South African Airways expands horizons with Mauritius route boost

L - R: David Collard, MD, Emotions DMC, Mauritius; Bolaji Mustapha, NATOP President; Kemi Leke-Bamtefa, Country Manager, South African Airways; and Yinka Folami, NANTA President.

South African Airways (SAA) recently organised a Networking lunch with Top CEO’s of the travel trade and showcasing Mauritius as a potential holiday and special activities destination for Nigerian travellers.

This is in line with repositioning itself as a network carrier promoting routes beyond Johannesburg.

Expressing excitement about the Mauritius route, Leke Bamtefa, SAA’s Country Manager, stressed, “Today’s event is about exposing our top travel trade partners to the various opportunities that abound in Mauritius as a vibrant destination for leisure, weddings, honeymoons, and outdoor activities.

“SAA has the best connections into Mauritius, and we have partnered with Emotions DMC as an experienced destination management company to provide you with expert handling services to cater for your clients’ requirements on the ground.”

She added that based on the performance of the route, the airline also hopes to organise a familiarisation trip for members of the travel trade to Mauritius in order to have a firsthand experience of the destination.

David Collard, MD of Emotions DMC, remarked, “Emotions Destination Management Company provides inbound ground handling services in Mauritius. We are partnering with SAA to develop Mauritius as a potential market in Nigeria, and we are passionate about welcoming customers to the country to enjoy the many land and sea activities it has to offer.

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“Travel to Mauritius is visa-free provided you have the requisite travel documents, including travel insurance, air ticket and spending money of $100 per night with pre-booked tour activities or proposed on arrival.”

He explained further that Mauritius with a population of 1.2million is a melting pot of various destinations, surrounded by Barrier reefs allowing safe water activities, having the longest zip line within the Indian Ocean as well as the night life at the Green Bay, Quad Biking in the South and the Lumorne Peninsular where you have beautiful beaches and the Lumorne Mountain which is a UNESCO site.

As a way of encouraging CEOs present, the airline conducted a raffle draw holiday with flight tickets and hotel accommodation to Mauritius.

The first prize, three nights’ stay accommodation, transfers and tours, plus SAA air tickets, was won by Eloho Kagho, COO/Executive Director of Patelo Travels.

Similarly, the second prize of a two-night stay with transfers and tours, plus Air Tickets from SAA, was won by Muyiwa Matilukuro, MD/CEO of Victory Travels. Yinka Folami, the President of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agents (NANTA), also received a gift of goodwill from Emotions DMC and South African Airways.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.