Even before he celebrated his 80th birthday in 2010, Tollman family patriarch, native South African, and travel entrepreneur Stanley Tollman realized he had a lot to be thankful for at his age. The travel and tourism businessman is founder and Chairman of The Travel Corporation, an umbrella organization owning at least 25 travel, tourism, leisure and hotel businesses and brands. Not only has Tollman's guidance and business know-how helped the Tollman family establish a top travel company, but he has also helped South Africa build its tourism.
In The Beginning
Four generations of the Tollman family are involved in the hotel and travel business. It all began with Stanley Tollman's parents, who owned a hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa in the 40s. Tollman left college at age 19 to help his parents run the hotel and its restaurant. This paved the way for Tollman's determination to create a hotel space of his own and he did so with wife Bea. The two ran The Nugget Hotel, with Bea managing the hotel's restaurant and Stanley managing the day-to-day business.
As business boomed, Tollman had the chance to create another hotel in Johannesburg and he established The Hyde Park Hotel, the first boutique hotel in South Africa. It featured amenities like a discotheque and a five-star restaurant run by his wife. From then on, Tollman continued to build and create a network of hotels, including one location that became the tallest building in Africa.
The Travel Corporation
Red Carnation Hotels, Trafalgar and Uniworld River Cruises are just some of the brands found under The Travel Corporation (TTC), established by Stanley Tollman in 1947 to hold all of his travel and tourism companies in one consolidated group. TTC, or TravCorp as it's sometimes called, has operations in over 60 countries with 35 offices around the world and 4000 employees working for the organization. It offers a plethora of travel experiences including escorted, independent, and youth touring, cruises, transportation services, hotels, and leisure activities.
TTC Activities
Tollman, a South African native born in 1930, has helped South Africa grow its tourism industry with the help of The Travel Corporation and some of its affiliated companies. In October 2010, The Travel Corporation held its International Sales Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, with 350 of the company's best managers, executives and employees. They also established the Destination South Africa partnership, teaming up with South African tourism to announce a 2-year alliance between the two companies to promote marketing, travel, growth and development of a new South Africa experience.
Tollman also makes donations to many South African charities including the Make a Difference Foundation. He also makes contributions to promote the creativity of South African artists with the Tollman Award for Visual Art. Finally, he helps with the preservation of South African wildlife, an issue he feels strongly about.
This is also where he is involved with another TTC project. The non-profit organization, The Conservation Foundation, was created to promote awareness, protection and preservation of the environment based on specific eco-travel standards and sustainable tourism. They focus on climate, marine life and endangered species, among other environmental issues.
Read more information on Stanley Tollman on:
Stanley Tollman - Crunchbase Profile
Stanley Tollman - Professional CV