How Woodmead’s Neo Matee customises travel arrangements
Innovative travel consultant, Neo Matee, tells us how she survived Covid-19, and thrives to this day.
Ever since falling in love with travel in her childhood, Woodmead resident Neo Matee realised that her passion lay in tailor-making travel opportunities for her clients looking to experience our world.
Six years ago, Matee returned to South Africa from Barcelona, equipped with a travel company, Marula Escapes, and ready to share her love for travel with the wider Sandton community of adventurers and travelers.
Matee said the brand had originally been started with a focus on Africa, towards crafting travel experiences across ‘Africa for Africans’. However, she realised an opportunity to expand her operations when Covid-19 drastically impacted international travel prospects for wayfarers.
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That’s when Marula Escapes tested out their Taste Before Travel experiences, which marketed travel destinations in a more tangible manner by providing international experiences on a local scale. The first of these experiences was an immersive Turkish excursion hosted at the Nizamiya Complex in Midrand. Matee said the complex is an incredible piece of architecture just off Old Pretoria Road, which most people drive past, and notice, but don’t heed. Matee noted that although the country was under strict lockdown protocol, the period served as a platform for trying out new solutions aimed at attracting local clients to gain a greater understanding of travel destinations.
As such, a trend Matee identified was that people from Sandton were interested in visiting Bali, the Maldives, and Europe. A trend that continues to this day.
“Asia is popping for people in Sandton. France is a hot spot right now; they’re hosting the [Olympic] Games, so obviously everybody wants to be there,” Matee said in the interview on July 3. “A lot of my clients also travel for Formula One (F1); they go wherever the F1 is racing; predominantly in Europe and the United States.”
Matee, who was born in Mafikeng and raised in Centurion, emphasised how tapping into the Sandton area market was one of the main factors that attracted her to move into the perfectly situated Woodmead community.
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“Locating myself in Woodmead has helped me brand my business better in the respect that I can position myself within the minds of Sandton’s travellers clearer – versus the competition,” Matee flexed, proudly. “For me, getting closer to the market, and entrenching myself in the community of travellers, has helped me understand what the expectations are in terms of when and why people travel.”
Matee was asked how she would tailor a trip for a family of at least four people, willing to invest $50 000 in a life-changing holiday experience.
“$50 000? You’re speaking my language. If you’re travelling with children, you could do Disney Land Paris, and follow it up with some shopping at the centre of Paris. Then, move on over [to] Spain to enjoy the rich art, history, heritage, and food cultures,” Matee said, beaming as she visibly began planning the trip in her mind.
For the more outdoor, adventurous type of traveller, Matee recommended Switzerland for an unimaginable train ride.
“You’re sitting in this train, and there’s glass all around – like you’re in a dream, or in a creation of Disney Land,” Matee concluded. “Alternatively, I definitely say go see the Northern Lights in the Nordics. They’ve got beautiful igloo-type houses, aurora lights in the evening, and it’s an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
