Thompson Tours operates on 2 different levels within South Africa – Thompson Holidays Outbound operates from Johannesburg and Cape Town and distributes travel related products to retail travel agents throughout Southern Africa. Thompsons Travel is an actual retail travel agency and operates in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. They offer all travel services through Africa and abroad. They offer a variety of special holiday deals and promote themselves as being very cost-effective.

Thompsons Tours was established in 1978 by Anton Thompson. He started putting tour packages together for both groups and individual travelers. Eventually he established Thompsons Corporate Travel and Thompsons Leisure Travel to accommodate both the corporate and individual markets respectively. Besides South African offices, Thompsons has also established itself in Mauritius and the Victoria Falls area. In 2008 the company celebrated 30 years of existence, and a revamp was given to spruce the company up. The name was changed from “Thompson Tours” to “Thompsons Holidays” and the focus was changed from general packaged tours to specially designed holiday deals for individual travelers.
The company prides itself on being able to create memorable and individual travel packages that suit the needs of individuals and groups. They work with companies to establish incentive travel packages to reward successful employees, and they also help arrange conferencing and special needs tours. Schools also set up group excursions through the agency, and any special interest group can approach Thompsons to get a great travel deal through the company’s Groups department.
On an individual level, there are countless holiday packages that you can arrange through the agency. Packages cover Australia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Europe, the Far East as well as the Middle East, Thailand, all Mediterranean countries, Mombasa, Dubai, Egypt as well as the rest of Africa. There are a number of tropical destinations on offer, including Mauritius, the Seychelles, the Maldives, Zanzibar and Mozambique. Thompsons will also put together a ‘sandals’ package to the Caribbean where your every indulgence will be met. Other packages include a sporting package for the more active, and a cruising package for those wanting to set sail on their holiday.
Thompsons guarantees to fix their price at current rates for up to 6 months if you pay a 25% deposit when you book your getaway – another way they’re trying to help you relax without killing your budget.