Planning · Journal
Sourcing a DMC in East Africa: The Questions You Must Ask
Ask where they are licensed, who staffs the driveway, how they handle permits and multi-country immigration, and whether they will say no. Offices in Arusha, Nairobi and Mauritius are a start — not a substitute for the answers.
What we tell planners
Structure: where is the company incorporated and insured? Which destinations do they actually operate versus resell? Are they a member of TATO, KATO, SITE, MPI, IATA, ATTA as relevant — and can they explain what that means for your group? Who is the 24-hour number, in which timezone, and in which language at 05:10?
Product: how do they hold peak Serengeti/Mara, gorilla permits, and island room blocks? What is their concurrent-programme capacity if two incentives land the same week? How do they staff meet-and-greet at NBO, JRO, ADD, SEZ, MRU, Kigali and Entebbe? What are vehicle and boat standards? How do they brief malaria, yellow fever, altitude (Addis, Simien, crater rims) and cyclone (Mauritius)?
Multi-country: who owns the rooming list across Kenya–Tanzania immigration or safari-then-Seychelles? Do they know the East Africa Tourist Visa does not cover Tanzania? Will they produce one operations annex or three WhatsApp groups? If you already have a global agency, have they worked as a ground DMC inside someone else’s run-of-show?
Commercial and ethics: itemised costs, supplier payment terms, no orphanage or costume-ethnography product, conservation line items that are real. Ask for a sample visa matrix and a sample ‘what we will not do’ paragraph. Serengeti Experience DMC answers these from Arusha headquarters with Nairobi and Mauritius branches — and we still expect you to ask them of anyone you shortlist.
What to brief next
- — Licensing, insurance, associations and a real 24-hour desk — ask in the first call.
- — Permits, peak inventory and multi-country immigration are the East Africa-specific questions.
- — Demand a will-not list; a DMC that never refuses is not protecting you.
Related: About Serengeti Experience DMC · Why us · What a DMC does · Destinations · RFP