Catching Up with African Travel Inc. President Sherwin Banda

Looking back on the last decade serving as president of African Travel, Inc. (ATI), Sherwin Banda is most proud of two accomplishments: helping the company grow beyond its monolithic brand, and making safaris more inclusive.

TMR sat down with Banda in an exclusive interview to discuss, among other things, his tenure at the helm of African Travel, a respected specialist in tailor-made luxury safaris and part of The Travel Corporation’s (TTC) portfolio of brands.

“We are the only tour operator in North America that focuses on Africa exclusively, and that comes with a wealth of knowledge and expertise,” said Banda. 

“I’m really proud to be part of a company that stands for something, and you know we stand for people, we stand for wildlife, and we stand for the planet.”

Banda is a respected leader in the travel industry. He joined African Travel in 2015, after spending over 17 years in international hospitality, including various positions in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 

Born and raised in Cape Town, Banda has lived through racial discrimination. The white-led National Party enforced strict racial segregation in South Africa from 1948 until 1994.  

“I was born in South Africa. The reality of apartheid meant that in my own country, we were considered less than, and because we were considered less than, we didn’t get the economic investment from our local governments in the same proportion as our white counterparts,” Banda recalled.

He saw tourism as an opportunity to break through social barriers.

“I was meeting people that looked very different to me, but they were interested in me and my culture and my story, and they were happy to come to our communities and support the initiatives.”

Banda would make history as the first Black general manager of a luxury hotel in Cape Town. 

“All of that money that was coming into South Africa was poured back into the local communities, and tourism created opportunities for people like me all across Africa.”

“There’s an Africa for everyone”

African Travel, Inc. launched custom LGBTQ+ safaris in 2021. The Pride Safaris prioritize making LGBTQ+ travelers (and allies/families) feel safe and comfortable, featuring a specially chosen Pride Safari Guide and lodges and camps that focus on inclusion and sensitivity.  

“We launched Pride Safaris to be more inclusive for people from the LGBTQ+ community, and I’m really proud of that,” said Banda. 

The initiative was personal: Banda identifies as a gay man and is recognized as one of Robb Report’s “18 LGBTQ+ Visionaries in Luxury You Should Know.”  When asked how it felt to be included in such a list, Banda said he was “humbled” to be alongside industry leaders:

“I just consider myself to be an average man from Africa, living my day-to-day existence, doing something that I really, really love… but more importantly, I personally come from the LGBTQ community. I often tell people I have the triple threat. I am black, I am gay, and I am Jewish. So being able to offer experiences for people who oftentimes are marginalized is really, really special.” 

The new tailor-made Pride Safaris haven proven successful. In addition to attracting LGBTQ+ travelers, the new travel style attracted a younger demographic.

“Given the price point of an African safari, they skew older,” explained Banda. “As a result of launching Pride Safaris, our fastest growth segment was the age group between 35 and 55. A younger demographic that also had a disposable income and were looking to travel, but they were looking for safe spaces and partners to travel with.”

After launching Pride Safaris, African Travel also saw an increase in solo travelers. 

“[Solo travelers] identified a lot with our Pride Safari offering because people were looking for safe spaces to go [and wouldn’t be] treated differently because they were traveling by themselves,” explained Banda. “They weren’t price-gouged with additional costs.”

“There’s an Africa for everyone,” added Banda. 

New Concierge Safaris 

More recently, African Travel introduced the Concierge Safari travel style. The new Concierge Safaris elevate the small group tour experience with a dedicated travel concierge, who accompanies travellers throughout their entire journey.

African Travel is known for tailor-made trips to Africa. Post-pandemic, however, the company saw a demand from travelers wanting “camaraderie” on their journeys. The response: small group travel.

“The biggest growth that we have seen post-pandemic came from the multi generational family travel,” said Banda. “And so as we saw this need grow for camaraderie, small group travel was a very interesting growth opportunity for us.”

ATI added small group travel in 2020. This allowed for more socialization at a more accessible price point, with the added convenience of all-inclusive pricing. Now known as the Classic Collection, these small group tours feature groups ranging from 12 to 20 people, and visit the perennial favorite destinations in Africa.

“The classic collection is set departure tours that we have negotiated as group travel and we’ve given the price value and savings back directly to the client,” explained Banda.

While introducing group tours solved one issue, it exposed another: there were people who wanted to convenience of the set departure tours but also wanted a more luxiurious, hassle-free experience. 

“When we started thinking about who is our customer and what are they looking for, [we found] a gap in our in our product offering, which gave birth to our concierge collection,” said Banda. 

The Concierge Collection by Afrian Travel have a maximum size of 14 guests, and promises a “high touch” experience. The dedicated concierge makes sure the travel experience is as seamless and worry-free as possible.

“Our guests are met right at the aircraft door. If they were not booked with us, they would have to go through that immigration experience by themselves,” said Banda. “We make sure that everything throughout the journey is an elevated experience that allows the guests to just be immersed in the destination.”

Opportunities for Travel Advisors with African Travel, Inc.

Travel advisors are a crucial part of ATI’s strategy, and the company understands the importance of recognizing and rewarding the trade. 

“95% of our [tailor-made] business comes from travel advisors. So travel advisors are hugely tied to our success,” said Banda.

ATI supports the trade through online training and webinars, as well as tools like customizable, white-label brochures, a toolkit with talking points and FAQ answers per destination, sample itineraries for tailor-made examples, and more. The company is even in the process of creating print brochures, due to advisor demand.

African Travel, Inc. is also finding ways to show its appreciation for the trade, as well as creating opportunities for travel advisors to experience the product.

This month, African Travel, Inc. is giving away a $30,000 luxury safari to a travel advisor who booked a trip in Q1. The winner and a guest will enjoy the 11-night World’s Greatest Show & Safari itinerary, which showcases the very best of Kenya and Tanzania. Advisors were given one entry per booking made between January to the end of April.

The tour operator also offers several educational trips for travel advisors throughout the year—with priority given to those who have completed the online training and booked at least one African Travel trip, and have not yet been on an ATI FAM. 

Banda said the educational trips are essential.

“Not only does it create great meanings and memories, it also creates a confidence in terms of selling the destination and, most importantly, all of that experience in Africa generates a lot of digital content and you want to show that you’ve actually been there,” he explained.