The Sunday News
Sunday News Reporter
MULTI-AWARD WINNER Elgiboh Travel Agency and Tours once again made headlines at the Business Initiative Directions (BID) Quality Convention — London Chapter, United Kingdom when they shrugged off stiff competition from several other global firebrands to land the International Quality Crown Award on 26 November 2017 for distinguishing their brand on the international market as “classic, top-notch and quality-oriented.”
This honour was to add to their rich cabinet: The Arch of Europe 2017 International Award in the Gold Category, the Sanganai/Hlanganani Expo 2017 Best Car Rental Stand Accolade, the MegaFest Business Awards 2016 Best Travel Agency 1st Runner-up Honour — all within a space of just two years.
BID is a globally-networked organisation based in Madrid, Spain that recognises distinguished corporates the world-over who are committed to excellence and productivity, to customer satisfaction and to high quality production. Their honouring ceremonies are annual and rotate among London, Paris, New York, Geneva, Madrid and Frankfurt, among other chapters. Turner Construction, the company behind the construction of the tallest building in the world — the 162-storey Burj Khalifa Tower located in the heart of downtown Dubai projecting to 828 meters and holding the world’s highest swimming pool on the 76th floor, is but just one of the world-class companies since awarded by BID.
But how did our own Elgiboh Travel make it? On return to Zimbabwe, their Managing Director, Mr Kholakele Ngwenya preferred to be humble; “Rome was not built in a day, it all boils down to our commitment to achieve. Winning in London was not a stroll in the park. We grew by analysing inefficiencies in the one-way business-to-client approach that corporate travel was managed. At Elgiboh Travel, it is instead the client who decides what they want the agency to do. It is their choice of ingredients that informs our competitive recipe, and our dish is always a balanced diet.”
He added, “Our quality-focused market intelligence unit studies trending global practices within the corporate travel industry as well as best-practice technologies to build customer-centric solutions from the ground up. Our mission is to be envoys of goodwill in the Zimbabwean tourism sector and offer matchless and immaculate services. We have some unparalleled, key differentiating points. A click on our website will open to you a world of amazing offers that we have since unpacked. Our corporate stance is to always give a service above your expectations.”
Elgiboh Travel is Bulawayo-based and provides services in car hire, tour drives, coach and airline bookings, accommodation bookings and event management. A host of reputable organisations have since taken the pleasure of utilising their services, among them universities, non-governmental organisations and churches. But why are those people preferring Elgiboh Travel?
“Elgiboh is structured into strategic business units meant to provide you more focused and customer-oriented services. We deliver convenience. Our services are value-laden, flexible and cost-effective. However, no corporate that is serious about cost savings can deliver convenient and flexible packages to the client without changing the frequency and destination of travel, the suppliers being booked, the classes being booked, the discipline around requesting travel in advance, and the amount of time that travel arrangements are changed after they have been paid for. All these technicalities are solved by our able market intelligence unit,” said Ms Christine Zhiradzago, a Senior Sales Executive.
It is highly commendable that some private companies are pushing brand Zimbabwe overseas. The Office of the President and Cabinet has since indicated that they will be spearheading an all-stakeholders process for a national branding strategy that will inform the world that Zimbabwe is open for business. Hence, co-operation is the way forward!
