Thompsons Holidays
Thompsons Holidays is a Johannesburg-headquartered, Cullinan Holdings-owned South African travel agency (founded ~1976) that sells curated packaged holidays—flights, accommodation, transfers, and activities—to South African leisure travelers across 85+ countries, ranging from budget packages under R5,000 to luxury Rovos Rail trips over R50,000 per person.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1976
- HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Thompsons Holidays does
Thompsons Holidays is a Johannesburg-headquartered, South African leisure travel agency founded approximately 1976 and operated as a subsidiary of the diversified Cullinan Holdings group. The company curates and sells packaged holidays — combining flights, accommodation, transfers, and activities — to South African travelers across roughly 85 countries and 130 destinations spanning Africa, Europe, Asia, Indian Ocean Islands, the Middle East, North and South America, and Oceania. Package pricing spans from budget tiers under R5,000 per person to premium luxury offerings above R20,000, including Rovos Rail journeys starting at R51,758 per person and Mauritius family packages from R19,041 per person. Products are organized into vertical categories including adventure/safari, family and school holidays, beach, island, city breaks, honeymoons, cruises, sports travel, train journeys, and visa-free destinations. The company holds IATA and ASATA accreditations and is nominated for the 2026 World Travel Awards.
The technology platform is a website-centric booking system at thompsons.co.za supported by integrated enquiry forms, WhatsApp live chat, and the PayGate payment gateway accepting Visa, Mastercard, and Mobicred Buy Now Pay Later credit (up to R50,000 per customer with a 5% minimum monthly repayment, powered by RCS Cards under NCRCP38 registration). Distribution operates through two channels: direct-to-consumer via website, phone, and WhatsApp, and a B2B trade network through the Thompsons for Travel sub-brand positioned as the preferred wholesale supplier for independent travel agents. Core supplier partnerships include FlySafair and Airlink for flights, Attitude Hotels, Sun Siyam Resorts, Red Carnation, Radisson, RIU, and Adaaran for accommodation, and Singapore Airlines and Hollard Travel Insurance for ancillary services.
Revenue is generated primarily through commissions on holiday package sales, with pricing on a per-person unit basis and the company leveraging Cullinan Holdings' group buying power for competitive supplier rates. Ancillary revenue streams include Mobicred financing facilitation and travel insurance referral commissions. The primary customer segment is South African individual leisure travelers; a secondary segment comprises travel trade partners reselling packages to their own clients. Revenue, headcount detail beyond the 501-1,000 employee range, and corporate financials are not publicly disclosed.
Thompsons Holidays firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Thompsons Holidays
- Legal name
- Thompsons Holidays
- Website
- https://thompsons.co.za
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1976
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Thompsons Holidays is a Johannesburg-headquartered, Cullinan Holdings-owned South African travel agency (founded ~1976) that sells curated packaged holidays—flights, accommodation, transfers, and activities—to South African leisure travelers across 85+ countries, ranging from budget packages under R5,000 to luxury Rovos Rail trips over R50,000 per person.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Thompsons Holidays is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Johannesburg
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Thompsons Holidays business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Holiday Package Sales: The company earns commission on holiday packages sold including flights, accommodation, transfers, and activities. Prices range from approximately R2,440 to R102,280 per person depending on destination, duration, and accommodation level. The company operates as part of Cullinan Holdings, leveraging group buying power for competitive supplier rates.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Budget-friendly packages under R5,000 per person |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Mid-range holiday packages R5,000-R20,000 per person |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Premium luxury packages R20,000+ per person |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Thompsons Holidays product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Thompsons Holidays is a South African travel agency that sells curated holiday packages combining flights, accommodation, transfers, and sometimes activities. Packages cover destinations across Africa, Europe, Asia, Indian Ocean Islands, Middle East, and the Americas, ranging from budget options under R5K to luxury experiences over R100K per person. The company operates both direct-to-consumer and through a travel agent partner network under the Thompsons for Travel sub-brand.
Product overview
Thompsons Holidays operates as a South African travel agency offering a comprehensive portfolio of holiday package products. The core offering consists of curated travel packages combining flights, accommodation, and transfers across multiple product sub-categories including Adventure Holidays (Big 5 Safaris, bush getaways, self-drive), Family & School Holiday Packages, Luxury & All-Inclusive Holidays, Beach Holidays, Island Holidays (Mauritius, Maldives, Seychelles, Zanzibar, Bali), City Breaks, Honeymoon Packages, Cruise Holidays, Train Trips, and Sports Travel Deals. The company also provides ancillary services including Mobicred Buy Now, Pay Later payment options (up to R50,000 credit), travel insurance referrals, and car rental coordination. With 48 years of experience, Thompsons serves South African travelers through both direct consumer channels and a network of travel agents.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Holiday Package Deals Curated travel packages combining flights, accommodation, transfers, and activities. Packages range from budget options under R5,000 to luxury experiences over R100,000 per person, covering destinations across Africa, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Indian Ocean Islands, and the Americas, with themed variants including adventure, family, beach, island, city, honeymoon, cruise, train, and sports event holidays.
- Mobicred Buy Now Pay Later Buy Now Pay Later credit solution allowing customers to spread holiday costs via convenient debit orders, with up to R50,000 in digital credit and a 5% minimum monthly repayment of the outstanding balance, powered by RCS Cards (NCRCP38).
- Travel Insurance Referral Referral service connecting holiday customers with Hollard Travel Insurance for travel protection coverage.
- Car Rental in South Africa Car rental coordination service for South African ground transportation needs as part of holiday arrangements.
