no address for the paparazzi to find them, but they are still afforded a very real escape to the very best of Big 5 wildlife and bushveld experiences.

For the corporate market, each luxury camp provides the tech, conference and connectivity capabilities for 200 people which caters to the needs of the incoming MICE (meetings, incentives, conference, exhibitions) sector. The groups only other interactions are with the local people and the wildlife or through the world-class experts, astrologers and palaeontologists we bring in for themed evening events and enactments of the traditional traders camps.”

With South Africa alone, offering eight World Heritage sites, four areas are naturally or culturally aligned with Hayward’s mobile safari destinations, providing big groups private access across the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscapes to the far reaches of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and into the Kruger National Park, just one of South Africa’s 19 national parks.

From its headquarters in the Big 5 regions of Dinokeng, a mere one-hour drive from Johannesburg, Haywards caters to the Gauteng business and branding market with 5-star safari events and launches under canvas in the vicinity where seven Ndebele kings are buried and safeguarded.

“The Forever Living Projects Global conference event is just one example of the access we offer South Africa’s one million business delegates annually crossing our borders. We have hosted the world’s most celebrated African American talk show host with an entourage of over 150 leading celebrities on a #GrandSafari when delegates were on a fact-finding mission to invest in education for Africa’s youth.

“Locally, we cater to blue chip corporates such as Investec, Standard Bank, Toyota and Anglo America; creating think tanks and business environments or hosting Chairman’s Award or retirement events in and around areas such as Cradle of Humankind, where the world’s richest concentration of hominoid fossils lie, or anywhere along South Africa’s 3 000km coastline and all the way up to Namibia’s Okavango Delta, all prepared in total luxury, accessibility and style,” says Hayward.

AFRICA ON THE WORLD TOURISM MAP

“We want to increase this drive; we believe tourism is the engine of growth and development and has the potential to spur economic recovery and #WeDoTourism in line with the National Department of Tourism initiatives to grow contribution to the forecasted 7.9% of GDP growth, taking it to R499 billion by 2020.

In 2015 alone, business tourists spent R42 billion and the MICE sector created 280 000 jobs. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the US was the biggest market for business tourism in 2017 at 12.5% of total arrival followed by the UK, Nigeria and Turkey.

“With our World Travel Award recognition, we are assisting to place Africa on the map of the MICE sector and luxury travel market and we will be focussing our niche marketing efforts on attracting the crème de la crème of these world travellers to the unique mystery and magic of the Africa we know and love.”

TAKEOUTS:

Tourism is the world’s largest industry.

Globally, travel and tourism generated 1 in 10 of the world’s jobs in 2016.

Africa is set to increase its share of the global tourism pie by an estimated 7%, into the future through the Cabinet-approved  National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS) for 2016 – 2026

By 2027, international tourist arrivals are forecast to total 19,047,000, generating expenditure of ZAR271.3bn, an increase of 7.3% pa says the World Travel and Tourism Council, with the sector expected to support over 380 million jobs

For the sixth successive year, growth in travel and tourism in 2016 outpaced that of the global economy (2.5%) with direct Travel & Tourism GDP growth stronger than the growth recorded in the financial and business services, manufacturing, public services, retail and distribution, and transport sectors in 116 of the 185 countries covered by the annual economic impact research (including in major Travel & Tourism economies such as Australia, Canada, China, India, Mexico and South Africa).

Rural Tourism Development’s Social Responsibility Implementation Programme, popularly known as the SRI, is the job creation or the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) of the Department of Tourism with a targeted grant, aimed at supporting the development of community-based tourism, encouraging the geographical spread of tourism products with a bias towards rural areas.

For further background on the World’s Leading Glamping Operator please see following links:

https://www.haywardsafaris.com/when-all-the-rhinos-are-gone/ When all the Rhino’s are Gone

https://www.haywardsafaris.com/trending-growth-south-african-business-incentive-tourism-defined-world-terms/ South African Business Incentive Tourism

https://www.haywardsafaris.com/5902-2/ World Travel Awards: World’s Best Glamping Operator

https://www.haywardsafaris.com/5804-2/ How Top Companies Retain their Top Employees

https://www.haywardsafaris.com/winner-haywards-grand-safari-company-named-best-five-star-lodge-sanlam-top-destinations-2017-awards/ Haywards named Best Five Star Lodge at the Sanlam Top Destination Awards

https://www.haywardsafaris.com/industry-recognition-mice-professionalism-luxury-safari-expeditions-2017/ Celia du Preez Voted Top 40 Women in MICE

https://www.haywardsafaris.com/engaging-workforce-millennials-with-wild-event-experiences/ Engaging Workforce Millennials with Wild Event Experiences