Appointments

 Thabo Rafuthu has been
appointed new gm of the
Protea Hotel Durban Edward.
His appointment follows more
than five years as gm of the
Protea Hotel Roodepoort.
Thabo has worked at the
hotel group since completing
school.
 De Hoek
Country Hotel has
welcomed new
sales manager,
Khulile Mkhabela.
Originally from
Durban, she
completed her Bachelor of
Arts in English, Public Policy
and Administration at the
University of Cape Town and
is currently working towards
an LLB through Unisa. Before
joining the hotel, Khulile
gained sales experience while
working at Protea Hotels,
Sheraton Hotels and Taj
Hotels, Resorts and Palaces.
 Petra Onel has been
appointed Satsa’s new coo on
an interim basis. Previously,
she worked at Welcome Tours
and Kuoni Travel. “Petra brings
over 30 years of tourism
experience and business
acumen in the key areas of
operations and finance and we
look forward to having her as
part of the Satsa team,” said
ceo, David Frost.
 Exclusive Serenity is to
represent Karkloof Safari Spa
in Pietermaritzburg and will
be responsible for the lodge’s
sales, marketing and PR in the
South African market.
 Daksha Vallabh has been
appointed exhibition sales
manager of the Sandton
Convention Centre. She
holds a national diploma
in Exhibitions, Events and
Conference Management from
Damelin, and a certificate in
Project Management from
Wits University. Daksha has
worked at Creative Axis, the
Business Revolution Group,
Events on Show, Scan on
Show, and more recently for
Sun International. “We are
delighted that Daksha has
joined our dynamic team.
Her experience is extensive
and ideally suited to the
Sandton Convention Centre
systems along with her deep
understanding of the needs of
the industry,” says Shaun Bird,
gm of Sandton Convention
Centre.
 Jenman African Safaris has
appointed new operations
manager, Alex Schwager, and
digital marketing manager,
Kate Higgs. Alex will be based
at the Cape Town offices
and will look after operations
in Maun, Victoria Falls and
Arusha.
 The African Travel and
Tourism Association has
appointed Chris Mears to
take up a new position of
coo, reporting to ceo,
Nigel Vere Nicoll. Chris
spent 13 years with Acacia
Adventure Holidays working
both in UK and South Africa
and until December 2015
managed the Cape Town
office. For the past year he
worked for Heathrow Airport
as Groups Sales Development
manager. Chris will take up
his new appointment on
January 9.