Kate

Sun International has always been a gaming group with hotels, but that focus began to blur with the emergence of some of the group’s more iconic properties. As a result, the last three years of introspection have brought the South African gaming giant back in line with a more clearly-defined strategy, as explained by CEO Graeme Stephens to Dylan Rogers in Johannesburg.

It’s been a year of change for Dreams, the South Africa-based outbound tour operator, with a new owner and a host of new products to now offer its customers. Erica Barrett remains head of the operation, but now also heads up Songhai Travel. She joined editor Dylan Rogers for a coffee in Johannesburg to explain the new structure.

The travel industry is embracing technology at every turn and exploring how best to use this now integral part of everyday modern life to further its interests and keep customers coming back for more.

Cruises International is nearly 25 years old, with CEO George Argyropoulos making the move from Greece and starting the company in 1992, with the sole purpose of marketing and selling cruise holidays, conferences and incentives.

Such is the diverse nature of travel management, that to be too prescriptive in terms of what one expects from a chat with two senior level TMC execs, is to run the risk of shutting oneself off from an array of interesting thoughts on a wide range of topics. So it proved over coffee in Johannesburg, with Morne du Preez and Claude Vankeirsbilck holding court on everything TMC-related.