The South American operations of folded adventure travel firm Kumuka have been taken over by Mexico City-based hop-on hop-off tour operator Bamba Experience, a relative newcomer to the Australian market.
Bamba confirmed it has purchased all of Kumuka’s trucks, and has taken its operations team on board.
While it said it was able to operate all of the routes previously served by Kumuka, it said it will start by returning the Lima-La Paz and Rio-Buenos Aires routes to service. It will then assess demand for the other itineraries.
“We have already sent two of our operations managers to test out the current trips and fine tune the operation of these tours to make sure it reflects Bamba’s travel culture,” a statement from the operator said.
“We are today contacting all agents that currently distribute Bamba travel products, to ensure that they are aware that effective immediately, they will be able to book South American overland tours previously offered by Kumuka through Bamba Experience.”
Consumers or agents that have not previously booked with the firm should visit its website.
Meanwhile, the firm stressed that bookings held for Kumuka tours were not transferable. Customers with existing Kumuka bookings would still have to make a claim with the Travel Compensation Fund and rebook their tour with Bamba.
The seven year old firm, only present in Australia since last year, has been ramping up its presence in the Australian market since its introduction here last year. It started an agent training push at the start of the year, reporting constant month on month growth to date.
