Born in a small farming community called Seven Fountains in the Eastern Cape, Mandisa Magwaxaza grew up in Gqeberha and is the CEO and founder of Molo Mhambi Relations. She is also a director at PMG Germ Guard, a company that helps B&Bs, Guest Houses, Hotels, and Tour Operators adhere to the Covid-19 Safety Protocols for Tourism by providing branded PPE travel packs for their guests.
Mandisa is a travelpreneur who is fantastic at what she does because of her understanding of the travel sector which she gained while working in different tourism and hospitality companies over a 15-year career. She started as a hostess in luxury game lodges in the Eastern Cape and worked her way towards becoming a phenomenal businesswoman. Mandisa's dream is to introduce ordinary people to the travel world, especially in their local towns. At the same time, her goal is to introduce more tourists to elevated township and rural tourism experiences through her company. Mandisa is also the Chairperson of the Eastern Cape Chapter of the South African Tourism Services Association (SATSA). She is also an officer in SATSA's Access, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee. Her work in this organisation is founded on her passion for transformation in tourism and the Eastern Cape to become more prominent.
When did you start Molo Mhambi Relations, and what services do you offer? "I started the business during the pandemic – amid all the challenges that faces the hospitality and tourism industry. I started helping clients re-write their brand stories and keep up communications with their clients. Some of my clients asked me to re-write entire websites. The pandemic was the perfect time to invest in digital assets. I realized that there is still a gap in how South African Tourism businesses market to South Africans. Molo Mhambi Relations was launched in September 2021. Our aim is to help tourism and hospitality businesses to greet more South African and African travellers at their doors. We help companies manage offline and online relationships with other brands and direct customers to increase arrivals and enhance travellers' experiences".
Mandisa started her career in luxury hospitality during her vacations while a student at Rhodes University. Her storytelling and particular service style made it easy for her to build a good report with guests and get hired for a full-time position. She now understands the importance of the customer experience and wants to help companies create and communicate it well. "I landed my dream job in one of the most iconic hotels in Cape Town; the Cape Grace Hotel. It was there that I got to understand attention to detail in communications and how to derive what a customer needs. The experience at Cape Grace inspired me to pursue a career in tourism marketing.
Highlights in your journey thus far? "One of the highlights of my journey is my time at one of the world's biggest online booking agents - Booking.com. My job was to onboard hotels onto their platform; I worked with hotels all over Africa. I learned the value of creating content for digital distribution, and I was promoted to be a content editor for Booking.com. I got to travel internationally for the first time while working for the company. I wish young people could take advantage of the jobs and opportunities in the tourism industry because you could travel and experience the world while working or studying".
Lastly, why did you decide to come back home? "I came back to the Eastern Cape to contribute to my community and use my experience to strengthen the tourism industry and this province. The Eastern Cape has some of the best-educated and most-talented individuals scattered all over the country and the world. These skills and talents can be harnessed to create a breakthrough in our economy. I wish fully skilled people could come back or invest in building our beautiful Eastern Cape into a thriving destination. We also need a political environment that enables young people to build thriving businesses."
To wrap it up, Mandisa described Molo Mhambi's diamond process: Digging, polishing, and displaying what makes a product authentically South African and keeps it relevant to travellers. Molo Mhambi Relations accomplishes this for hospitality and tourism companies through P.R. tactics, content management, marketing strategy, and more. Molo Mhambi Relations invites tourism and hospitality businesses to contact them for a free consultation to dig for what makes your product authentic, polish your brand story, or strategise how you could better display your business.