SUJÁN Safari Camps Expand From India to Zambia

The company that built its name on tigers in Ranthambhore and leopards in Jawai is taking its camps to Zambia. SUJÁN appointed Thomas F. Maechler as senior vice president and chief operating officer on 1 October 2026, and the same announcement confirmed the acquisition of two camps in Zambia and a plan to double the portfolio within four years.

● In brief

• Maechler brings more than 25 years in international luxury hospitality, including the Beau-Rivage in Neuchâtel and La Réserve Eden au Lac in Zurich, as well as seats on the executive committee and board of Relais & Châteaux.
• SUJÁN is weighing further properties across Africa and is also evaluating opportunities in other regions of the world.
• The company has not yet disclosed the names of the Zambian camps or the date of the acquisition.
• Its three Indian camps, Sher Bagh, The Serai and Jawai, are all members of Relais & Châteaux and all hold Michelin Keys.

Indian luxury hospitality is arriving on the safari continent, and it is doing so along two very different routes.

• SUJÁN remains independent and family-owned. Its first camp, Sher Bagh, was founded by Jaisal Singh at 21 on land rewilded in the late 1980s by his parents and his uncle, the conservationist Valmik Thapar.
• The reputation travels with the company. In 2024, SUJÁN Jawai became the first Indian hotel on the World’s 50 Best Hotels list.
• India’s largest hotel group took the corporate route a few months earlier. IHCL opened the six-key Taj Bush Lodge in Greater Kruger as the first of three Taj lodges in the area, with two more to follow.
• For both companies, the safari itself is the product that crosses the Indian Ocean, from guided game drives to conservation and community work in the reserve.