Face to Face: Vivian McCarthy, Acacia Africa

Kenya was in the news a lot a few months ago due to the airport fire and Westgate shopping centre attack. How, if at all, did these incidents affect tourism and your business?

What happened there is tragic and unbelievable but from the tourist point of view it hasn’t really affected things.

Our tours and groups continue to run and we’ve had no cancellations.

The shopping mall was not a tourist place and not very many of our customers, or really any tour operators’ customers, would go there. Many head for the safaris and markets as they want to see something more authentic.

It was not a tourist target but still nevertheless an event.

The airport fire has also seen little change; the terminal and airport building has been moved for now but you wouldn’t know otherwise as everything just works.

They’ve coped with the fire very well and I’ve been there several times since and flights have been full. Security is evident but not intrusive.

Nairobi has grown hugely and has traffic problems but it has improved and it is generally conscious of the UK market.

Acacia Africa launched a new brochure last month with some new destinations that have previously been ignored or dropped. How have these been received?

Our brochure launch is earlier than usual for us. It has been an immense effort and launched on 14 October; we are very pleased with it and the reaction has been very positive. There is a great range of products.

We’ve expanded into Mozambique and launched with five new itineraries. We had been trying to make a decision about Mozambique for a few years and started departing from there in May and June. The country has been investing in infrastructure and has had civil war issues but with the overland tours we’ve seen we think this will be an exciting new destination.

Zimbabwe has been off the menu but it has been time to bring it back and can be combined on a two-week trip. I think this will be a successful one too.

There are now more accommodation options in the overland programme which has opened up the age range.

Our shorter tours have also been successful as they are more focused; these short treks and adventures are more based on stays in lodges and safaris.

Where are you seeing growth and is the increase in competition affecting this?

The overland programme has seen continual growth and although competition is healthy we are seen as a specialist so I think that’s why we have seen the growth that we have.

Small group tours have developed greatly now and expanded more into East Africa. As a specialist we seek to provide something new and while the competition is strong in Cape Town; the time has come to branch out to the right side of Africa.

We are conscious of competitors. Acacia Africa works in a niche market but we are not mainstream like some of the other companies that sell holidays to Africa. There are companies that do similar holidays but across different continents and I think the reason that people choose us is that we focus specifically on Africa and concentrate all our efforts to one continent.

From the travel agent view, they can be confident that we have the repeat business and that people come to us for customers looking to travel to Africa. We don’t market direct.

Are there any areas of Africa that Acacia Africa could expand into?

Mozambique has potential for growth in the overland programme.

There are areas in Kenya that would could grow for the older market (40+) who want that higher level of service.

In South Africa there are more accommodation options as there is more infrastructure in place and it is more reliable but we are still hopeful to expand there.

Uganda also has some potential as currently most holidaymakers go there for the wildlife but there are plenty of other highlights we could expand into.

Zimbabwe has also turned a corner and overhauling Victoria Falls airport to be able to handle more people has certainly been a good thing for the area.

What is the typical Acacia Africa customer?

Our overland tours typically appeal to the 18-39 gap year students; this is one of our most common markets.

We are seeing a lot more of the over 30s market who are keen to do an overland tour but are less keen to camp or sleep on a mattress so we now offer more tours with accommodation that are designed to have that bit more comfort. This is mainly available in South Africa but also in Botswana and Zimbabwe.

You’ve recently boosted your team, what did this entail?

We’ve made two appointments that split one sales and marketing role into two that cover the north and south hemisphere.

Now in our London and Cape Town office there is a daily contact, which means we can work on different answers with each markets’ requirements.

Expectations and needs are different for each country’s travellers and it helps agents too as it is more accurate and ensures the customer gets the holiday they want.

We are in constant training with travel agents as the retail industry has a high turnover of staff and we keep in touch with as many as possible, so splitting this role has gone well so far.