BY Aurelia Mbokazi-Kashe
An astounding study that revealed that under 6% of South Africans get to see their country as tourists prompted Gugu Sithole, CEO of Glamping Adventures, to come up with a perfect product for previously disenfranchised South Africans to travel. Glamping Adventures has grown into a fierce movement of women who camp in style and take on all kinds of adventures that were deemed to be out of their reach.
I have always been a keen traveller. Whenever I travelled around the country, I was struck by how certain communities that were part of remarkable tourism assets seemed excluded from experiencing them and were merely spectators. I wanted to do something and include them.
I came across a study that said out of the 60 million South Africans (at the time), only 3,5 million could travel domestically. We needed to come up with a product that was affordable and would cater to this large population that had no access to travel.
My business partner and I founded Glamping Adventures, a fusion of camping and glam travel in 2019. At that time few people spoke of glamping, we popularized it in South Africa. Our aim was to get as many people to discover their country and promote SA as a destination for citizens to experience their own backyard.
Camping was cheaper and would allow us to unlock travel. We also appreciated that our target market doesn’t own camping gear. So we bought the equipment and glammed it up by bringing in creature comforts such as electricity, beds, wi-fi, running hot water with a range of activities that take them out to nature. All our packages are inclusive of all meals and activities. For example, in the Drakensberg we would include hiking, zipline tours, horse riding, and river rafting as some of our activities.
Our travellers are 98% black, female, professionals, aged between the ages of 22 to 55. We have lawyers, doctors, life coaches, and entrepreneurs coming to our trips. This shows that it is females that are traveling and men come to our trips as partners.
Our clients range from solo travellers, to couples, families , and small groups of friends. With my corporate events and marketing experience, I use my background to curate the full experience for our guests, ensuring that they don’t lift a finger and savour the experience. On each trip, we gather around the campfire for welcome drinks and introductions and get to know each other’s stories.
Each trip we take less than 50 people to ensure that we connect with everyone, know their name and give them personal attention. Once groups become too big you lose those important connections and we don’t want that. However, for corporates and team retreats we take more.
Glamping Adventures has become a movement and a lifestyle. The majority of the guests who travel with us become repeat clients and follow us around the country. They always want more. They inspired our growth and asked us to expand our trips beyond SA’s borders.
We have grown and curated regional and international trips to Namibia, Zanzibar, Victoria Falls, Vilanculos in Mozambique, and Bali. We also extended our offering to private groups of travellers who want an exclusive experience. We offer different packages for different budgets from affordable up to 5 stars. We also partner with permanent glamping facilities around the country to curate experiences. These could be in caves, or see-through pods – they offer our guests unique experiences. We are also establishing our very first permanent glamping site in Magaliesburg.
Most of our guests are conservationists and impact travellers who want to make a difference. They actively participate in our host community outreach programmes such as planting trees or distributing sanitary towels or clothes to children at school, as part of activities during their weekend getaway.
We are intentional about supporting our host communities and create employment in all the destinations we travel to. We employ locals to put up our tents and help us to prepare food for our guests. We use local guides who know the trails very well, to guide us on hikes. We also include a stop to view and buy artwork made by locals. Local women come to perform at camp and these sessions become interactive. We also train locals youths in in storytelling through the Glamping Foundation. Personally, I feel fulfilled for playing a role in changing and empowering someone’s life, no matter how small.
The stories that come from these trips are heartwarming. Some people are going through the most and use our trips to getaway and fill their cups. We’ve watched life coaches counsel fellow travelers. The networking opportunities have been absolutely amazing. I have found myself surrounded by a network of females who want to see others succeed. We have suppliers and also source services from people who came on as guests.
Our biggest challenge are fly-by-night travel agents that scam people and give our industry a bad name. These sprout up everywhere, its a cause for concern. I learn of a black operator who has disappeared with people’s money frequently. I am working towards empowering travelers with information on what to look for in a travel agent before parting with their money.
All-inclusive weekend packages are from R3250 per person sharing or R3500 for a single occupancy tent For more information visit www.glamping-adventures.co.za
