CAPTION (left to right): Two of Greater Pilanesberg Tour Operator Association drivers, Ms Lesego Sehlango and Mr Tshepo Maponyane, who safely commute Sun City guests to and from Gauteng airports to the resort

Sharing their slice of the tourism pie for visitors to Sun City, 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 holiday resort.

Mankwe GAMETRACKERS previously supplied the exclusive shuttle service from Gauteng airports to the Rustenburg resort but sold most of their fleet during the pandemic. Ntiyiso Maluleke, CEO of Mankwe GAMETRACKERS, said that post-pandemic, the company could have recapitalised its vehicles but decided to do a deal to promote small business.

“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.”

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

Since the start of the agreement on September 1 until November 2022, 602 guests were transferred from Johannesburg to Sun City and 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,” Maluleke said.

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 is given a chance to participate in the local economy,” he said. “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 (SLA) 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 part in the development of small businesses.”

Sun City General Manager 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.”

About Mankwe GAMETRACKERS

Mankwe GAMETRACKERS, based at the iconic Sun City Resort next to the malaria free Big Five Pilanesberg National Park is the largest outdoor adventure activity business in the North West province of South Africa. Activities offered include Game Drives, Bush Walks and Hot Air Balloon Safaris over the Pilanesberg National Park as well as Quad Bikes, Archery, Chimp and Zee rope adventure courses. Also consider team building activities and boma bush dining experiences under the stars at the Wallow Bush Catering venue.