South African Tourism has partnered with Matador Network’s GuideGeek platform to launch Siyanda, an AI-powered travel assistant designed to help North American travelers and travel advisors make South African travel planning simpler and smarter.
Siyanda provides immediate, personalized answers to targeted questions 24 hours a day through the GuideGeek chat platform. The tool leverages South African Tourism’s extensive destination data and over 1,000 travel destinations integrated through technology from GuideGeek.
Siyanda allows travel advisors to access real-time destination-specific insights, create customized itineraries, suggest authentic experiences, and answer customer inquiries about everything from national park safaris to wine tasting and city dining.
“Conversations with Siyanda, potential US and Canadian visitors, and the travel advisors who support them allow us to build dream itineraries that fit their budget and discover how far their dollars can stretch,” said Darryl Erasmus, COO of South African Tourism. “Siyaanda allows us to expand our connections by reaching travelers who are currently using AI alongside traditional channels to research and book travel. We are very proud of the innovation and dedication of our New York-based team to make South Africa a top priority for North American travelers seeking immersive, authentic experiences.”
Siyanda, which takes its name from the South African Tourism said the country was the first African destination to deploy a dedicated GuideGeek AI planning assistant, joining other popular tourism destinations such as Greece and New Zealand.
