Founded by South Africans Carl Cronje and Jakes Maritz in 2005, Expat Explore has grown from a small group tour operator into an international hosted group travel business offering more than 90 tours across five continents. With its new name, Travel Chasers, the company is building on that 21-year heritage with a name that better reflects the travellers it brings together.
‘Travel Chasers’ describes a community of travellers brought together by curiosity, shared experiences, and a desire to see more of the world.
“We outgrew our old name because our travellers were never just expats; they were people drawn to the world and to the connections you can only make when you're out there in it together,” says Cronje. “That's not an expat. That's a Chaser.”
Maritz adds that what makes them different is that Travel Chasers tours aren't restricted to a particular age group or traveller category. All products are scheduled group tours with guaranteed departures, giving travellers and agents additional security.
To them, seeing people who might never have met otherwise become close friends is the real reward of group travel.
"We believe there's richness in the experience if you have people from all walks of life together,” Maritz says. “It works. People experience it together. There's magic in that for me."
That sense of connection has translated into lasting loyalty, with more than 20 000 first-time travellers having returned to book more tours with the operator.
Together with the name change, Travel Chasers also expanded its offerings. The Classic coach tours are what they started with, and they’re still there. They’re the high-value tours that travellers love, and they’re built with South Africans in mind. “We design our tours to make your rands go further,” says Cronje.
The Europe Escape, for example, combines multiple countries with included experiences like a visit to the canals of Venice and dinner at a historic Bavarian restaurant. They also offer coach tours to destinations where South Africans can enter with relatively little visa administration, like Egypt, Turkey and Japan.
The new Premium tours let Chasers spend more time at their destinations and in more comfort. They also include river cruising options. The Rhine River Cruise with Switzerland & Paris Touring illustrates this approach, combining time on the Rhine with coach touring in Switzerland and Paris.
The Signature range offers smaller groups more personalised service and elevated accommodation, with rail journeys featured in its current offering. Experiences include travelling through Switzerland's Simmental Valley on the GoldenPass Express, exploring Florence with a local, and visiting the Palace and Gardens of Versailles on the Grand Continental Rebel.
The Chaser Made offering gives travellers complete freedom to create a tailored, private tour with their own group of any size, for any duration and to any destination.
While the name has changed, the company's focus on bringing people together through shared travel experiences remains. It might be best summed up in a recent review on its website by Annette: “Sights were seen, delicacies were consumed, fun was had and memories were made.” That sounds like exactly the sort of thing worth chasing.
Visit travelchasers.com/en-za/. Email the team at travelagents@travelchasers.com or contact the team’s Cape Town office on 087 550 4924 or WhatsApp on 079 534 2411 to find out more about Travel Chasers’ tours.
