Mozambique Voyages, a division of Tourvest Destination Management, has re-launched at this year’s Indaba under a brand-new name: Sense of Oceans. Tourvest Destination Management acquired Mozambique Voyages earlier this year to expand into the Indian Ocean.
According to Martijn Mellaart, Chief Operating Officer at Sense of Oceans, the name ‘Mozambique Voyages’ will disappear after the launch at Indaba. “We will start growing the Sense of Oceans portfolio starting with Mozambique as a base, and soon extend into Madagascar and Réunion Island and try to clinch a substantial amount of market share in each destination. We aim to become the one-stop-shop for all Tourvest clients for southern and eastern Africa, and the Indian Ocean.”
Martin Wiest, CEO of Tourvest Destination Management, says: “The strategic objective of this acquisition is to grow our business, our customer base and expand our footprint in the Indian Ocean. The reality is, our guests are doing more bush and beach holidays, and since we know the customer and own the distribution channel, we want to be able to offer a broader product range and extend our geographical environment to our customer base.”
Mellaart says: “Tourvest is a leading DMC in southern and eastern Africa, but the market share and footprint in the Indian Ocean is still small. In order to reach our goals, we need to create a footprint in this destination and be on the ground with our own DMC.”
Wiest adds: “Our customers do a material amount of business in the Indian Ocean, and we have heaps of value to add in this environment as a result of our logistical knowledge. We aim to develop destinations in the Indian Ocean that have a discovery focus and not a flop-and-drop focus.”
He concludes that the long-term vision for the business unit is to expand the geographical footprint in the Indian Ocean, and any other ocean where there is a sustainable advantage.
During the set-up and development phase, Mellaart will report to Wiest directly, with the main focus being to drive further expansion into Madagascar and Réunion.
