African Pride

What African Pride does

African Pride is a UK-based luxury travel specialist founded in 1999, operating as African Pride Limited from York with its registered office in Manchester. The company designs and sells tailor-made, high-value holiday packages to Africa and the Indian Ocean, serving individual travellers, couples, honeymooners, families, and small groups through both direct sales (telephone and website enquiry) and a network of travel agents accessed via a dedicated trade portal. Its core product set covers luxury safari holidays across 15+ destinations (South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Madagascar) and Indian Ocean island holidays (Mauritius, Seychelles, Zanzibar, St Helena), supplemented by curated experiences such as Great Migration, gorilla trekking, turtle watching, and unique wildlife encounters. Pricing is quote-based and dynamic, with guide prices ranging from approximately £5,149 to over £10,000 per person for fully inclusive packages flying from London Heathrow.

The company earns revenue primarily through commissions on accommodation, lodge, camp, airline, and ancillary travel bookings assembled into these itineraries. There is no proprietary technology platform; operations run on standard third-party GDS and back-office systems (Galileo, Travel Studio, Aviate, Lime, Faremine, Oasis), with basic web analytics (Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Bing) and paid acquisition via Google Ads. Customer financial protection is provided through ABTA membership, ATOL licensing, and AITO affiliation, and procurement leverage is enhanced by British Airways Appointed Operator status. African Pride operates as a specialist division within First Class Travel Group (1st Class Holidays Ltd), with a small team of approximately 11-50 employees including specialist consultants, a Head of Sales, Reservations Manager, Product Manager, Marketing Executive, and Africa & Indian Ocean specialists whose destination expertise is the primary commercial differentiator.

Name

African Pride

Legal name

African Pride Limited

Website

https://african-pride.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

African Pride is a UK-based luxury travel agency founded in 1999 that designs and sells tailor-made safari holidays and Indian Ocean island getaways to individual travellers, couples, families, and groups through direct sales and a travel agent network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Luxury Travel Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (56152), Travel Agencies (561510)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Safari & Wildlife Travel Agencies (THAKAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Adventure & Expedition Custom Itinerary Planning (THAKAOAC), Multi-Activity & Expedition Packages (Guided Adventure Trips) (THAJABAL), Safari & Game Drives (Land-Based) (THAAAEAC), Safari Lodges (Big Five/Game Reserves) (THAGAIAA), Private Adventure & Expedition Experiences (Custom Hikes, Safaris, Backcountry) (THAJALAG)

Keywords

• Luxury safari holidays
• Tailor-made itineraries
• African tour operator
• Indian ocean holidays
• Travel agency services

Headquarters

HQ city

York

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Holiday Package Bookings: The company earns commission from accommodation providers, lodges, camps, airlines, and other travel service suppliers across Africa and the Indian Ocean. They design and sell tailor-made holiday packages to individual travellers and groups.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

African Pride designs and sells tailor-made luxury safari holidays to destinations across Africa and the Indian Ocean. The company combines flights, accommodation, transfers, and curated activities into personalised itineraries built through expert consultation with a specialist in-house team. It also operates a dedicated travel-agent portal for trade partners booking on behalf of clients.

Product overview

African Pride is a UK-based luxury travel specialist offering tailor-made safari holidays to Africa and the Indian Ocean. The company's core offering consists of personalized itineraries combined with curated accommodation options across 15+ African and Indian Ocean destinations. Key products include luxury safari holidays (South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Madagascar), Indian Ocean island holidays (Mauritius, Seychelles, Zanzibar, St Helena), and experiential offerings such as Great Migration safaris, gorilla trekking, turtle watching, and unique wildlife encounters. The company differentiates through expert consultation, 25 years of established supplier relationships, and round-the-clock customer support. African Pride primarily serves direct customers and works with travel agent partners through a dedicated agent portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Google AdsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdvertising network for paid search and display marketing, based outside the UK.
• British AirwayscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAfrican Pride is a British Airways Appointed Operator with access to airline fares and flights for holiday packages.
• ABTAcoreOthersAssociation of British Travel Agents providing financial protection and industry standards. African Pride is a member with number W156X.
• ATOL (Civil Aviation Authority)coreOthersAir Travel Organisers Licence providing financial protection for flight-inclusive holidays. ATOL number 11344.
• AITOcoreOthersAssociation of Independent Tour Operators - African Pride is a proud member with access to industry standards, financial protection guidelines, and dispute resolution services.
• African Travel Suppliers NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 25 years of relationships with partners and suppliers across Africa including South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Madagascar, and Indian Ocean islands including Mauritius, Seychelles, and St Helena.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Kuoni / Der Touristik: Major UK tour operator owned by Der Touristik with a sizeable Africa safari and Indian Ocean programme. Far larger scale than African Pride; competes primarily on breadth of inventory, brand recognition and trade relationships.
• Scott Dunn: Established UK luxury tour operator with a global portfolio that includes African safaris and Indian Ocean islands. Larger scale and broader geographic reach, but Africa is one of many destinations rather than its entire focus.
• Travelbag / dnata Travel: Large UK long-haul tour operator offering Africa safari and Indian Ocean packages, part of the dnata group. Provides competitive pressure through trade agent distribution and package pricing against specialists like African Pride.

Direct peers

• Cazenove+Loyd: High-end UK luxury tour operator with strong Africa and Indian Ocean safari portfolio. Overlaps with African Pride on premium honeymoon, family and experiential safari itineraries, particularly gorilla trekking and Indian Ocean combinations.
• Expert Africa: UK-based specialist tour operator focused exclusively on luxury safaris and holidays to Africa, offering tailor-made itineraries. Direct overlap with African Pride on destinations (Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia) and customer base of UK honeymooners, families, and safari enthusiasts.
• Aardvark Safaris: UK-based Africa-only tailor-made safari specialist, member of AITO and similar trade bodies. Competes with African Pride for the same UK trade agent referrals and direct bookings on safari packages.
• Wildfoot Travel: UK specialist offering adventure and wildlife holidays with strong Africa safari focus. Overlaps on experiential and safari elements (gorilla trekking, Great Migration, Indian Ocean) and pursues similar UK trade and direct customers.
• Africa Travel: UK specialist tour operator offering luxury safaris and Indian Ocean holidays with bespoke itineraries. Competes head-to-head with African Pride across Southern and East African safari destinations and the same UK premium-traveller segment.
• Journeys by Design: Bespoke Africa safari specialist offering tailor-made itineraries across the same Southern and East African destinations. Targets the UK luxury traveller with personalised service akin to African Pride's value proposition.
• Imagine Travel: UK-based luxury tailor-made travel specialist with a dedicated Africa and Indian Ocean programming team. Competes with African Pride on honeymoon, family and experiential safari bookings from the UK trade and consumer market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about African Pride