South African Tourism, in partnership with Matador Network's GuideGeek platform, launched Siyanda, an AI-powered travel assistant designed to make trip planning to South Africa simpler and smarter for North American travelers and travel advisors.
Siyanda delivers instant, personalized answers round the clock to destination questions via the GuideGeek chat platform. The tool draws on South African Tourism's extensive destination data and over 1,000 travel information integrations from GuideGeek's technology.
Siyanda enables travel advisors to access real-time, destination-specific insights, craft custom itineraries, suggest authentic experiences and answer client queries on everything from national park safaris to wine tastings and city dining.
"Through chatting with Siyanda, potential U.S. and Canadian visitors, and the travel advisors assisting them, can build a dream itinerary that fits their budget and discover just how far their dollar can stretch," said Darryl Erasmus, COO at South African Tourism. "Siyanda enables us to grow our connection by reaching travelers who are now using AI alongside traditional channels to research and book trips. We are incredibly proud of our New York-based team's innovation and dedication to keeping South Africa top-of-mind for North American travelers seeking immersive, authentic experiences."
Siyanda, which gets its name from the Xhosa word meaning "we are growing, we are increasing," reflects the destination's commitment to engaging the North American market through new technology. South African Tourism said the country is the first African destination to roll out a dedicated GuideGeek AI planning assistant, joining other popular tourism destinations such as Greece and New Zealand.