Nansi Rail Boldly Enters The Rail Tourism Market

The South African tourism market has seen a new entrant in the rail tourism sector. Nansi Rail is the latest rail tour operating company to launch out of Cape Town.

Nansi Rail attended its first Africa Travel Indaba from 12 – 14 May 2026 to showcase its product offering and meet with potential partners and stakeholders. “The 2026 Africa Travel Indaba was a huge success. We met several exhibiting business executives who stated that this is ‘fresh’, ‘new’, ‘different’ and ‘will interest our clients’,” says the CEO of Nansi Rail.

Nansi Rail was started by its Founder and CEO, Sisa Ngondo, in February 2026. Sisa is an experienced tourism development practitioner with more than 20 years’ experience in tourism product development, tourism destination development, community-based tourism, local economic development, and capital infrastructure project management for organisations such as the City of Cape Town and Open Africa, amongst others. Sisa also has vast experience in retail, sales, and account management from his career in the private sector, working for major corporations like Sanlam, Old Mutual, The Foschini Group, and Telkom.

Nansi Rail was started after Sisa transitioned from full-time employment into running a business he has “always wanted to start”.

Nansi Rail is a rail tour operating business that aims to mainstream rail as the preferred travelling mode for both local and international visitors coming to South Africa.

Nansi Rail has launched its rail tour packages, which were marketed during the Africa Travel Indaba held at the Durban ICC from 12 – 14 May 2026.

The Africa Travel Indaba was opened by the President of the Republic of South Africa, the Hon. Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, who mentioned the critical need for tourism infrastructural upgrades that can improve the lives of youth, women, and small businesses, including those in rural areas.

The Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Ms Patricia De Lille, also expressed support for the improvement of tourism infrastructural projects to advance the growth of emerging niche tourism products, referencing the Tourism Sector Master Plan. This plan clearly outlines the critical need for “ground transport infrastructure”.

The presence of PRASA at the 2026 Africa Travel Indaba was probably the strongest rail tourism signal the national public rail entity could send.

Right from inception, Nansi Rail secured permission from PRASA as a rail tour operator. During the Africa Travel Indaba, Nansi Rail was warmly welcomed as it further engaged PRASA officials from other provinces.

Even though it was Nansi Rail’s first time attending the Africa Travel Indaba, the company was able to secure more than 20 face-to-face meetings with diverse businesses, including inbound tourism agencies, tour operators, accommodation providers, destination marketing organisations, and provincial and local authorities.

The Nansi Rail brand was recognised and appreciated by many businesses for its professionalism, product knowledge, and unique product proposition. During and after the Travel Indaba (as of 20 May 2026), Nansi Rail saw a 300% growth in its social media engagements, a 2000% growth in website visits, and distributed more than 200 brochures.

Nansi Rail is looking forward to positioning itself as the leading rail tourism operator in Africa. The company prides itself on building an organisation that upholds the five-S values: Sustainability, Service Excellence, Stories, Standards, and Synergy.

As a seasoned tourism businessman, Sisa Ngondo aims to grow the business by creating innovative tourism products and establishing new markets. Nansi Rail understands that rail tourism is still in its infancy in South Africa and will therefore deliver unique customer experiences during each of its rail tours. All Nansi Rail tours can be found on the website: www.nansirail.co.za.

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