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The Citizen
4 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Two South Africans, one laptop and a billion-rand travel company
What started as a casual party pitch by two young South Africans in London has grown into a global tour operator. Zakes Maritz and Carl Cronje started their travel business with just an idea. Picture: Supplied Two decades ago, two young South Africans were in London looking for something to do and figuring out how to make some bucks. Carl Cronje and Zakes Maritz did not exactly know the travel industry at the time, but they had an idea and decided to start a business anyway. A second-hand laptop and SA-style party So, with a second-hand laptop and a handful of flyers, Expat Travel was born. 'It's a fascinating story, one I like telling,' said cofounder Jakes Maritz. 'Carl and I were two young South Africans in the UK, like many of our peers back then, just looking for some adventure. 'He had a real talent for showing people around and said he wanted to do this for a living. I told him I knew everything about business. I didn't, but it didn't stop us.' The pair didn't know it at the time, because the business was kind of started on a lark, but the company grew and now the business is a global travel provider and, at least, they can afford several laptops now. But rewind first to the beginning. The flyers the twosome started with were not to advertise any kind of tour. It was an invitation to everyone they knew, and then some, to attend a party. Maritz called it a South African style party and between the Klippies and Castles they announced that they were starting a tour business. ALSO READ: A slice of bush heaven that delivers more than just wildlife It started small with visa services, leading trips themselves, working weekends and running operations during the week. Now, they offer over 150 guided tours across six continents and recently reported a turnover over R1 billion. No small feat for a pair of Mzansi boys. Not just for expats anymore Though the name Expat Explore stuck from the early days, it no longer mirrors the full picture. The tours Maritz and Cronje create are not just for expats. 'We see families, solo travellers, young people, retirees. The mix of age and culture works, even though some industry experts once told us it shouldn't. We do not just offer tours. We optimise time. We take the pressure off travellers so that they can enjoy what they came for,' said Maritz. 'If you've got two weeks to see Europe, we'll make sure you actually see it.' The tours Maritz and Cronje create are not just for expats. Picture: Supplied South Africa remains a cornerstone destination South Africa, says Maritz, is still high on international travel wish lists. Despite the headlines, inbound travel numbers are growing. 'We've always had strong ties to the UK and Germany, particularly around safari tourism. But there's a noticeable uptick from Australia and the US, too. 'Cape Town is a huge drawcard. It is a world-class city and the perfect gateway to explore the rest of the country and continent.' ALSO READ: St Petersburg's serene splendour belies a nation at war And the appetite for more is growing. 'After South Africa, travellers want to go further north. There's interest in Namibia and Northern Africa is picking up momentum, too,' said Maritz. 'Within South Africa, there's growing potential in overlooked places like KwaZulu-Natal. That coastline can rival Egypt or Turkey in the right conditions.' A mission to inspire and uplift through travel Maritz has also seen a marked rise in interest around socially conscious travel. 'Travellers want their holidays to have meaning. They want to know their visit is benefiting the local community, not just ticking a box,' he said. 'Cultural tourism is becoming a key part of the offering, often through food, local experiences, and yes, still the shows.' Then, there's another mission. He wants South Africans to rediscover their own country. 'Many have never been to Kruger National Park or driven the Garden Route. That's something we want to change.' It's about staying true to their founding idea that travel should be available to everyone, he said. Not just the wealthy or the retired. NOW READ: Travel alert: Two less visa-free entries for SA passport holders
The Citizen
25-04-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Put the knife in deep to save the economy
Was the VAT drama a triumph of democracy or a festival of political point-scoring? The fallout may shape South Africa's economic future more than we realise. There are two ways of looking at the goings-on over the on-off VAT increase. It's either a shambles, or a fine example of democracy in action as myriad parties – even those with minimal support – got in on the act, either for or against the hike. We tend towards the former assessment as it appears the whole drama was about political points-scoring and not really about poverty-stricken or financially struggling South Africans being put under more pressure. The accusations and counter-accusations, the back-stabbing and the name-calling were not the best advert for democracy, SA-style. Whether the DA's tactics amounted to extortion or not still has to be adjudicated and time will tell whether the smaller parties' initial votes with the ANC might backfire on them in the 2026 local government elections. However, there is a silver lining to this cloud of political squabbling – and that is that it may have been a watershed moment, not only in our democratic process, but also in how our economy needs to be structured to survive. ALSO READ: SA must ride on the new trade winds Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana needs to fill the R75-billion hole left by the cancellation of the VAT increase. And cost-cutting is, inevitably, going to have to be on the cards. But not just the trimming of the excessive civil payrolls or even the massive social grants project – the elephant in the spending room is the array of bloated state-owned enterprises that have jointly sucked up R500 billion in taxpayer bailout money in the past decade alone. Their failure has nothing to do with the principle of state capitalism – or, as many wrongly call it, communism – but with the fact that ANC cadres and their accomplices have regarded these entities as the trough at which they can gorge themselves. Those SOEs that cannot stand on their own feet financially must either be closed, or sold off to the private sector, taking care in that process not to damage the strategic interests of the country, or to leave it at the mercy of rapacious privatised entities, as has happened in the UK, following the large-scale sell-off of state companies initiated by Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. ALSO READ: Why the Zimbabwe disaster matters to South Africa There appears to be little appetite from proper business people for buying into, or taking over, these SOEs – look at South African Airways, for example, and its failure to interest partners, or even financial institutions, to lend it money. Part of the reason for that must be that they would be all too aware they would have to do some serious pruning of the deadwood right throughout these organisations. Given that the deadwood might well be ANC cadre deployees, they must realise they would get little support from the government or the unions in any necessary restructuring. Alternatively – and this is in the realms of weapons-grade wishful thinking – the government could undertake the closing or right-sizing process itself. If they could get that past the unions and the various party executive branches up to national level, then we might have a chance as a country. Imagine an efficient profitable rail system, power grid and port authority – but without an unnecessary 'national' airline – and the revenue and money saved being put towards a genuinely caring social network, from grants to free health care. That would really be a better life. NOW READ: China risks its moral high ground in escalating trade tensions
