"TOUR OPERATORS HAVE
THE MOST DIFFICULT
JOB IN OUR INDUSTRY."
Messias Maoneni
Tour Operators
We believe that Tour Operators have the most difficult job in our industry. You are under constant pressure from customers, competitors and suppliers. You have no control over governments, airlines, acts of terror, pandemics, currency fluctuations, the economy or the weather. What's more, you have to create, market, sell and operate a product that delivers more than it promises to customers whose romantic dreams of once-in-a-lifetime adventures in far-off lands often obscure the reality of international travel. But all of the planning, marketing, and selling is wasted if your customers are not properly cared for when they arrive at their destination.
At Échos d'Afrique our goal is to make both our clients and our guests happy. How do
we do this? By delivering the product you designed in a friendly, efficient and professional manner by providing service that is consistent, reliable and cost effective. As we see it, our role as a destination management company consists of providing services during three stages of program delivery.
Planning Services
Experience tells us that the reason for most
operational problems is that the initial planning process was poor – poorly thought out logistics, poorly trained and inexperienced staff, poor choice of venues, lack of clear communication between tour operator and DMC, and incorrect or inadequate information given to guests before they arrive.
Another major planning problem is selecting a lodge, hotel, venue, tour or activity based primarily on price at the cost of quality. During the planning process, you can rely on our destination knowledge and contacts to suggest the destinations, game parks, lodges, hotels, venues, services, tours and activities that make the most sense given your cost parameters. You can expect our pricing to be competitive, accurate and transparent with no hidden costs. There will be no misunderstandings. And you can expect our service to be unmatched.
For the plan to be logistically and financially sound, you must have the most updated information regarding current government regulations, laws, and taxes that change too often in our part of the world. You can rely on us for detailed and accurate information and timely updates on any changes.
During this critical process, you will work with an office staff that is experienced, intelligent, caring and creative, yet realistic. The communication will be clear, detailed, comprehensive and timely. We will give you the facts. We will not give you an answer you want to hear simply to secure the business. We will only suggest safe and reliable suppliers that provide consistently superior products and services and are financially stable.
Program Delivery
We plan every detail of your program so thoroughly and meticulously that everything will go perfectly. But sometimes it doesn't.
This is the travel business after all. We are subject to the same tribulations that you find anywhere in the travel world, plus a few more. We can be delayed getting to lunch because we got stuck behind a herd of elephants. What's more, we have a weaker infrastructure than yours which has all kinds of ramifications.
When uncontrollable conditions are at their worst is the time when Échos d'Afrique is at
our best. We know our job. We hope for Plan A, but we have Plans B through Z ready in case they are necessary. We grew up here. We speak Africa's language, literally. We know the airport managers, immigration officials, hotel people, doctors, nurses, boat captains, and the owners of bus companies. We solve problems – not to our satisfaction, but to your satisfaction and the satisfaction of our mutual guests. While our guests are with us, Échos d'Afrique management is
hands-on. If the group or an individual has a problem or a matter arises that we think you may hear about after the trip, we will give you a written description of the issue and how we endeavored to resolve the matter. We don't like surprises and we know you don't either.
Yes, we will have problems from time to time, but thorough planning, engaged management, a great operational staff, the best guides, drivers and vehicles ensure that we will not have chronic problems – the same problem over and over again. If the matter is serious and beyond our control, you will receive a phone call. Finally, we don't make many mistakes, but when we do, we tell you and tell you how we will resolve the issue and make our guests happy.
While operational precision is important to our mutual success, happy guests are even more important. We realize that a sound plan and timely delivery of services is wasted if our guests do not feel welcomed, safe and confident. It is only then that our guests can be open to the wonders of our Africa. Our smiles and personal contact begin when guests arrive at the airport and doesn't end until they board the plane for home. Africa can be an intimidating place. Our job is to reassure guests that they can relax and enjoy. We understand, of course, that smiles and words don't mean anything without actions that back up the words. We always pre-check and we always reconfirm all services continuously during program delivery to catch and correct any potential problems. We always keep the same dedicated guides and program coordinators throughout the program to ensure consistency. And finally, we always arrive early.
Post-Trip Reconciliation
At the conclusion of each trip, or at a mutually agreed upon schedule, we submit a detailed, accurate and timely post trip summary and invoice for your review and approval. Along with the financial details will be a report of any problems we encountered, the names of the guests and the actions we took to resolve the situation.
