In their quest to give their customers the best service and at the best prices, they decided that the only way to do this was to partner up with someone who owned planes. They have joined forces with AVSTAR who own a fleet of aircraft and who lease their aircraft to some of the major names in South Africa. African Encounters now run their own charter flights into Zanzibar from Johannesburg. The benefits for their customers are massive, purely because they backwardly integrated the flight aspect of the package. You will start to see how the prices of their packages are phenomenally cheaper than anybody else in South Africa!!! They are flying a Boeing 737-200 with a total of 96 passengers every Monday until 28 January 2008 and their are lots of seats available from 13 January onwards! Compared to their competitors they are up to R3000 per person cheaper!! Can you believe it? They also partnered with the best fully inclusive hotels over this period giving their customers exceptional, exclusive deals.

African Encounters are the first to run charter flights to Zanzibar and we are confident they will continue to strive to be market leaders and give their travellers the best deals through innovative ideas! For the last 5 years African Encounters has been the largest supplier of tourism to Zanzibar. They are well-known experts on the area, with various travel magazines, like Getaway using their expertise and knowledge for articles and research. The directors used to live in Zanzibar, so most of the hotel owners are their personal friends. Their exclusive Zanzibar ‘specials’ are always market beaters and you are assured of top class service all the way!

Development Promotions is a respected, well-established and highly successful tour operator in South Africa. It was for this reason that the owners of Computravel approached Jane the MD and Jackie, the Sales & Marketing Director, to register with Computravel as one of the founding tour operators showcasing their incredible inventory of holidays and cruises on the Computravel portal. We know that an awesome team in their Johannesburg office backs any of the Development Promotions products and that all their travel partners hold them in high esteem.
The company was formed in 1972 and it specialises in the promotion and marketing of travel products, on a representation or General Sales Agency basis, for international travel suppliers. It is noteworthy that all their shareholders, directors and employees are actively involved in the company’s operation.

A staff compliment of 15 is engaged in the handling of all the various aspects of the travel business, each with the knowledge and expertise in his or her respective fields.

As with all the tour operators registered with Computravel Development Promotion is a member of ASATA (Association of South African Travel Agents) “Travel Partners” section. It is also a member of BARSA (Board of Airlines Representatives in South Africa). As preferred suppliers of most of the major retail groupings in South Africa, they enjoy strong support from all the key Tour Operators, Airlines and Tourism offices.

This is what they have to say about themselves…

‘Our expertise lies in penetrating the travel market in South African with new and innovative ideas on behalf of our client base. Marketing and Public relations activities are monitored on a continuous basis to ensure a good return on investment on behalf of our clients. Our initiatives are distributed via the travel trade, direct to the consumer and press, all with whom we have built strong and credible relationships. We are selective with whom we work in our market to ensure dual credibility and quality of product, and ensure we have a joint strategy to achieve a long term commitment into this growing emerging market.’

Their product portfolio includes:

Airlines
· Continental Airlines
· Europe by Air
· Finnair
Hotel Groups
· WORLDHOTELS
Cruise Lines
· Costa Cruises
· European Waterways ( Go Barging )
· Hurtigruten - Norwegian Coastal Voyages
· Peter Deilmann River and Ocean Cruises
· Preferred Operator for Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Oceania and Crystal Cruises
· Tallink Silja Line
Tourist Boards
· Tourism Ireland
Tour Operators
· GAP (Adventure Travel in South America)
· The Imaginative Traveller
· Qantas Holidays

Websites that offer e-mail customer service options take on average 58 hours to respond to enquiries and around 60% of customers’ questions remain unanswered.
The company doing the research monitored 10 leading UK travel companies by phone, web and email. The research has been done over a period of 3 years with marginal improvements being documented.

Computravel having combined the self-serving convenience of the net with the proficiency of experts who have gained their spurs over years of service in the industry are determined to change this status. By referring booking enquiries to ASATA accredited travel consultants who are waiting to turn the travellers aspirations into the reality of tickets and bookings. In this innovative online operation, the hopeful traveller gains all the benefit of the consultant’s personal experience– something no traditional web site can replicate. Established agents registered with Computravel have all traversed the globe, so personal guidance and advice is the real bonus behind this system.

We are committed to service excellence determined that travellers submitting booking enquiries from the Computravel site will receive a response from a travel expert within a maximum period of 24 hours. We track the response time of our enquiries and keep in close contact with the consultants accepting those enquiries, ensuring that we meet the aspirant traveller’s highest expectations.

Computravel is the hybrid site that blends the convenience of the web with the time honoured expertise of the conventional travel agent.

A) He browses through an awesome showcase of travel options all neatly classified
under 4 categories:-

1. Traveller profile
Once in a lifetime / Golden year / Family / Couples / Singles / Gay / Honeymoon / School groups / Students / Incentive groups

2. Holiday Type
Adventure / Beach /Safari /Golf / Health & spa / Cycling & walking / Cruising / Train travel / Skiing / Cultural / Historical / Weekenders / Mid-week breaks / Low season holidays / Island holidays / Action packed

3. Destination of choice
Countries/Towns

4. Travel within a budget
Featuring packages that fall within the limits of a client’s budget

This is linked to a frequently updated cost estimation schedule that provides an accurate prediction of the overall cost of the excursion.

B) He makes his selections from the wide variety of different holiday packages, including airfares, accommodation, car hire, visa & health requirements, and transfers. As he makes choices he clicks them into a basket that keeps a running tally of estimated costs. At the end of his cyber-ramble he will have assembled a journey that closely matches his aspirations, and has an accurate prediction of the price.

C) He logs onto one of the ASATA/SATSA accredited travel agents, who are waiting to turn his aspirations into the reality of tickets and bookings. The client has already predetermined his itinerary, and the agent’s mission is to do what she/he has always done – arrange a reliable and hassle free trip. He starts with an outline that would have taken up a good deal of time in a conventional transaction, and he sets about assembling a costed schedule. Any areas of doubt are cleared up by a return phone call as fax, cell and land line numbers are all part of the client’s enquiry. The final itinerary is then e-mailed back to the applicant for approval and financial settlement. In this revolutionary internet operation, the hopeful traveller gains all the benefit of the consultant’s personal experience– something no traditional web site can replicate. Established agents have all traversed the globe, so personal guidance and advice is the real bonus behind this system.

Computravel, the hybrid site that blends the convenience of the web with the time honoured expertise of the conventional travel agent.