South Africa: Travel Planner posted by Wild Dreams Hospitality

Young travel agency that focuses entirely on organizing unforgettable, tailor-made trips to Tanzania. We make sure that our travelers get a once-in-a-lifetime experience to never again to forget. This position requires a thorough knowledge of the safari parks and geography of Tanzania, including the animal species present. You are also expected to be familiar with the various routes to climb Kilimanjaro, local activities and the beautiful bounty islands belonging to Tanzania. You must be able to provide information about the nature, culture and seasons of Tanzania, and to be able to give advice on important nature events such as the big migration. It is not necessary to know everything by heart, since there is room to learn about this during your position.

Candidate requirements;

• A bachelor’s degree in tourism, hospitality or a related field has the preference.
• Previous experience in (safari) tourism, travel planning or customer service is highly desirable.
• Fluent in English and Dutch; ability in other languages such as French or Spanish is a plus.
• Excellent listening and communication skills, both oral and written.
• Excellent calculation skills with mastery of basic formulas in Excel/Google Sheets for calculations and data manipulation.
• Extensive knowledge of Tanzania; national parks and their local fauna, Kilimanjaro routes, beach destinations and local culture (or willing to learn).
• Good ability to write (website) texts with a basic understanding of SEO and WordPress.
• Must have a passion for (Africa) travel, animals, nature conservation, ecotourism and sustainable travel.
• Work independently and have a great sense of responsibility.
• Punctual, have attention to details and have excellent organizational skills.
• Customer-oriented and at the same time focused on the sale of trips.
• Professional, proactive, enthusiastic, eager to learn and love customer contact.
• Delve well into the perspective of our customers.
• Must stay calm in stressful situations, take initiative with excellent decision-making ability, and are able to think solution-oriented, especially when time is an important factor.

Responsibilities;

• Respond quickly and professionally to new travel requests via email, phone, and video meeting.
• Enter into personal, one-on-one conversations with our travelers to their travel wishes, interests and budget to be able to properly map.
• Provide expert advice and recommendations on the various safari destinations (and their wildlife), Kilimanjaro climbing routes, Tanzania’s bounty islands, local activities, seasons, travel distances and important nature events.
• Design custom safari itineraries that meet the unique needs and expectations of each customer.
• Calculate each unique travel plan, taking into account the seasonal, room & meal prices of different accommodations, taking the cost prices of the national parks, activities, (inter)national flights, car and guide rental and other cost items.
• Tailor each unique travel proposal, with detailed day by day programs, quotes and more.
• Schedule follow-up conversations with our customers to go through the travel proposals, where you answer questions, listen carefully and process any travel changes, to eventually proceed with the booking.
• Tracks customer communication in the system and processes the customer data bookings.
• Coordinate with local partners, lodges and transportation providers to provide accommodations, activities and logistics.
• Work closely with other team members to enter smooth coordination and execution of to guarantee customer journeys.
• Stay up to date with industry trends, conservation efforts, available accommodations and travel regulations related to safari tourism in Tanzania.
• During quieter days you work on writing or improving (SEO) content for the website, you participate in meetings about the development of new strategies for business growth and improvement of business processes, and you work on developing new journeys and activities.

Package and benefits;

• Competitive salary in line with experience.
• Possibility to work independently from home, remotely.
• Opportunities for professional and career development.
• Nice bonuses when achieving sales targets
• Possibility of exploratory trips to Tanzania with good performance to familiar with Tanzania, new routes, accommodations, local partners, activities and more.
• Travel benefits: discount on safari trips, accommodations and activities for you and first-degree relatives.
• You will work in a young and flexible working environment with a small team and informal working atmosphere.
• Because we are a small company, you have a lot of input and you can think along and help with the growth and development of the company.
• Employment: Full Time (Flexible working)

Note: Sometimes some customer conversations are needed in the early evening, since many of our travelers work during the day.