Virtual Bucket List.Guru – created by two popular South African bloggers – is an online platform designed to help the recovery of the South African tourism industry post-COVID.
Well-known travel writers, Di Brown (The Roaming Giraffe) and Ryan Enslin (My Lime Boots) teamed up to create Virtual Bucket List.Guru during lockdown to allow suppliers and operators in tourism and hospitality to offer experiences at discounted rates to consumers, who can pre-book for an exciting post-lockdown experience.
“Virtual Bucket List.Guru calls upon all South Africans to ‘do their part’ to help rebuild the travel and hospitality industry, one that employs 1.5 million South Africans,” said Enslin. “We all love to travel, eat out, explore our cities and enjoy a little pampering.”
Based in Johannesburg, Enslin began his career as a chartered accountant but soon realised it was the world of exploring and story-telling that caught his attention. Today he is an avid writer, photographer and videographer.
Brown lives in Cape Town and fell in love with the tourism industry while working as an aeronautical cartographer creating maps for the tourism market. She created The Roaming Giraffe blog in 2013, which has since enjoyed great success.
With a combined audience base of 400 000 engaged accounts, plus marketing expertise from each of their individual blogs, Enslin and Brown want to provide hope and get people back to working and earning as fast as possible.
“I also believe domestic tourism has the potential for tremendous growth, and now is the perfect time to grow it,” said Brown.
Tourism products such as Thanda Safari in Zululand, Tintswalo Lodges’ walking safaris, Samara Private Game Reserve and Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in the Great Karoo, have already committed to the new venture.
“The offers continue to come in daily,” said Enslin. “The most important point being that it is a win-win for both the tourism operator and the consumer, as no money changes hands until the experience is enjoyed.”
Operators who list on Virtual Bucket List.Guru incur no cost for either the listing or the marketing activities undertaken by the site until a sale is made and a minimal commission structure kicks in.
