Adrian Gardiner, creating a legacy in the tourism industry

SAB Environmentalist of the Year 2008 and this year’s winner of the Tourism Business Leadership Award, Adrian Gardiner began his quest with two thousand acres of eroded and abused land, a small insignificant piece of valley bushveld, and from this he grew Shamwari Game Reserve and his legacy the Mantis Group.  Shamwari Game Reserve, which is now 25 000 hectares in size has seen the re-introduction of all large game that once occurred in the Eastern Cape.  Shamwari now hosts visitors  from all over the world, and proudly displays how Mantis has brought back the wild lands.  A few years later, Mantis emulated the ‘Shamwari’ model at Sanbona, a 54 000 hectare wildlife reserve in the Western Cape, between Montague and Barrydale.

A humble man, Adrian was born in Chingola, Zambia as his father worked on the copper mines.  Later his family moved to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe when he was three years of age, and he attended the newly founded Falcon College to complete his schooling. Adrian then moved to Cape Town, South Africa to attend the University of Cape Town in 1962.  Qualified with a B.Com, he joined the Spar Group and in 1969 moved to join the Spar franchise in the Eastern Cape.  When his children went to school in Grahamstown, a piece of farmland between Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown caught his eye, and captured his desire of owning a game farm.  This game farm is now known as the world acclaimed Shamwari Game Reserve.  The word Shamwari was simply a Xhosa translation for the word ‘friend’, as Port Elizabeth, has always been acknowledged as the friendly city.  Recently Shamwari Game Reserve walked away at the World Travel Awards as the leading conservation company, safari and game reserve in the world.  Locally, Shamwari was also recognized for its environmental and conservation principles with an Amarula Award 2009.

Adrian’s move to Port Elizabeth was significant, as not only did he fall in love with the Eastern Cape but it allowed him to stretch his limits.  Adrian’s love for Port Elizabeth is so evident through his continual desire to develop and create opportunities within the city.  He understood that one of the major limiting aspects of Port Elizabeth was its small economy; which prevented him from developing and spouting a one-brand empire such as Sol Kerzner and Richard Branson.  And although Adrian had also succeeded in expanding Mantis internationally into the UK and Europe, his enjoyment and satisfaction with his Port Elizabeth based businesses exceeded that of relocating his businesses to larger markets such as Cape Town and Johannesburg.

A dominant trait of Adrian is in his ability not to give up, and to find a solution to every setback that he encounters. This is exemplified in his continuous introduction of new business initiatives; his ability to work in diverse industries and remain successful. He has stretched his limits in various industries from tourism, development, hospitality, education to conservation.  His diversity and ability to mould himself into these different sectors shows his versatility, acceptability and confidence to conquering barriers.  Adrian has ensured that he brought many opportunities to Port Elizabeth, which are still viable today and through his entrepreneurial abilities has created job opportunities for individuals in Port Elizabeth and worldwide.  He has invested his time and effort and financial resources into a diverse range of viable businesses.

Years back, Adrian strategically opened up a marketing office in London and has appointed various marketing and public relations representatives in Europe to grow the South Africa tourism industry and entice as many international visitors to Mantis destinations across South Africa.  Last year, Adrian opened another Mantis office in the United States to encourage as many Americans travelers to South Africa and to other countries that home Mantis destinations.

A man with so many achievements, Adrian has structured his company going forward, whereby he will be sourcing properties and opportunities that offer exceptional experiences to the Mantis brand and add value to the five different companies under the Mantis umbrella.  All international and South African Mantis properties have a unique offering, from the southern tip of Antarctica to the Scottish Highlands; each destination offers a bucket list of ‘must travel experiences’.

The Group has acquired an international footprint into the world; from hospitality and operations management, development management, conservation management, marketing and pr management to educational opportunities for the tourism and hospitality industries over the globe – an ideal situation for any Mantis property.

Thus far, Adrian Gardiner has been appointed to develop the following projects:

• $350m Seychelles Development Contract for a Royal Middle East family,  which includes world class boutique hotels, wellness and spa complex and a world class environmental education and marine rehabilitation center
• Lodge developments in Rwanda to uplift tourism and create employments for the local communities.
• Hotel development in Chectenham, United Kingdom (Ellenborough Park)

Mantis also has one of the most sophisticated and well equipped conservation and wildlife departments in the country, that’ evident by the fact that Mantis consults all over the world; the conservation team have been requested to work in places such as Scotland, Morroco, the Middle East and Africa.

Mantis has developed formal relationships and strategic partnerships with the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa, Stenden University Hotel in Netherlands and in Port Alfred, South Africa providing Mantis properties with educational and research platforms when required. Other strategic alliances with the Born Free Foundation and the Wilderness Foundation allow Mantis to promote the conservation of species and the protection of habitat while maintaining a humane and compassionate approach to the welfare of animals.

Against all odds, Adrian Gardiner is without a doubt a major contributor to the tourism industry, from a small beginning in the tourism industry, the Mantis Group which was founded in 2000 has grown substantially over the years with an introduction of new hotels, boutique establishments and world leading game reserves to its portfolio.  Currently sitting with 30 properties, including a few iconic ones such as The World residential ship and Cap Estel on the French Riveria, Adrian Gardiner’s vision is to target approximately 100 properties over the next couple of years; and this simply means that we will be hearing much more about this remarkable man, his new acquisitions and greater achievements.

And finally, as Adrian Gardiner concludes his interview with Travelwires.com, he draws our attention to the Mantis way of life – In an impersonal service and climate abuse, Mantis is dedicated to conserving true hospitality and the environment.  Each guest should feel that their arrival is the one event that we at Mantis have been waiting for – a leader with a legacy worth keeping an eye on.