Twiga Tours surges on 40 years; putting Kenya on global map.

Twiga Tours is arguably one of the most reliable and renowned companies in the tours and travel business in Kenya.

Founded in 1980, the firm which prides itself on offering highly personalised African Safari experiences in Kenya and the East Africa region has stood the test of time, winning prestigious awards in the global arena.

To boost their resume as a Quality Conscious operator, the Company won Africa's Responsible Tourism Award 2020, Kenya's Leading Inbound Tour Operator and Kenya's Leading Safari Company 2020, at the recent World Travel Awards (WTA).

It has been nominated for the World's Responsible Tourism Award at the WTA awards slated for later this year.

The Star's Martin Mwita spoke to the company's CEO Minaz Manji on the 40-year journey and Kenya's tourism and travel industry.

Tell us about Twiga Tours, how did the company start?

Traveling and showing off the magic of our beautiful country is deeply embedded in my blood. My earliest memories are of my family and I driving across East Africa to visit our extended family. The thrill of these journeys was going through national parks and game reserves and having wildlife come so close to you - I recall a magical incident that happened when I was about five years old when we were visiting my grandparents in Pabbo in northern Uganda. I was outdoors and I could hear the rustling of grass in the distance which grew louder and louder. As an inquisitive five year old, I climbed up on the fence to see what was behind the fence and I saw some huge monsters coming closer and closer to me. I was totally mesmerized by these huge monsters and suddenly I heard panic shouts from my grandmother who rushed up to me and quickly grabbed me. Later I learned that these huge monsters were called elephants and as much as they are gentle they can be equally dangerous if provoked. In later years I would take every opportunity to see wildlife and spent considerable time watching them. About 10-15 kilometres or so outside of Eldoret town, where I spent my teen years, one could see lots of plains wildlife such as Thompson's and Grant's gazelles, impala, zebra and particularly the graceful giraffe which, in those days, we used to call Uganda giraffe. Every now and again my father would drive the few kilometres and he would park by the roadside and we would watch these animals and enjoy a wonderful picnic. These special memories were forever etched in my mind and upon my return from the UK in 1976 I took every opportunity to visit game parks and experience the beauty of nature and wildlife. However, it wasn't until August 1980 that my late father and I teamed up to start a small tour company from humble beginnings. We saw the need to offer visitors the traditional African hospitality and treat them as our long lost relatives who had come to visit us and that has been our philosophy to date but it wasn't easy at the time to get international visitors overnight so we rented our minivans to tour companies that needed our vehicles whilst promoting our company both locally and internationally.

What did you do then?

Fast forward to 1984....our personalised service, custom-designed minivans and well-trained guide/drivers quickly saw the fleet grow substantially but the urge to be a tour company rather than a rental company was getting stronger and stronger. That was always the plan... to be a tour company and not a rental company and show Africa through our eyes! Kenya in the 1980's was still a destination for foreigners and whilst we were strategizing on our international marketing plans we were mostly concentrating on local marketing. I wanted the domestic traveler to experience this magic for themselves; to see the wonders of Masai Mara and the snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro against the backdrop of Amboseli National Park. So we started promotions to the domestic traveler and participated in the first-ever Holidays Exhibition at the Sarit Centre in March 1984. By then we were already a 'sought after' company for offering superior quality and personalised service to enthusiastic travelers in Kenya and our fame was fast spreading beyond Kenyan borders with international visitors finding us mostly through referrals from resident family and friends.

What was your game plan in going solo?

To play on my strengths...by 1984, Twiga Tours was a company that was known for quality and delivering an experience of a life-time. We were now confident that the experience and knowledge we had acquired over the past few years was strong enough to see us succeed globally. Hence, we now began concentrating on being a tour and travel company rather than a rental company.

What niche did you carve for yourself?

We were keen on showcasing the magic of Kenya through our eyes and to offer to visitors an exceptionally high quality of personalised service and this philosophy has seen the company grow. After a long and tiring flight, an arriving visitor is usually tired and is a little unsure of the reception one would get at the airport and especially if it is their first time in Africa...imagine...