Luxury operator andBeyond to significantly grow footprint in South America and Asia

Africa specialist andBeyond has revealed plans to significantly expand its footprint in South America and Asia.

The brand, which operates 25 lodges and camps in Africa, aims to have a similar number of properties in Asia and South America by 2030.

Chief operating officer Mark Wheeler told Aspire: “Where we’d like to be five years from now is to have a similar network of lodges in Asia and South America to what we have in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Maybe a wildlife lodge in Sri Lanka or India, a mobile camping outfit in Bhutan, a lodge in Patagonia and a lodge in the Pantanal - maybe even a lodge or a second boat in the Galapagos, or a place in the Sacred Valley, where you could combine the amazing history of Peru with a more active environment.”

Founded in 1991 by chief executive Joss Kent, andBeyond spent the first 25 years of operations focused on developing its presence across Africa, with lodges in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Wheeler was promoted to chief operating officer in 2022, tasked with “infilling” gaps in Africa where andBeyond doesn’t currently have product and “exporting” the brand’s model to South America and Asia.

The operator launched its first lodge in Asia - andBeyond Punakha River Lodge in Bhutan -  in 2023, followed by the andBeyond Galapagos Explorer – the brand’s first yacht - in Ecuador in 2024.

In July this year, the operator opened andBeyond Suyian Lodge in a private 45,000-acre conservancy in Kenya.

The brand is also in the process of building the andBeyond Amazon Explorer, a 15-cabin expedition river yacht set to launch in September 2026 that will sail the Peruvian Amazon.

Wheeler labelled portfolio development a “staged process” and said andBeyond was primarily focused on developing its footprint in “on-circuit” destinations where it operates DMCs.

The brand has destination management companies in 24 countries, including 16 in sub-Saharan Africa, four in South America (Chile, Argentina, Peru and Ecuador) and four in Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan).

Asked if andBeyond would consider expanding in ‘non-circuit’ destinations, Wheeler said: “I would say there’s nowhere off the table. If an amazing opportunity came up in a non-circuit destination that had a compelling impact story around it, we would certainly consider it. But our focus is on building out the circuit of lodges in the areas where we already have operations.”

He added: “Maybe 10 or 15 or 20 years from now, we’d like to hopefully be in some of the wild spaces of North America or the Antarctic or Arctic. But let’s not run before we can walk. Let’s focus on infilling where we have an existing operation and then expand out from there.”