Industry landscapes
The companies, capital and talent shaping travel and hospitality in South Africa. Find the leaders. Understand the segments. See where the activity is.
An industry ecosystem,
measured in context.
24 featured companies from the funding, hiring, revenue and team-size leaderboards.
Locked revenue figures are available in Radar; the eight company financial previews stay the same throughout this page. A dash means the figure is outside these featured lists. Revenue years vary by company; the figures are not a like-for-like revenue comparison. Compare annual accounts ↗
No company example met every recorded classification, independence and public-profile gate in this snapshot. The live directory may have newer qualifying companies.
Explore classified startups in Radar ↗A few useful ratios bring the size of this ecosystem into perspective.
17 of 502 tracked companies have open roles.
6 of 502 tracked companies have a recorded round.
Share of disclosed capital received by the three largest recorded recipients.
Midpoint of 12 rounds with a disclosed amount.
Scale is concentrated. Opportunity is broader. The three largest funding recipients hold 100.0% of disclosed capital, while 98.8% of tracked companies have no recorded funding round.
Explore the segments →Recorded company formation and disclosed funding across the complete annual series shown.
Sum of recorded funding rounds · USD
| Year | Funding (USD) | Founded | Raising |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $19.7M | 18 | 1 |
| 2017 | $48M | 22 | 1 |
| 2018 | $12M | 18 | 1 |
| 2019 | $0 | 19 | 0 |
| 2020 | $15.48M | 12 | 1 |
| 2021 | $30M | 18 | 1 |
| 2022 | $0 | 13 | 0 |
| 2023 | $100M | 11 | 1 |
| 2024 | $16M | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | $499.81K | 0 | 1 |
Share of all disclosed company funding.
15 recorded rounds since 2016
Recorded participation in travel and hospitality company rounds since 2016.
Backed by Standard Bank.
Backed by Naspers and ARS Holdings and others.
Backed by Startup Wise Guys and Change Ventures and others.
Backed by Change Ventures and Martin Villig and others.
No reviewed exact national-ID connector has yet been qualified for South Africa; this is a checked implementation boundary, not evidence that filings are absent.; No reviewed exact national-ID connector has yet been qualified for South Africa; this is a checked implementation boundary, not evidence that filings are absent.
How the South Africa companies on this page show up online: the sites people visit, the apps they install, and how often those apps ship.
5 of the 502 companies on this page carry a measured traffic record (1%); these are the largest of those, by monthly visits. The median among them is 150,760 visits.
| Company | Monthly visits | Authority | Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|
| FlySafairflysafair.co.za | 1,540,626 | 59 | 65.9% |
| go2africago2africa.com | 249,758 | 52 | 66.2% |
| LIFT Airlinelift.co.za | 150,760 | 43 | 47.7% |
| Citylodgehotelscitylodgehotels.com | 94,314 | 41 | 79.8% |
| Wildernesswildernessdestinations.com | 73,510 | 42 | 56.7% |
Visits and authority are third-party web estimates, not company-reported figures.
12 of these companies (2.4%) publish at least one Android app — 13 apps in all, carrying 1.8M installs between them.
| App | Installs | Rating | Store category |
|---|---|---|---|
| FlySafairFlySafair | 1.5M | 4.7 | Travel & Local |
| Forever Resorts South AfricaForeversa | 213.8K | — | Travel & Local |
| Good Fellas - Booking AppGfellas | 32.9K | — | Maps & Navigation |
| fastjetFastjet | 22.2K | — | Travel & Local |
| CemAirCemair | 8.9K | — | Travel & Local |
| Bluu Car RentalBluu Car Rental | 7.2K | — | Productivity |
| Interstate Bus LinesInterstate | 1.7K | — | Travel & Local |
| Aviation4SAAviation4Sa | 1.2K | — | Books & Reference |
| Go2Africa Travel Companiongo2africa | 780 | — | Travel & Local |
| Driver AssistRenasa Taxi Underwriters | 219 | — | Business |
Installs are lifetime totals to date at the June 2026 store reading — a measure of reach, not of people using an app today.
The busiest app inside each of this page’s own segments, with the quarterly release trend behind it (2025Q1–2026Q2).
| Segment | Apps | Installs | Leading app | Release trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger Airlines | 4 | 1.5M | FlySafair 1.5M | |
| Hotels | 2 | 213.8K | Forever Resorts South Africa 213.8K | |
| Car Rentals | 3 | 40.3K | Good Fellas - Booking App 32.9K |
A company can carry several segment tags, so these rows overlap and should not be added together. Trend lines are zero-based and share one quarter grid, so a flat line is a quiet segment, not a missing one.
