Tourvest is a tourism group that offers a range of products and services that encompasses the needs of visitors to Southern Africa. It operates businesses that range from travel management companies, hotels, lodges, and restaurants to craft, curio and jewelry shops, and foreign exchange bureaux, under some 60 sector-leading brands, employing more than 5 000 people. The company was founded in 1997 through the incorporation of a number of long-established tourism companies. It is based in South Africa and is a global business, with operations in Southern, East and West Africa, India, the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Caribbean, as well as having principals, associates and clients throughout the world.