Outsourcing to overseas call centres like Mindpearl’s in Fiji and South Africa offers major benefits for travel companies and their customers. Travel firms gain cost efficiencies, scalability, and access to skilled multilingual agents, ensuring around-the-clock service.
Customers benefit from faster response times, culturally sensitive support, and seamless problem resolution, enhancing their travel experience. With specialised expertise in handling airline and tourism enquiries, these centres provide professional, reliable, and customer-focused solutions that strengthen brand loyalty and operational efficiency. Travel Weekly recently caught up with Mindpearl CEO Stefan Burri.
Tell us briefly how Mindpearl came to be and what it offers as a point of difference.
Mindpearl has evolved from a captive contact centre serving a European airline alliance to a global BPO provider, trusted by some of the world’s most respected airlines.
With over 26 years of in the industry, we deliver seamless, multilingual customer experience solutions for both B2B and B2C markets, supporting aviation clients across continents with 24/7 availability and native-language expertise.
We combine the empathy and consistency of human-centric support with the efficiency and scalability of AI-powered solutions, ensuring faster resolutions, reduced operational costs, and an exceptional end-to-end customer journey.
Differentiators include a “follow-the-sun” operating model, strategically placing contact centres across multiple time zones in Fiji, South Africa, Peru, and remote teams in Namibia and Suriname, to guarantee continuous service coverage and operational resilience.
62% of our employees have been with us for 2+ years’ service with MPL, and 20% have been with us for 6+ years! Our retention rates significantly exceed industry benchmarks.
Can you outline some of the training that takes place.
For new employees, a 2-12week training program begins with a one-week induction to Mindpearl, covering company values, professional etiquette, key policies such as PCI and GDPR, and an overall introduction to our culture and expectations. This is followed by client-specific training, with duration and depth varying based on the complexity of the account. During this phase, agents receive comprehensive instruction on the client’s products, services, and systems, along with dedicated development in customer experience (CX), empathy, and soft skills. Weekly assessments are conducted to monitor progress, leading up to a final certification phase where agents practice and validate their learning through monitored calls before going live.
And ongoing and advanced training for existing staff
Beyond the initial induction, existing staff participate in ongoing and advanced training programs that range from one day to two weeks, depending on the content and complexity. These sessions focus on specialised upskilling in areas such as loyalty programs or complex ticketing processes, ensuring agents are equipped to handle more advanced customer needs. Product refresher courses are also regularly conducted to reinforce knowledge and address any gaps identified through performance monitoring. Additionally, training is updated promptly whenever there are changes to client products or services, keeping our teams aligned with the latest offerings and expectations.
Chatbots have been a feature for some time but people still like talking to a human, will they ever disappear from the solutions equation?
Chatbots are highly effective for managing repetitive, routine tasks and can enhance efficiency when applied in the right context. Their strength lies in speed, consistency, and availability, making them valuable tools for streamlining processes and supporting service delivery.
Saying that, however, the need for genuine human interaction remains essential, especially in situations that require empathy, understanding, and emotional intelligence. While chatbots can optimise certain aspects of customer support, they are not a replacement for people. Instead, they work best as complementary tools, enhancing service quality while preserving the human touch where it matters most.
The result? Customers still interact with live staff, but the experience is enhanced through smarter, AI-driven support
India- or Philippines-based call centres do not feature, why choose Fiji, a small island in the South Pacific?
Fiji offers a compelling alternative to traditional outsourcing destinations by balancing cost efficiency with high-quality service. Its strategic time zone is ideal for Australia and New Zealand, and it supports “follow-the-sun”, 24/7 service models for Europe and North America.
Fiji’s English-speaking workforce is known for a neutral accent, strong communication skills, and a natural customer service ethos shaped by its tourism industry.
With a 99 per cent literacy rate, an English-based education system, and strong cultural ties to Australia and New Zealand, Fijian agents connect easily with Western customers. High staff retention, reliable infrastructure, and a stable political environment further strengthen Fiji’s position.
Is there a similar reason for establishing call centres in South Africa and Peru offices plus work from home staff in Namibia and Suriname?