Explore the segments behind the headline numbers.
Rank segments by scale, hiring or disclosed funding.
Companies can sit in several segments. Counts and funding overlap.
The largest measured segment in this report snapshot.
0 companies hiring · $0 disclosed funding
Explore in RadarCommon revenue models; a company can use more than one.
Recorded corporate activity linked to companies in this landscape.
Afrirent Holdings, through its investment holding subsidiary, Afrirent Investment Proprietary Limited (“Afrirent”), is pleased to announce the acquisition of Busmark 2000 Proprietary Limited (“Busmark”), subject to finalisation of remaining transaction suspensive conditions expected to be concluded in February 2026.
Harith intends to execute a full takeover of Safair Operations, domesticating the ownership of the airline’s infrastructure and voting rights.
Harith and its affiliates have entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement to acquire FlySafair.
the Competition Commission’s decisions such as the prohibition of Peermont’s acquisition by Sun International “highlight regulatory complexity and increased scrutiny on deals, both from anti-competitiveness and public interest” perspectives, noted Kandielall
Planet42 R54 million Vehicle financing
Central Electronic Security, a rapidly growing alarm company headed by David Balestrery, increased its size with the acquisition of ABC Security.
The Andersons, Inc. and Lansing Trade Group, LLC announced on July 31 that they have finalized the acquisition of Thompsons Limited.
The struggling SAA has also received R1-billion cash injection from government in the year under consideration.
Matshela Seshibe, the CEO of SAA’s subsidiary company, Air Chefs, will become interim CEO with the process to recruit the permanent lead commencing shortly.
Staff Writer Southern Sun Limited has announced a proposed transaction to acquire a 50% undivided share in a portfolio of hospitality and leisure properties in Sandton that it currently operates under long-term lease and management agreements.
Top 10 categories among 104 recorded events in the 24-month window.
10 tracked people moves
Resignation Previously Group Chief Executive Officer
Departure Previously Head of Human Resources
Appointment Interim CEO
Appointment Acting Group CEO
Resignation Previously Chief Executive Officer
Appointment Group Chief Financial Officer
Appointment Chief Operating Officer
Appointment Chief Executive Officer
1 recorded customer wins
Customer: South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA)Aviation
8 recorded events
approval pending
regulatory concern resolved
Grounding threatenedAir Services Licensing Council
rejection recommendedCompetition Commission
4 tracked suits
breach of local ownership rulesCivil · Ongoing
Regulatory ownership structure complianceRegulatory · Ongoing
Company-linked deal reports; status is preserved as recorded.
| Acquirer → target | Status | Date | Value / context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afrirentholdings→Busmark 2000 Proprietary Limited | Announced | 2026-02-20 | Not stated in snapshot |
| Harith General Partners→FlySafair ↗ | Announced | 2026-02-12 | Not stated in snapshot |
| Harith General Partners→Safair ↗ | Announced | 2026-02-11 | Not stated in snapshot |
| Sun International→Peermont | Terminated | 2025-09-25 | Not stated in snapshot |
| The Andersons, Inc. and Lansing Trade Group, L.L.C.→Thompsonsafrica ↗ | Announced | 2025-02-14 | Not stated in snapshot |
| Central Electronic Security→Security Services ↗ | Announced | 2025-02-14 | Not stated in snapshot |
A discussion or rumour is not a completed transaction. An unstated value is not zero.
Recorded hiring and workforce signals from the available source snapshot.
No repeated job title is supported by this snapshot.
0 tracked postings mention remote work.
| Company | Employees |
|---|---|
| sun international ↗ | 7,050 |
| Wilderness ↗ | 3,000 |
| south african airways ↗ | 2,000 |
| Southern Sun ↗ | 750 |
| Planet42 ↗ | 250 |
| Capegrace ↗ | 218 |
| Delaire Graff Estate ↗ | 212 |
| Newmark ↗ | 188 |
55 founders and chief executives across 44 companies.
Planet42, ex-Trigon Capital, ex-Mocotex, Rīgas Ekonomikas augstskola - Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, 2011
Pegasus Universal Aerospace, ex-Shm, ex-Dr Robert Reys Sensual Solutions Skin Care, Harvard Business School Online, 2019
Founder The Max Group, Leeu Collection, ex-Vodafone. Questrom School of Business Boston University 1997, MBA 1997
Ex-Avis Budget Group, Barloworld Equipment, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. University of Pretoria BCom
Ex- Aergo Capital, Imperial Group, Macquarie, PricewaterhouseCoopers. University of the Free State 1997
Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, GIBS Business School (Gordon Institute of Business Science), 2033
Founder & CEO Tulo Vation, ex-Dimension Data, Microsoft. Henley Business School Africa
CEO Ker & Downey Africa, ex-Milbank, Norton Rose. University of Cambridge LLB 2005
Founder MTN Group, Naspers. Stellenbosch University BA, Columbia University MBA
CONSTANTIA MIST VINEYARD ESTATE, The Founders Club. Stellenbosch University
Ex - Southern Sun, KPMG International. UNISA BCompt 2001
Ex-African Impact. University of Cape Town BS 2004
2 profiles with education records.
