Websites and apps for South African tourism businesses.
Charnette Labs is a UK studio with deep South African tourism roots. Our founder's career spans the UK, South Africa and the USA, and our portfolio is African tourism — so a Cape Town lodge's trade partner, a Johannesburg DMC or a Durban inbound operator does not spend the first three meetings explaining the trade.
Deep roots, a UK base, and rand quotes.
South Africa is not a market we are learning — it is one we come from. Our founder spent years selling African luxury travel to the trade, managed key UK, US and Irish accounts while based in South Africa, and served as a Board Director and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Chapter Chair of SATSA. When a South African tour operator, DMC or safari specialist briefs us, we already speak the language.
We are a UK-registered studio, which suits South African businesses selling into UK, US and European source markets. And we quote in rand, so a Cape Town, Johannesburg or Durban business carries no foreign-exchange risk on the project.
South African tourism, online properly.
DMCs & inbound operators
Destination management companies and inbound operators across South Africa — B2B trade sites and portals that present ground capability to UK, US and European buyers.
South African tour operators
Editorial, enquiry-led websites for tour operators selling South Africa and the wider region — built to sell tailor-made travel, not commodity packages.
Representation & sales teams
Portfolio sites and sales tools for South African representation companies and supplier sales teams selling into source markets — the work we do for our own Kusa Connect.
You should not have to explain your own industry to your web team.
We have sat in the trade meetings, costed the itineraries and worked a stand at Africa's Travel Indaba. Our founder has been the seller of South African product to the international trade and the operator of a representation business — so the conversation starts at what you want to build, not at what a DMC is.
Practically, that shows up in the details. We quote in rand so you are not exposed to a moving exchange rate. We host on a fast global edge network so your site is quick for a buyer in London and a colleague in Cape Town alike. And we build each site to be found — by Google and by the AI answer engines that a growing share of trade buyers now ask first — using the same discoverability craft we proved on our own African tourism ventures.
Common questions
Do you design websites and apps for South African tourism businesses?
Yes. Charnette Labs is a UK studio with deep South African tourism roots, and South African tourism businesses — tour operators, destination management companies and the trade partners who represent safari lodges — are a core part of who we build for. Our founder's career spans the UK, South Africa and the USA, and our whole portfolio is African tourism, so a South African tourism business does not spend the first meetings explaining the trade to us.
Can you quote in rand (ZAR)?
Yes. Charnette Labs quotes South African and African continental clients in ZAR, which aligns the project currency to your revenue currency and avoids the foreign-exchange risk a pound-denominated quote can create for a Cape Town lodge or a Johannesburg DMC. UK clients are quoted in GBP and US-market clients in USD.
Do you work with Cape Town and Johannesburg tourism businesses?
Yes. Charnette Labs works with tourism businesses across South Africa, including Cape Town and Johannesburg, remotely — the same way it serves clients across the UK, East Africa, the Indian Ocean and the US. Sites are hosted on a fast global edge network, so they load quickly for both South African and international trade audiences.
What do you know about the South African travel trade?
A great deal, first-hand. Our founder spent nearly two decades in luxury safari and travel sales, managed UK, US and Irish accounts from South Africa, and served as a Board Director and KZN Chapter Chair of SATSA, the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association. That means the South African trade context — SATSA, Africa's Travel Indaba, net rates, DMC and inbound-operator structures — is familiar territory, not something we research on your time.
Are you based in South Africa or the UK?
Charnette Labs is a UK-registered studio (Charnette Ltd, England and Wales) with deep South African roots through its founder and its African tourism portfolio. We build for South African tourism businesses remotely, quote in rand, and understand the local trade — combining a UK base with lived South African industry experience.
South African tourism, built by people who know it.
From Cape Town to Johannesburg — websites and apps for the South African trade, quoted in rand, by someone who has sold South Africa to the world.
Start the conversation →Prefer email? hello@charnette.io
