Thebe Tourism Group has partnered with Chiefs Mobile Tented Camps and acquired a 50% stake in the camp, as a result of a joint vision to offer unique experiences in iconic southern African destinations.
Speaking about the partnership, Jerry Mabena, CEO of the Thebe Tourism Group, says: “We saw the quality in how Chiefs Tented Camps put their camps together, from the tents themselves to the professionalism of the teams and services they provide, and that really resonated with us. We also saw the opportunities presented in expanding their model into a more diverse tourism offering.”
Chiefs Tented Camps previously focused mainly on corporate group bookings and ‘big ticket’ events such as festivals, but the partnership will see the operation both diversifying its product and expanding geographically.
Allan Johnston, Co-founder of Chiefs Mobile Tented Camps along with Lysta Stander, adds: “We’re delighted about the partnership as it allows us to tap into the Thebe Tourism Group’s expertise and audience-reach. Being part of Thebe Tourism will provide Chiefs with the opportunity to expand our product into new frontiers as well as being able to deliver a broader offering to an ever demanding and changing marketplace.”
Mabena explains: “These camps often take as long as two weeks to set up and a full week to break down. The plan to enable camps that are set up for specific bookings to remain up after the initial event, to cater for other paying guests and to sell additional bed nights will make operations even more viable and exciting. Furthermore, the goal will be to extend the tented camp offering to other smaller groups and even individual visitors – much like a pop-up hotel that appears for a short period of time and then moves on to the next iconic location.”
Kruger Grande will be the first venture of this nature, seeing a luxury tented camp set up on a riverbank in the Kruger National Park. The camp will remain in place during July, and overnight stays will be sold in the same way that a visitor would book hotel accommodation.
The new concept of a collection of seasonal camps will be called ‘Imagine’. Crew, service staff and a full-time professional team will be drawn from local communities. “This is very important to us as Thebe Tourism Group as well as to the Chiefs Tented Camps team,” notes Mabena. “It is part of our corporate ethos to ensure the upskilling and employing of local communities wherever we have our own operations.”
