SOME six decades after
pioneering scheduled
tours in the South
African market, the Foggitt
family are back in the
business of selling packaged
tours after snapping up the
GSA for charters between
Johannesburg and the
Maldives.
John Foggitt founded TFC
Tours in 1955. In the 1960s
the company operated
charter flights to Hong
Kong, Bangkok, Tehran,
Istanbul, Taipei, and Rio de
Janeiro, at a time when no
scheduled services operated
to these destinations.
In 1972, TFC started
packaging the Seychelles
with charter flights operated
by Luxair. The inaugural
Luxair flight was the second
flight to land at the new
Seychelles airport.
In 1978, the company
brought the first cruise ship
to South African waters –
the Victoria, which could
carry 726 passengers.
During this cruise season,
roughly 2 400 South
Africans booked cruises.
In 1991 John retired and
sold TFC. A year later, the
Oceanos sank and the new
ownership of TFC decided to
leave the cruising industry.
In 1992, John’s children,
Allan Foggitt and Daphne
Osborne opened Starlight
Cruises, taking on TFC’s
cruise operation.
Their brother, Clifford
Foggitt, joined the company
a few years later.
This company became the
GSA for MSC Cruises before
it was sold to MSC in 2011,
at which stage, Allan and
Daphne stayed on.
Allan and Daphne retired
from MSC Cruises in 2016,
when the company was
selling cruises to roughly
140 000 passengers
annually.
During this time, John’s
grandchildren started
Starlight Holidays, selling
small packages here and
there. Allan and Daphne
have now joined their
children to take on the
Maldives project.
Starlight Holidays has
been appointed sole GSA
for Air Tour Operators for
the Johannesburg-Gan route,
following the signing of a
charter agreement between
Air Tour Operators, SAA and
the Ministry of Tourism in
the Maldives.
“We’ve come full circle,”
says Daphne. She’s excited
about the potential for
this destination in the
South African market.
“The Maldives used to get
about 100 000 tourists
from South Africa. But this
shrank when the charters
stopped about 18 years
ago. The destination is hard
to access and expensive for
South Africans.”
Starlight Holidays will
sell eight round-trip flights
between November 24,
2018 and January 12, 2019
with package rates starting
from R16 950pp (including
flights, accommodation,
transfers and taxes). The
flights have been packaged
with three resorts that
offer bed and breakfast,
half-board, full-board and
all-inclusive options: Equator
Village (three star); Canareef
(four star); and Shangri-La
Villingili Resort and Spa (five
star).
Daphne says, depending
on demand, charters may
be extended out of the peak
season.
