Natalie Tenzer-Silva, Director of Dana Tours Lda, has worked in the tourism industry since 1994 first managing a large travel agency and then becoming Mozambique’s largest inbound tour operator. Her language skills and capacity as a team leader have earned respect within Dana Tours, the Mozambican business community, and the Government being a member of the Chamber of Commerce Tourism Committee.
She spends her spare time with her husband and two boys.
How did Natalie start her journey?
Natalie was born in South Africa and moved to Mozambique in the early 90s where she learned Portuguese.
“In 1993 I followed my husband to Mozambique as he embarked on what was meant to be a 2-year work contract. Although he was ready to leave after that contract ended, I was extremely happy living in Maputo and convinced him to stay. I found an amazing job in the travel industry, working for one of the largest IATA agencies at the time. After 8 years of managing the Travel Agency, I felt the need for change, and a chance meeting with someone in 2002 led me to enter a joint venture with my bosses to create a Mozambique Inbound Operator and DMC (Destination Management Company). I didn’t realize at that point how my career path would be reshaped,” says Natalie.
“Mozambique tourism was just budding at the time, having only recently recovered from an almost 20-year civil war. I realized how privileged I was, living in such a unique and beautiful country, with a vast coastline, immense geography, and wonderful people,” Natalie continues.
Surrounded by a positive and motivated team
Although there were less than a handful of tourist attractions in the country at that time, some travelers were eager to venture into this relatively unknown part of Southern Africa. Dana Tours began with only Natalie and one other employee and grew to a 21-staff complement pre-Covid.
During Covid, it was devastating to let staff go, but what was inspiring her was that everyone who left said they would come back in a heartbeat if the economic situation improved. They had a buddy system during those dreadful years, where each person was responsible for checking on the well-being of a colleague regularly. There is always a good spirit in the office. The staff often play music and laugh a lot and Natalie values the positive atmosphere.
Making the work environment a happy place for all
“Our Team is a 50/50 female/male split and aside from me, every employee is Mozambican. I have found working with Mozambicans extremely rewarding and I strive to make our work environment a happy place for all. Having job security means that people can own up if mistakes are made, avoiding finger-pointing and rather learning from incidents. We work as a Team,” says Natalie.
Dana Tours: Showering light into the luxurious world of travel
Dana Tours bookings began with a couple of honeymoons to the Bazaruto archipelago, and slowly this grew to conference and incentive bookings and operating port excursions for all the cruise liners docking in Maputo. Over the years, they built a fleet of vehicles, and chauffeur-drive is now a large part of their portfolio. Working with oil & gas companies means that Health & Safety management systems had to be implemented, which they have instilled in their company.
“Being a DMC, 99% of our portfolio is selling Mozambique. Most other local agents sell the whole world, but we concentrate on a fully Mozambique experience. We know Mozambique! There is so much to offer, and our Team gives guidance on how to build sensible itineraries in Mozambique where guests get to experience the culture, safari, and beach. With limited domestic flight connections and sometimes arduous road journeys our dedicated Team irons out all the details,” says Natalie.
Creating Itineraries for their clients
“Creating itineraries for all our clients, be they a honeymoon couple or a large conference, attention to detail is paramount, and exceeding customer satisfaction is our goal. Word of mouth and repeat business shows us that this works!” asserts Natalie.
MICE as well as leisure travelers will find it the perfect choice
A Convention Bureau in Mozambique has just been set up, and this will enable us to proactively bid for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Events) business. Natalie wants to see these events taking place every week. This will boost the tourism sector enormously and have a hugely positive effect all the way down the value chain.
Battling the balancing struggle
Competing with online travel companies is a hurdle, but Mozambique is still very much a tailored experience, and Natalie believes that the need for a travel adviser is still very much required. “We are moving to an online platform for part of our service offerings, but tailored itineraries still involve lots of back-and-forth communication with our clients. Since each itinerary is suited to the individual client, complete automation isn’t a solution,” says Natalie
Bright future roadmap
Each year the company introduces a new day tour in Maputo. The more offerings they have, the longer the tourist will stay. Their latest offerings are Gastronomic Tour and a Batiq-making tour.
Dana Tours operates port excursions for all the passenger cruise liners docking in Maputo. “I am hoping that soon we will have all the major cruise companies docking in our waters,” assures Natalie.
