From the bush and five-star hotels to cultural tours and travel businesses, these women are showing just how many ways there are to build a career in KwaZulu-Natal tourism.
Tourism in KwaZulu-Natal is often reduced to its beaches, game reserves and big-name hotels. But behind those experiences is a diverse industry shaped by people working across conservation, hospitality, cultural tourism and travel, and increasingly, women are taking up space in all of it.
For Women’s Month, we meet five women whose careers could hardly look more different. One works on the front lines of wildlife conservation, another leads one of KZN’s best-known luxury hotels. In contrast, others build hospitality teams, create cultural experiences, and grow their own travel businesses.
Their stories also offer a glimpse into the many ways visitors experience the province. From the wilderness of iMfolozi and the shores of Umhlanga to KZN’s battlefields, heritage sites and local communities, their work helps connect travellers with the people, places and experiences that make the province distinctive.
Together, they show that there is no single route into tourism and no single way to shape it. These are their stories.
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A Section Ranger at iMfolozi, Hlengiwe Nzuza works where few would expect to find a career in tourism: deep in the bush. Inspired by her father, she has spent nearly two decades in conservation and in 2023 became the first Black woman to hold her Section Ranger position.
Her story brings together wildlife, leadership, resilience and a career that can literally take her from the ground to a helicopter.
As the first Black African woman to lead The Oyster Box, Philisiwe Gumede is making history at one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most recognisable hotels.
But for her, luxury is about more than the ocean views and famous red-and-white lighthouse; it starts with people. Her leadership is centred on developing staff, creating genuine connections with guests and showing young women from backgrounds like hers that they belong at the top.
For Sinethemba Zuma, tourism is about experiencing a place, not simply looking at it. Through SNN Zuma Tours, she connects visitors with KZN’s food, heritage, communities and local artisans.
One of her biggest career moments came when she was entrusted with creating the tourism experience for the Wales rugby team, an opportunity that proved just how much a local woman-owned business can deliver on an international stage.
As General Manager of ANEW Hotel Ocean Reef Zinkwazi, Deborah Naicker has built her career around people, leadership and the willingness to take risks. Her approach is refreshingly honest: leaders will sometimes make the wrong call, and the answer is to own it, learn and move forward.
She also sees huge potential for women in tourism, and believes KZN still has plenty of lesser-known beach and bush experiences waiting to be explored.
Sisanda Nisbet never set out to build a career in tourism. She joined SAA to fund her dream of becoming a lawyer, but somewhere along the way she fell in love with the people, cultures, and stories that come with travel.
Today, she leads SabiPax Travel, using technology and entrepreneurship to create opportunities for herself and other young women, turning what began as a detour into a career of her own.
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