Our Journey

Connect to the value of our experience

Collectively our family of brands has over a century’s worth of experience in the travel and tourism industry.

Our road goes a long way back. In that time, through acquisitions, mergers and new business opportunities, we have come to understand how best to add measurable value to our partners across the markets and industry sectors we serve.

Our history is evidence of the value of experience that our diverse brands bring to our business.

1901

  • Wilson Collins Travel is founded

1981

  • Welcome Tours and Safaris is started

1991

  • Welcome Tours and Safaris joins Micor Travel and becomes the second inbound leisure business next to Wilson Collins Travel. Micor Travel becomes one of the building blocks for the Tourvest listing in 1997

1997

  • Tourvest is formed through a listing on the JSE and reversing a number of companies into the investment holding. This includes the foundation of what Tourvest Destination Management is today, namely Welcome Tours and Safaris and Wilson Collins Travel

1998

  • Tourvest acquires Incentive Touring
  • Xhosa Nostra start-up is created to develop the South American market
  • Holiday Africa is acquired from Holiday Holdings to strengthen Tourvest’s market share in Switzerland and Austria, and at the same time broaden their European source market footprint

1999

  • Crown Travel is acquired to compete successfully in the far east (Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the P.R.C) through an exclusive agreement with GTA

2000

  • Felix Unite is acquired for its diverse entrepreneurial businesses
  • Oryx Tours, founded in 1968, is bought by Tourvest and is amalgamated with Trans Namibia Tours and rebranded as Sense of Africa. This is now Tourvest Destination Management’s main leisure brand throughout Africa
  • Sunbound Tours is acquired

2001

  • Safariplans is bought to broaden operations into Botswana
  • Welcome Tours and Safaris is rebranded to Welcome Tourism Services

2002

  • Tourvest buys Global Conferences.

2004

  • Tourvest Inbound Operations (TIO) is formed as a centralised support structure to Wilson Collins Travel/ Wilson Collins Travel Japan/ Safariplans/ Welcome Tourism Services/ Holiday Africa/ Xhoza Nostra/ Felix Unite/ Incentive Touring/ Crown Travel
  • Global Conferences is integrated into the TIO business pillar

2005

  • Wilson Collins Travel, Holiday Africa, Incentive Touring, Crown Travel and Xhosa Nostra join forces under a new brand “Your Africa”

2006

  • Vintage Africa is acquired to broaden Tourvest’s reach into East Africa and is the foundation of our three countries now trading as Sense of Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda

2007

  • Focus Tours is acquired by TIO strengthening the business in the Italian market
  • TIO is rebranded to Tourvest Destination Management (TDM), emphasising the specialisation of destination knowledge and product offering
  • TDM buys Event Dynamics, merges it with Global Conferences ultimately trading as Event Dynamics
  • TEAM Destination Management is launched to explore all the opportunities arising at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup™ and the 2010 FIFA World Cup™

2008

  • Silver Star Tours (SST) joins TDM, strengthening its position in the Indian market
  • Tourvest delists from JSE, is bought by Guma Holdings, Old Mutual Life Assurance Company and the Industrial Development Corporation Limited

2011

  • Tourvest Travel Services Corporate Groups, Conferences and Events division is incorporated into Event Dynamics

2012

  • Indojet Sports Travel is rebranded to TEAM Sports Travel, focusing on sports packages as well as school sport excursions and is further strengthened by the acquisition of Brothers Sports with the Cape Town Hockey Festival as its main asset
  • Wild Africa Travel is established in Namibia as part of Sense of Africa, focussing on the individual traveller

2013

  • SA Rugby Travel is started through a joint venture with SARU and is appointed as the official tour operator for the South African Rugby Union
  • Sense of Africa expands into Botswana by purchasing majority share in Travel Wild

2014

  • Silver Star Tours is incorporated into Your Africa

2015

  • Sense of Africa is given management control over Vintage Travel and Tours Services Limited in Kenya and Tanzania

2016

  • Event Dynamics is rebranded to Tourvest IME
  • The Strategic Meeting Management business unit is established within Tourvest IME to service American Express – Global Business Travel on the Africa continent
  • Vintage Travel and Tours Services Limited is rebranded to Sense of Africa

