South African entrepreneur Shaheed Ebrahim has installed Wi-Fi, complete with tablets and Skype call capability, on his tour vans to gain a competitive edge in the country’s travel and tour industry.
The Wi-Fi allows tourists to take photos while on tour in the wild and post them on Facebook or tweet them in real-time online. They can also access telephone applications while on safari using Skype.
Ebrahim, who owns the Escape to the Cape tour company, was awarded the 2011/2012 Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year award in South Africa, an award that recognises innovation in the South African tour industry.
“There are hundreds of tour operators out in Cape Town but the difference is that we’ve taken technology that’s available and put it onto our tours, thereby enhancing the tours,” he told (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21262196) the BBC’s series African Dream.
“Every seat virtually has got a facility to charge any device – whether it’s a cell phone, whether it’s an iPod or iPad, whatever device that they have, and in all about 12 gadgets could be charged simultaneously.”
Ebrahim said he spent US$4,000 to register the company and to lay down the necessary groundwork for his business.
With his innovative package, Ebrahim plans to grow his fleet and to extend nationwide.
South Africa received over 4.5 million tourists in Cape Town alone last year.
