Africa beckons

Africa Beckons is not only is one of South Africa's Leading Inbound Tour Operators, but has also offset over 250 000 kilograms of Carbon Dioxide emissions from their guest's travels in the past year alone. Just one reason why you should consider them as your tour operator of choice for a reservation in Southern Africa.

Amidst the many inbound tour operators within South Africa, Africa Beckons stands out in its mission to help ensure the uplift of local communities and preservation of the local environment, by making use of suppliers and service providers that have tangible environmental, social and ecological fields within their businesses.

Africa Beckons is a travel wholesaler that concentrates on delivering private and personalized customized travel requirements to clientele looking to experience South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Swaziland, Lesotho, the Indian Ocean Islands as well as East Africa. Their core focus is world-class service for the individual, family markets as well as small private groups looking to take home experiences and memories of their recent journeys.

Besides offering their unique range of travel related services to guests, Africa Beckons also has a firm commitment to better the environment and to encourage other travel related service providers to do the same. One such area is their calculating the Carbon Footprint (how much Carbon Dioxide is released into the environment as a result of air travel for example) of every guest’s travel itinerary. Africa Beckons set aside a relative portion of their profits in order to buy local, indigenous trees.

These trees are in turn planted in local communities around South Africa, which assist in offsetting the impact of this Green House emission gas. It is anticipated that over time the funds collected in this way will also enable the company to purchase and rehabilitate land that is currently being used in a non-sustainable manner. In the last 12 months Africa Beckons estimates to have offset at least 250 000 kilograms of Carbon Dioxide through the traveling of guests in the region.

Headed up by active South African tourism industry member, Hilton Walker, Africa Beckons prides itself in being able to offer travelers preferential rates and specific added value in all realms of tourism, ranging from car hire and luxury train itineraries to privately guided safaris, personalized fly in safaris, accommodation, sightseeing and more.

Walker has been involved in the tourism industry for over 13 years, having been actively involved in most facets of the trade including product development, marketing, procurement, local and international sales as well as finance and strategic leadership.

He is active within SATSA (Southern Africa Tourism Services Association), elected on the Kwa-Zulu Natal Chapter for 2007/8, as well as having also served on the National EXCO board in the past, which has enabled him to direct, influence and guide the development of industry relations, norms and guidelines.

“I believe that Africa Beckons will continue to be recognized as a leader within our own field of expertise in the travel arena of wholesale tour operators,” says Walker.

“Although we want to get as much support as possible from all the players within the industry, we want to ensure that the development and implementation of the upliftment and development aims of our government, occurs on a grassroots and sustainable basis. As a result we prefer to deal with suppliers who do more than merely pay lip service to community and environmental involvement,” he says.

Africa Beckons is based in Durban. Visit Africabeckons.com for further information.