Tourists who hire cars in South Africa are set to benefit a new navigational system known as Satpacking, which provides an extra layer of security for those on self-driving holidays.

The brainchild of local operator Satpack Travel, the innovation uses personalised travel tips, local knowledge and satellite navigation technology to allow the driver the best information and route maps to make their trip to the republic a memorable, and safe, one.

Though the rental car market in South Africa has declined in line with most nations so far this year, the 2010 Football World Cup will see unprecedented numbers of arrivals, and car hire demand looks set to explode. For anyone considering making the trip to see the event now is a good time to begin making inquiries and doing some research.

South Africa has an extensive road network and is one of the best countries to explore by car or van. It’s huge range of natural parks, notorious recent history and bustling cities are a drivers dream, albeit one that is traditionally etched with danger.

The country, football aside, features eight world heritage sites and tourist hot-spots such as Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The game reserves also attract scores of travellers each year, most however, wary of the high crime rate in the country which has proved such a deterrent for car travel in the past, which is where Satpack hopes to corner the market.

The Satpack technology combines up-to-date information provided by the travel agency arm of the company to create personalised itineraries for hirers, and the team at the agency is always on call by email or phone. The local knowledge of the staff enables destinations to be planned whereby tourists can see the most on offer, rather than the traditional fastest route approach. Satpack staff claim the fastest route from A to B is normally not the most scenic or safest.

Staff can also assist with restaurant bookings and road information ahead, reducing stress which has long been a major cause of accidents.

Staff have claimed that they represent the new hire car philosophy of becoming a virtual concierge.