Yes, there is a similar strategic rationale behind establishing call centres in South Africa and Peru, as well as implementing work-from-home models in Namibia and Suriname.
Mindpearl South Africa, established in 2001, was the first BPO operation in Cape Town. This location was strategically selected due to its cost efficiency, favourable time zone, and access to a well-educated workforce. Similarly, the Peru office was launched in 2019 to establish a presence in the LATAM region and to leverage access to native Spanish and Portuguese language skills.
The decision to introduce a work-from-home model in Namibia and Suriname was both cost-effective and strategically driven. Previously, Dutch- and German-speaking agents were recruited from Suriname and Namibia and relocated to our call centres in Fiji and Cape Town, respectively. However, with ongoing demand for these languages, enabling remote work in their home countries proved more efficient. This approach reduced relocation and operational costs while allowing staff to remain close to their families, an added benefit that improved employee satisfaction and retention.
You get what you pay for. Please explain how wait and hold times are the subject of client budgets and how do you work around / with them?
Clients define targets and service level agreements (SLAs) for wait and hold times based on their cost-efficiency goals. We incorporate these targets into our operational planning and processes by optimising staffing, prioritising high-impact training, refining workflows, and leveraging AI solutions to improve agent responsiveness, thereby ensuring service quality aligns with the client’s cost objectives.
What services do you offer in the travel industry?
We provide a full spectrum of customer service solutions tailored specifically for the travel and tourism industry. Our support covers both inbound and outbound customer interactions, loyalty program management, baggage and lost & found services, and disruption handling during travel interruptions. We also offer dedicated B2B travel agency services, ensuring seamless support for industry partners. To meet modern customer expectations, we manage live chat, email, and social media channels, and integrate AI-enabled chatbots to enhance responsiveness. In addition, we support critical back-office operations and sales activities, delivering a comprehensive and scalable service offering for our clients.
How are you looking to expand in the region?
We are currently looking to expand across the travel eco-system including cruise lines, travel agencies, hotel and accommodation providers, hire cars and adventure travel operators. Our proven skills in managing the end-to-end customer interactions over 25 years including enquiries, bookings, customer support services, feedback and complaints handling as well as social media responses translate to improved CX and increased revenues for our clients.
With better technology such as AI, how is it being used to manage stressed callers?
With advancements in AI, we’re using technology not only to improve efficiency but also to better support stressed callers and enhance their overall experience. AI tools assist agents in real-time by providing instant access to updated information, enabling quicker and more accurate responses, reducing the need for holds or escalations, which often add to customer frustration. AI also delivers client-specific guidance to agents during calls, ensuring complex issues are resolved accurately and confidently on the first attempt.
Together, these AI-driven capabilities empower our agents to respond with speed, clarity, and compassion, turning challenging moments into more positive customer experiences.
Additionally, sentiment analysis evaluates every call, identifying signs of stress or dissatisfaction. This insight guides coaching on empathy and de-escalation techniques while helping uncover root causes of customer frustration. Together, these AI-driven capabilities empower our agents to respond with speed, clarity, and compassion, turning challenging moments into more positive customer experiences.
A GDPR vetted translation tool currently used help remove language barriers, allowing agents to reassure customers in their preferred language, especially valuable in emotionally charged situations.
Security is also an ongoing issue, how can you assure clients their data is safe?
We take data security extremely seriously and follow globally recognised standards to protect our clients’ information. Our operations are certified under ISO 27001 for information security, ISO 20000 for IT service management, and PCI-DSS for secure payment processing. These certifications reflect our commitment to maintaining the highest levels of security and compliance.
Our systems are protected by advanced endpoint protection, continuous monitoring, and 24/7 threat detection through dedicated security operations. Strict access controls, two-factor authentication, and data segregation help ensure confidentiality, while regular audits, vulnerability testing, and GDPR compliance reviews allow us to stay ahead of emerging risks.
By combining strong technical safeguards with robust policies, training, and governance, we provide a secure environment that clients can trust.
For more details email: shayne.jackson@mindpearl.com
