Never has there been a greater need to teach the world about the importance of conservation. Andrew Pelis talks to one South African company that is making impressive strides in doing just that.
As each day passes, we seem to learn of new threats to our planet’s fragile ecosystem—a vast number of which are the result of global industry. But one pioneering company based in South Africa’s Eastern Cape is giving credence to the idea that industry and nature can work together. It has hit on the perfect blend of corporate activity and conservation, thanks to its founder’s thirst for local knowledge.
The Mantis Group is a group of five-star boutique hotels and game reserves, with headquarters in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It does however, have a global reach—indeed, the company recently introduced its Mantis Journeys to South America, which include rainforest visits and a trip to Buenos Aires.
Mantis owns game reservations in Africa, hotels in Europe (and increasingly throughout the world) and is thoroughly committed to education that extends far beyond its work of teaching local people about the importance of their environment. Indeed, the company boasts a welter of global awards for its conservation and educational work, including The World Travel Awards’ World’s Leading Safari & Game Reserve and World’s Leading Conservation Company for the 13th consecutive year in 2009.
This is all a far cry from the desolate landscape which Adrian Gardiner, owner and chairman of the Mantis Group, surveyed back in 1992. “My background was in construction and transport and when I bought 2,500 acres at Shamwari it was degraded, drought-ravaged land. It started out as a weekend farm project for me and at the time I had no intention to put the local wildlife back on the land. As I read up on the area I learned that much of the wildlife had been decimated; the last lion disappeared in 1850 and we hadn’t had rhinos for a very long time. I decided to rejuvenate the area and we gradually re-introduced the native species.”
Following enormous hard work and the consolidation of local farms, Shamwari has grown into a 50,000 acre game reserve, home to Africa’s Big Five inhabitants—lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and buffalo.
A further 100,000 acre site close to Cape Town; the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, and links to the high profile Kruger National Park (including a concession permitting the Jock Safari Lodge), in addition to the group’s involvement in Rwanda through its popular Gorilla and Primate Experiences, have helped turn Mantis into the continent’s leading game brand.
Over the past 10 years the group has also moved into the boutique hotel market. It has purchased the Draycott and Lord Milner hotels in London and opened affiliated hotels worldwide which offer the five-star Mantis experience. The UK connection in particular is one that Gardiner has been keen to utilise. “Historically, there has always been a close relationship between South Africa and the UK; and today, around 50 per cent of our 40,000 annual visitors to South Africa come from Britain. We have offices in London, Peterborough and York and sales offices around the world.”
Gardiner says that the last 12 months have seen Mantis achieve phenomenal growth—and he is quick to acknowledge the role of his management team. “We have concentrated on acquiring the right skills within the company and have adhered to a simple ethic: the manager has to believe that they own the business they operate—and I am a great believer in sharing profit around.
“We now have five divisions,” he continues. “Development has grown enormously; and we provide a number of turnkey solutions to people that come to us for help to start hotels or reserves. It is our expertise and experience that has helped to really grow the business in this area recently. We also offer hospitality and marketing services within this sector; while the wildlife division’s success is well documented through our work at Shamwari,” he adds.
The fifth division at Mantis is an area that Gardiner hopes will leave a lasting legacy—education, and not just among its 1,500 employees, but also among local communities and tomorrow’s future conservationists and hoteliers. “We have joined forces with the world-renowned Dutch university Stenden to create the Stenden University Campus close to Shamwari, which offers a bachelor’s degree programme in International Hospitality Management,” Gardiner reveals. “We accommodate around 200 students and this is the only place in the world where they can do a semester in wildlife.”
Further partnerships with the Born Free Foundation (teaching 500 disadvantaged children a month) and the Wilderness Foundation South Africa, plus Mantis’ very own Shamwari Foundation, help to educate tourists and the local community on the importance of conservation in a number of areas. These include reserve and game management, vegetation management, water management and anti-poaching initiatives.
“I am the chairman of the Wilderness Foundation,” states Gardiner, “and one of our aims is to provide AIDS orphans with an education in hospitality. This project has proved wonderfully successful and my CEO recently won the Rolex Award in recognition of our work.”
Gardiner admits it is challenging to ensure that all sites operate according to Mantis’ credo—which means leaving very little carbon footprint while at the same time operating profitably. “We operate the Green Leaf initiative [which helps to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of tourist accommodations] and are now rolling this programme out to our European facilities. Fortunately we are still relatively small, which makes this much easier to do,” he explains.
While accepting that the global economic situation has had a largely negative effect on standalone hotels, Gardiner says that Mantis Group’s wide range of products and services has helped to strengthen its brand.
The group has now embarked on a business strategy with a special focus on the European market—and Gardiner has very clear ideas on its direction. “The marketplace has become very competitive and we receive enquiries every day from businesses wanting our help. We are now consolidating and are being much more selective about which projects we will work with.
“We don’t want to become a hotel chain; we want to create rarity. Each hotel offers a different five-star experience (we are at the top end of the market only) and we try to create a Mantis Journey for each client. For example, if they visit Victoria Falls, they will also visit product along the Zambezi.”
It could be argued that Gardiner has already left a lasting impression, since he officially owns Africa’s Leading Game Reserve Brand 2009 (another accolade from the World Travel Awards). However, he sees his role in human terms also. “I’d like to take Mantis into areas of distribution and construction, but we would also like to do the marketing, and provide education and exchange programmes.
“Man is probably the most disorganised creature on the planet and has abused all of his resources. We are now at a serious stage—and Mantis is aiming to take conservation and carbon footprint control to the next level,” he concludes.
