SOUTH AFRICA. Tourvest has extended its retail concession with South Africa National Parks for a further 10 years. The contract covers 14 stores and 4,721sq m of retail space offering destination merchandise and groceries to the 1.5 million visitors to Tsitsikamma, Addo and Kruger National Parks each year.
Under the contract, Tourvest uses its destination merchandise experience to produce goods using the intellectual capital of each park. While Kruger is famous for lions, Addo is known for elephant conservation and Tsitsikamma for whales and other sea life.
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Tourvest produces destination merchandise using the intellectual capital of each park. |
Tourvest has created a library of artwork by well-known wildlife illustrators, which it applies to unique product ranges specific to a particular destination. Products include outdoor clothing, maps and guides, gifts, reference books, cameras and accessories and camping products.
The contract also includes groceries for park visitors. Tourvest CEO Travel Retail Eric de Jager told The Moodie Report that operating in the vast, remote parks offers a unique set of challenges, and demands strong capabilities in logistics, technology and staffing.
The stores are designed to suit their environments, with natural light minimising electricity usage. Birding, wildlife and photographic specialists hold informal discussions in the larger shops on a regular basis, while children are entertained with story-telling on animal themes.
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Gifts and clothing items are among products offered at 14 stores across three parks. |
Tourvest also invests in the often poverty-stricken local communities around the parks. One community project involves recycling glass bottles from lodges into beads, which are then sold as bracelets and necklaces in Tourvest’s shops. The project employs 10 women, and Tourvest estimates that it contributes to the livelihood of 60 people.
De Jager explained that the contract was part of the South African government’s strategy of using private enterprise skills in the public domain. He said: “Tourvest is acknowledged as the most successful of the public-private partnerships in terms of the rental it generates for the South African National Parks.”
As well as its Out of Africa destination merchandise retail operation at Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport, Tourvest also operates destination merchandise businesses across many hotels, resorts and national heritage sites in South Africa.
