Luxury Safari Company CC Africa Changes its Name to AndBeyond

Luxury Safari Company CC Africa Changes its Name to AndBeyond
The company's new name is &BEYOND, one that we believe more appropriately reflects how and where we operate, and plan to operate.

The decision to change the name of the company was based on the fact that the previous name, CC Africa, was far from ideal. "Africa" no longer accurately reflects the company's operating regions; research indicated that while "Conservation" was an important value it was not a primary motivator for first time guests, and the word "Corporation" is something of a dampener because no one wants to go on holiday with a corporation!

On the expansion front, &BEYOND with joint venture partners Taj Hotels Palaces and Resorts, and Cigen, will open two new lodges in India in December: Banjaar Tola adjacent to Kahna National Park and Pashan Garh near Panna National Park, both in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. This will bring to four the number of lodges we operate in India. The group is considering other sites in India as well for further developments.

The company's expansion rollout also includes new luxury lodges in northern Kenya and southern Tanzania, and a move into Central and South America. In addition, &BEYOND is in discussions with the Madagascan Government about the construction and management of luxury lodges in that country's national parks. In August the company opened two new lodges in Botswana: &BEYOND Xudum and &BEYOND Xaranna in the Okavango Delta.

Latin America is not a traditional expansion territory for South African-based companies but our plans to go into Central and South America are based on several factors. These include the results of formal international research, research among past guests, on the ground research by senior company executives and the ability to fulfill our own known criteria that will successfully deliver the ultimate luxury adventure experience. Those three criteria are: a compelling natural location, the capacity for an interpretive guest experience, and the opportunity for Doing Well by Doing Good.

The proximity of Central and South America to the United States, a major source market for that region as well as the company's African and Indian businesses, was also a positive consideration factor.

Moving on to matters digital, our new website www.andbeyond.com encompasses both the lodge and travel components of our business. The site went live at one minute past midnight on Thursday October 30, 2008 (GMT+2 hours). Internet users who log on to www.ccafrica.com or www.ccafricasafaris.com will link through to the new site.

Features on www.andbyeond.com include the use of maps to create a context for the user - the location of &BEYOND lodges as well as destination experiences; a trip planner to access itineraries; a photo gallery featuring more than 2 300 images; and videos of each lodge accompanied by narration.

Delighting guests to make a difference is at the core of what we do, the only difference is that now we will be doing so in more of the world's most beautiful natural places under the banner of a very apt new name.

Thank you for the support that you have shown us over the years. Without it we would not be in the position to be expanding, nor would we have been able to make positive changes in the regions in which we operate.