Activities concessionaire Mankwe GAMETRACKERS has signed a service-level agreement with Greater Pilanesberg Tour Operators Association (GPTOA) to provide shuttles to and from the iconic North West province-based holiday resort, Sun City, to support small local businesses.

Mankwe GAMETRACKERS, the largest outdoor adventure activity business in the North West province, previously supplied the exclusive shuttle service from Gauteng airports to the resort but sold most of its fleet during the pandemic.

Ntiyiso Maluleke, CEO of Mankwe GAMETRACKERS, said, post-pandemic, the company could have recapitalised its vehicles but decided to do a deal to promote small businesses.

“We are members of the GPTOA, along with about 35 other tour operators, and want to share our slice of the pie with the smaller players,” Maluleke said.

“How it works is that we take the bookings from Sun City and then GPTOA do the fulfilment between Lanseria and OR Tambo International airports and the resort. This minimises the potential for conflict between the operators who are now also encouraged to organise themselves to get similar contracts from other properties,” Maluleke added.

The service-level agreement was signed in September last year and, up until November, 602 guests were shuttled from Johannesburg to Sun City, as well as between surrounding accommodation establishments.

“Between December 2022 and mid-February, we had a total of 159 transfer bookings for 609 guests – business has picked up,” said Maluleke.

Patrick Nkwe, chairman of GPTOA, said the organisation was grateful to all stakeholders for making the agreement possible. “This confidence gives us hope for what can be achieved when local small businesses and the community at large are given a chance to participate in the local economy.

“This is a new relationship that continues to be refined as we learn lessons along the way – there has already been growth within our members in relation to professional execution of these services as we have a clear Service Level Agreement to observe. We hope that other players in the market will see this as a good example of how established operators in the industry can play a part in the development of small businesses,” Nkwe added.

Sun City GM, Brett Hoppé, said the agreement proved that through mutual beneficial partnerships, much could be achieved for small businesses.

“Sun International is passionate about enabling South Africa’s future economic growth. We take our role in enterprise and supplier development seriously as we support small and medium-sized businesses,” Hoppé concluded.

Mankwe GAMETRACKERS also offers safaris, adventure activities including hot-air balloon trips, archery, mountain biking and team-building experiences.