About Us
Meet the Founder – Zoliswa Samantha Mtinini
Zoliswa Samantha Mtinini is a South African tourism entrepreneur and community development practitioner, born and bred in the Eastern Cape with deep roots in Xhosa culture both in Cape Town and the rural Eastern Cape.
With years of experience in township tourism around Cape Town, Zoliswa recognised the need for a more meaningful and respectful approach to cultural tourism. She felt uncomfortable with tourism experiences that focused only on poverty and quick township sightseeing without creating genuine human connection or benefit for local communities.
This inspired her to create Kwanda Tourism Services and Voluntourism — an effort to combine tourism with community empowerment. Initiatives focus on cultural immersion, community empowerment, and authentic engagement rather than observation alone. Her aim is not just to bring tourists into communities as observers, but to engage them in meaningful interactions to support local women’s projects, transfer skills and help with sustainable community initiatives.
Through village homestays, Xhosa cultural experiences, arts and music initiatives, volunteer programmes, and skills development opportunities, Zoliswa aims to create experiences that allow visitors to truly connect with local people, traditions, and communities in a respectful and meaningful way.
Her vision is to use tourism not only as a way to showcase culture, but also as a platform to support local projects, empower communities, encourage skills transfer, and create opportunities for local people.
Why Choose Kwanda Tourism Services
Authentic Cultural Experiences Rooted in Community, Connection & Ubuntu
Kwanda Tourism Services was founded with a vision to create smaller, authentic and meaningful cultural experiences that connect visitors with the people, traditions, and everyday life of South Africa’s township and rural communities.
Based in Cape Town and the Eastern Cape, Kwanda Tourism Services offers authentic Xhosa cultural experiences, village homestays, township tours, and voluntourism programmes designed to promote cultural exchange, responsible tourism, and community benefit and empowerment.
We invite locals as well as international tourists interested in responsible travel, cultural immersion and helping communities we present interesting options.
At the heart of everything we do is the spirit of Ubuntu — a South African philosophy meaning “I am because we are.” Ubuntu reflects the values of humanity, kindness, togetherness, and caring for one another, values that continue to shape the communities and experiences we proudly share with visitors from around the world.
Our Mission
Our mission is to give visitors deeper township experience not just poverty tours - create authentic, community-focused tourism experiences that celebrate Xhosa culture, preserve local traditions, daily lives of township residents and create genuine, respectful engagement and promote meaningful human connection.
We believe tourism should benefit both visitors and local communities by encouraging cultural understanding, respect, and sustainable community development.
Together with her team members they represent a shift in how tourism can be done, more culture-centric community-empowerment, less exploitative - with the team we make tourism more inclusive and beneficial to local communities rather than just extractive.
Responsible Tourism Philosophy
At Kwanda Tourism Services, we believe tourism should be ethical, respectful, and inclusive. Our experiences are designed to move beyond traditional “poverty tourism” by focusing on culture, people, storytelling, traditions, creativity, and genuine interaction.
Rather than simply observing communities, visitors are encouraged to engage meaningfully, support local initiatives, and experience South Africa through authentic cultural exchange.
Together with our team, local guides, artists, hosts, and community partners, we are proud to be part of a growing movement towards tourism that is more community-centred, empowering, and beneficial to local people, sharing their culture, stories, and traditions with visitors from around the world.
Together, we create warm, welcoming, and unforgettable experiences that reflect the true spirit of Ubuntu and South African hospitality.