2017

  • Sense of Africa Namibia acquires African Eagle and expands into the French market with camping tours
  • Tourvest DMC is formed by consolidating Your Africa, Focus Tours and Welcome Tourism Services
  • The partnership with DERTouristik leads to the formation of GoVacation Africa as a joint venture, creating a PTY Ltd in South Africa and opening GoVacation Africa franchise offices in Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
  • Sense of Africa expands into Uganda with an office in Kampala

2018

  • The Global Immersions business unit is established to service the executive education environment

2019

  • TDM launches Sense of Oceans brand, after its acquisition of Mozambique Voyages
  • EfferVescENTS is purchased and joins IME’s suit of services
  • SA Rugby Travel secures exclusive rights to British & Irish Lions Rugby 2021 Tour as the official DMC in South Africa and sales agent in the ROW
  • TEAM Sports Travel is appointed as the official ticket reseller for the Tokyo Olympic Games for South Africa

2020

  • Tourvest DMC rebrands to Sense of Africa, South Africa, leading to a consistent brand throughout Africa for inbound leisure travel
  • e.DMC is launched to support and transform local DMCs through technology post-COVID-19
  • PureSport, PureSkiing and Team Sports Travel rebrands to Pure-Travel, offering ski holidays, international sporting event packages, school travel and leisure holidays
  • Tourvest Verified is launched as a health, hygiene and safety management service to TDM partners

2021

  • TDM offices move to Bryanston, consolidating all the Tourvest Holdings divisions into one building (excluding Tourvest Destination Retail)
  • SA Rugby Travel appointed as the official travel agent for the Rugby World Cup 2023
  • Cape Town E-Prix Travel (Formula E) joins the Sports & Leisure division as the dedicated travel agent to the Cape Town E-Prix
  • Tourvest IME joins the Tourvest Travel Services (TTS) environment to become the leading brand in the MICE sector internationally and domestically
  • Pure-Travel is appointed as the local GSA for Globus family of brands and Drifters Adventure Tours
  • Springboks on Tour launches in Europe, offering rugby fans tickets and packages for the Springbok End of Year tour
  • GoVacation Africa expands into further special-interest experiences launching SCUBA@GoVacation Africa and BLACK@GoVacation Africa
  • Inbound Leisure Franchising division is launched, focusing on acquiring new African destinations to add to the African footprint for TDM; introduces first franchise member, Sense of Oceans Madagascar
  • Journeys through Africa, a B2C leisure brand, is launched in the Sports & Leisure division
  • TEAM Destination Management (UK) and TEAM Sports Travel rebrands to Team Travel Management, a leading sports tour operator in Europe

2022

  • SA Rugby Travel is appointed as the official travel agent for the 8th edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town 
  • Tourvest takes on 20 leaners from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) as part of the Integrated Learning Programme 
  •  Pure-Travel is appointed as the official hospitality travel partner to the Simola Hillclimb in Knysna 
  • Springboks on Tour rebrands to SA Rugby Travel UK, as the official travel partner to the South African Rugby Union, providing tickets and packages to Springbok fans in the UK, with a focus on the end of year tour. 
  • Pure-Travel is appointed as the exclusive sub-agent to Cape Town E-Prix Travel 
  • Pure-Travel is appointed as the official operator for The Ocean Race in Cape Town

2023

  • GoVacation Africa launches GOLF@GoVacation Africa specialising in top golfing experiences across South Africa
  • Drifters Adventure Tours joins the Tourvest Destination Management environment
  • Pure-Travel is appointed as the Official Travel Partner for the Cape Town Marathon
  • Pure-Travel is appointed as an Official Sub-Distributor of On Location for the sale of Paris Olympics 2024 Official Hospitality Products for South Africa
  • SA Rugby Travel is appointed as the official travel agent for the HSBC Cape Town 7s 2023
  • TDM took in 5 UJ (University of Johannesburg) students to complete their Workplace Integrated Learning, and 3 are now permanently employed
  • TDM sponsored 10 unemployed youth to complete a 12 month learnership to obtain their NQF level 5 qualification in General Travel
  • Sense of Africa opens Ondjamba Hills Tented Camp in Namibia, which forms part of The Elegant Collection portfolio of properties
  • Tourvest Destination Management expands its footprint into Ireland through the acquisition of Rugby Travel Ireland