Stanley Tollman is an entrepreneur from South Africa. He was born in Johannesburg in September 1930. During his 80 years he has lived in Monte Carlo, the United Kingdom and the United States. Although he has lived all over the world, Stanley Tollman remains first and foremost a South African. He is actively involved in his native land, be it in tourist operations, donations to charities, pushing for wildlife and plant preservation or supporting local artists.
The Travel Corporation
Stanley Tollman is best known for his tourism and travel empire - The Travel Corporation, also known as TTC. TTC is a family-owned international travel group that was founded by Stanley Tollman and now operates in sixty countries and five continents worldwide. It has 35 offices and 4000 employees under its employ.
TTC owns 25 travel brands, of which many are award-winning. Some of the biggest brands offer river cruises, niche tour operations and luxury hotels, such as The Red Carnation Hotel Collection, Contiki Holidays, Brendan Vacations, Creative Holidays, Uniworld, AAT Kings, African Travel and Trafalgar Tours.
With the continuing growth in the travel and tourism industries, two areas seem to be in particular focus – luxury travel and the Asian market. In both these arenas The Travel Corporation has made its mark. With two award winning brands for luxury travel – the Red Carnation Hotels and Uniworld River cruises – founder and Chairman of TTC, Stanley Tollman, has much of which to be proud. And Stanley Tollman’s wife, Bea, is prominent in both these brands. The founder of the Red Carnation chain of hotels, Bea Tollman, today serves as President and her style of innate luxury still rules. Uniworld has a ship – the River Beatrice – name for the Tollman matriarch.
Celebrating Stanley Tollman
As recently as last October, Stanley Tollman's 80th birthday was celebrated in true form. The celebration took place during the International Sales Conference 2010, organized by The Travel Corporation in Cape Town.
TTC's top executives were in attendance, as well as some of the company's leading employees. This international tourism conference was held only a couple of months after the extremely successful World Cup which was also held in South Africa. The conference leveraged the football tournament's influence on local tourism to push the potential of South Africa's tourism industry.
At the TTC conference Stanley Tollman took the opportunity to donate large sums of money to South African charities that he feels do an excellent job and support causes that are close to his heart. These charities include the world famous reverend Desmond Tutu's Peace Centre; the Make A Difference Foundation, whose chairman is a South African sports icon, Francois Pienaar, previously the national rugby team's captain when South Africa won the 1995 World Cup; and The Amy Biehl Foundation. In a different setting, Stanley and Gavin Tollman together gave the sum of R325,000 to a West Cape medical facility, the Groote Schuur Hospital, in memory of Dr Arnold Tollman. Dr. Tollman, who was Gavin's father, suffered from kidney disease so the gift will be used to improve the methods of treating renal failure as well as finding new treatments. The hospital also intends to acquire better medical equipment that will lower the cost to kidney patients.
A Self-Made Man
Hotelier Stanley Tollman entered the world of tourism in 1949, when he chose to forgo his academic studies and concentrate on running his parents' restaurant. His parents also owned a local hotel called The Palace Hotel. The family restaurant run by Stanley Tollman turned into a chain of restaurants and hotels under the SA Empire brand. When he was only 25 years old he had already managed to make an incredible fortune.
These businesses flourished with the help of Bea Tollman, Stanley's wife. The couple met in a hotel named the Oyster Box Hotel and a while later they decided to purchase this hotel and remake it.
One of the most famous buildings in South Africa was built by Stanley Tollman - the Tollman Towers. For many years The Tollman Towers were the tallest buildings in the continent. Also, the hotel located in the towers was the continent's first hotel to be included in the exclusive list of premier hotels in the world.
Online References
The Story of Stanley Tollman, Travel Industry Veteran
Stanley Tollman and a Family Dynasty | Euro Cheddar