I grew up in Zambia and Kenya, and the landscapes, wildlife and cultures of Africa have shaped my way of looking at the world ever since.
Much of my career was spent within smaller, entrepreneurial travel companies, helping to build and grow their Africa and wider long-haul portfolios and client bases. Those experiences shaped both my knowledge of Africa and my understanding of what discerning travellers are truly looking for. This year, I’ve brought that experience together within my own company.
Since launch, the early months have involved the less glamorous side of building a business: securing new supplier contracts, obtaining an ATOL licence, putting foreign exchange hedging in place, designing itineraries from scratch and slowly building a social media presence. Some parts have been more rewarding than others, but the process has been grounding and enormously fulfilling.
Building the business quickly is in large part down to working alongside my husband, Richard, a director of the business. He spent over twenty-five years in marketing and commercial roles and brings a discipline to brand, strategy and financial management that complements my focus on the client and travel design side.
Running a young business with a spouse is all-consuming, and we’ve had to learn quickly how to keep work and family life properly separated — mostly through better planning, delegation and organisation.
Preservation as the measure
Safari travel has changed enormously in the twenty five years I’ve worked in it. Once-remote regions are now more accessible, and a new generation of lodges has lifted the standard of guiding, design and hospitality across the industry. But for us, and increasingly for our clients, the defining consideration is preservation. Philanthropic travel is becoming more popular: people no longer want simply to sit in a safari vehicle and watch the animals. They want to be involved, whether that’s through tagging wildlife or contributing resources to local schools.
Safari travel has changed enormously in the twenty five years I’ve worked in it.
The landscapes, wildlife and communities our clients travel to see are under pressure from climate change, population growth, poaching and the weight of tourism itself. A properly designed journey leaves a place stronger than it found it. So, when we’re assessing a lodge or camp to partner with, we ask: who benefits from a visit, what does it help protect, and what does it leave behind? We choose partners who rewild rather than merely manage land, who employ from the surrounding villages rather than from elsewhere, who reinvest in the places they sit on, and who work alongside conservancies, charities and research teams.
What’s been hard
Two challenges have shaped our early months. The first is currency. The majority of what we book is priced in US dollars, and a more volatile FX environment makes accurate quoting and margin protection harder than it used to be. We’ve had to be disciplined about pricing, about when we lock rates with suppliers, and about how transparently we explain currency movements to clients. World events compound that pressure in ways that don’t always reach the headlines: the recent conflict in Iran, for instance, has pushed some of our suppliers to pass on increased fuel charges even after a client’s itinerary has been costed and paid for.
The second challenge is visibility. Luxury travel is a crowded category on social media and producing writing and imagery that feels distinctive and considered takes time. The platforms also update their features at a pace that requires constant attention. Word of mouth has been critical in securing bookings, and trade events have helped us nurture new relationships.
What’s gone right
We’ve managed our costs carefully and kept the business capital-light, which has given us the freedom to make decisions on quality rather than cashflow. But the strongest signal so far has been the clients themselves. We’re early enough that every booking still feels like a small vote of confidence, and the stories clients tell us when they return, and the friends and family they introduce us to afterwards, are what tell us our approach is working.
We’ve managed our costs carefully and kept the business capital-light.
Looking ahead, we want to extend to include India and the Far East: regions where the same principles apply. Alongside that, we plan to bring one or two more people into the team.
Our goal is to leave people with a more informed and inspired perspective on the places they’ve visited, and to give them a reason to come back to us when they’re ready to ask where to go next.
Anna Walker, Founder.
Anna Walker Travel is a bespoke travel consultancy specialising in tailor-made journeys across sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean.
www.annawalkertravel.com