0 profiles with prior-work records.
Profiles cover recorded founders and leaders; contact details remain in Radar.
116,737 articles in the measured 12-month window.
Travel and Hospitality coverage across South Africa · articles per complete quarter
| Quarter | Articles |
|---|---|
| 2021Q2 | 21,468 |
| 2021Q3 | 22,893 |
| 2021Q4 | 26,971 |
| 2022Q1 | 19,271 |
| 2022Q2 | 18,602 |
| 2022Q3 | 21,133 |
| 2022Q4 | 24,823 |
| 2023Q1 | 26,423 |
| 2023Q2 | 22,377 |
| 2023Q3 | 34,992 |
| 2023Q4 | 26,212 |
| 2024Q1 | 26,550 |
| 2024Q2 | 25,549 |
| 2024Q3 | 24,507 |
| 2024Q4 | 29,711 |
| 2025Q1 | 31,774 |
| 2025Q2 | 22,444 |
| 2025Q3 | 29,295 |
| 2025Q4 | 27,395 |
| 2026Q1 | 34,015 |
Article volume measures coverage, not market sales.
116 recorded company events across 8 companies; percentages use that event total.
Travel and Hospitality coverage across South Africa · ranked by full-period article count.
Recent and prior counts use the source comparison windows.
Travel and Hospitality coverage across South Africa
| Keyword | Recent | Prior | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| international cups | 321 | 190 | 69% |
| world cup | 231 | 102 | 126% |
| solar electricity generation | 206 | 115 | 79% |
| vaccine candidates | 199 | 64 | 211% |
| global qualifiers | 196 | 114 | 72% |
| free trade deals | 172 | 120 | 43% |
| luxury beach resort | 167 | 117 | 43% |
| vaccine trials | 166 | 62 | 168% |
| trade facilitation commitments | 153 | 100 | 53% |
| solar pv | 152 | 91 | 67% |
| odi world cup | 897 | 1,910 | -53% |
| icc world cup | 827 | 1,806 | -54% |
| odi cricket | 985 | 1,763 | -44% |
| odi tactics | 930 | 1,754 | -47% |
| limited overs cricket | 970 | 1,729 | -44% |
Travel and Hospitality coverage across South Africa
test cricket, odi world cup, icc world cup
42.2% critical · 35.6% positiveodi world cup, icc world cup, test cricket
39.7% critical · 42.5% positivegdp growth rate, gdp acceleration, gdp trajectory
30.7% critical · 49.6% positiveTravel and Hospitality coverage across South Africa. Topic labels describe recorded classifications and can include broad context.
Company counts, hiring and disclosed funding across the recorded hubs.
44.0% across the displayed hubs
4 companies hiring · $0 disclosed funding
Explore companies in Cape Town ↗
33.3% across the displayed hubs
4 companies hiring · $0 disclosed funding
Explore companies in Johannesburg ↗
7.7% across the displayed hubs
1 companies hiring · $161.5M disclosed funding
Explore companies in Pretoria ↗
3.9% across the displayed hubs
1 companies hiring · $0 disclosed funding
Explore companies in Bryanston ↗
2.9% across the displayed hubs
1 companies hiring · $0 disclosed funding
Explore companies in Stellenbosch ↗
2.9% across the displayed hubs
1 companies hiring · $0 disclosed funding
Explore companies in Gauteng ↗
2.9% across the displayed hubs
1 companies hiring · $0 disclosed funding
Explore companies in Sandton ↗
2.4% across the displayed hubs
0 companies hiring · $0 disclosed funding
Explore companies in Durban ↗Clear definitions for making better comparisons.
It measures the tracked company ecosystem, recorded funding, hiring and other available evidence. It is not a market-size estimate.
No. A company can belong to several segments, so segment counts and funding can overlap.
A dash or unavailable panel means the current reviewed source snapshot does not support that figure.
Company ecosystem snapshot: 2 September 2026. Funding is recorded in USD; filed accounts retain their stated currency and reporting basis. Each section identifies its own coverage. The news and research behind these sections is explorable in Prism.
Canonical landscape ↗