Quantifiable outcome
- 48 years of industry experience and trust
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Thompsons Holidays
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Thompsons Holidays technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature1 record
Thompsons Holidays partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Mobicred (powered by RCS Cards)coreMobicred is a Buy Now Pay Later credit solution that enables customers to purchase holiday packages with up to R50,000 in digital credit. Customers repay via convenient debit orders with minimum monthly repayment of 5% of outstanding balance. Powered by RCS Cards, a registered Credit Provider (NCRCP38).
- AvisminorPartnership with Avis car rental to support the PINK Initiative in aid of breast cancer awareness. Avis provides vehicles for the company's social responsibility initiatives.
- FlySafaircorePrimary airline partner operating flights from Johannesburg to Mauritius, Victoria Falls (Livingstone), and other destinations. FlySafair is featured prominently in holiday packages with return flights and airline levies included.
- AirlinkcoreRegional airline partner for flights to Victoria Falls (Livingstone) and other African destinations included in packaged holidays.
- Singapore AirlinesminorFeatured airline partner for Far East destinations including Singapore, Thailand, Bali, and other Asian destinations.
- PayGatecorePayment gateway integration supporting Visa, Mastercard, and Mobicred card payments for secure online transactions.
- PINK InitiativeminorBreast cancer awareness initiative partnered with Avis, raising funds and awareness through the RI (Research Institute).
- CHOC Childhood Cancer FoundationminorSupported through sponsored swims of the annual Midmar Mile race, raising money for CHOC childhood cancer organization.
- Hollard Travel InsuranceminorReferral partnership for travel insurance services offered to customers booking holidays.
- Hotel Partners (Attitude Hotels, Sun Siyam, Red Carnation, Radisson, RIU, Adaaran)coreExclusive partnerships with major resort chains including Attitude Hotels (Mauritius), Sun Siyam Resorts (Maldives), Red Carnation Hotels, Radisson Hotels, RIU Hotels & Resorts, and Adaaran Resorts for packaged holiday offerings.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Thompsons Holidays competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Flight Centre Travel Group: Globally scaled travel retailer with a sizeable South African footprint selling leisure and corporate travel. Comparable as it operates in the same packaged-holiday retail channel for SA travelers but at much larger international scale and broader corporate-travel breadth.
- TUI Group: Global tourism conglomerate operating hotel, cruise, and packaged holiday brands across Europe and beyond. Comparable as a much larger incumbent offering vertically integrated holiday products overlapping with Thompsons' resort/flight package propositions.
- American Express Global Business Travel: Global corporate-travel management firm serving multinational clients including South African subsidiaries of large corporates. Comparable in the corporate/incentive travel segment that Thompsons serves as a non-primary revenue stream, though at vastly larger enterprise scale.
- Travelocity / Expedia South Africa operations: Global online travel agency platform serving South African travelers with packaged holidays, flights, and hotel inventory. Comparable as an incumbent digital channel competing with Thompsons for the same outbound SA traveler, though at vastly larger scale and lower cost structure.
Direct peers
- Travelstart: South Africa's largest online travel agency, selling flights, hotels, and holiday packages to South African consumers across multiple destinations. Directly comparable as both Thompsons and Travelstart originate from the same country and compete for the same leisure traveler's wallet.
- Gondwana Travel / Wild Frontiers: Boutique Southern African travel operators focusing on safari and adventure itineraries. Comparable as a niche operator in the same safari and bush-holiday category that Thompsons packages, with similar customer profile but smaller scale and stronger adventure specialization.
- Satguru Travel: South African travel management company serving both leisure and corporate clients with a global network. Comparable because it operates both retail holiday packaging and corporate travel management out of the same South African base serving Indian Ocean Islands, Europe, and Asia.
- Club Travel South Africa: Established South African travel agency offering packaged holidays and corporate travel with multi-brand presence. Comparable as a domestic agency competitor going after similar middle-to-upper-income SA leisure travelers and corporate accounts.
- Bonitas Travel / Sure Holideys (SA travel brands): South African travel brands marketing packaged holidays to local consumers via direct and trade channels. Comparable as domestic peers operating in similar outbound travel segment targeting the same South African customer base with package-led offerings.
Emerging players
- Travel Counsellors: UK-headquartered franchise-model travel agency network with growing international presence and corporate-travel expertise. Comparable in business model and consultant-led approach but operating from a different geographic base without the same SA retail presence.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Thompsons Holidays social profiles
Digital presenceThompsons Holidays compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Thompsons Holidays financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Thompsons Holidays leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Thompsons Holidays funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Thompsons Holidays M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Thompsons Holidays
What does Thompsons Holidays do?
Thompsons Holidays is a South African travel agency that sells curated holiday packages combining flights, accommodation, transfers, and sometimes activities. Packages cover destinations across Africa, Europe, Asia, Indian Ocean Islands, Middle East, and the Americas, ranging from budget options under R5K to luxury experiences over R100K per person. The company operates both direct-to-consumer and through a travel agent partner network under the Thompsons for Travel sub-brand.
Is Thompsons Holidays a public or private company?
Thompsons Holidays is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Thompsons Holidays founded?
Thompsons Holidays was founded in 1976. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Thompsons Holidays based?
Thompsons Holidays is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does Thompsons Holidays make money?
One revenue line is on record: holiday Package Sales.
Who are Thompsons Holidays's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Flight Centre Travel Group, TUI Group, American Express Global Business Travel and Travelocity / Expedia South Africa operations. Direct peers are Travelstart, Gondwana Travel / Wild Frontiers, Satguru Travel, Club Travel South Africa and Bonitas Travel / Sure Holideys (SA travel brands). Travel Counsellors is listed as an emerging player.
Does Thompsons Holidays have an API?
No public API is recorded for Thompsons Holidays.