Our cover story this week on the appeal of Africa’s wide-open spaces, written by our South Africa-based contributor Dorine Reinstein, seemed like the perfect time to sit down with Sherwin Banda, the president of African Travel, and his colleague Lucille Sive, the CEO of the Travel Corp.'s Africa division, and talk about traveler patterns, new safari products, conservation efforts and more. This episode was recorded Friday, Nov. 19 was edited for length and clarity.

However, just after the editing was completed, the newest variant of the coronavirus was identified, and within a day, countries, including the U.S., rushed to close their borders. It shows, again and again, how quickly things can change in the travel landscape and how travelers, advisors and podcast hosts have to reassess and pivot.

When listening to this episode it’s important to keep in mind that the conversation took place before omicron came to light. But there’s still value in talking about Africa’s travel options, because even if clients can’t or don't wish to travel, there’s planning and dreaming to be done.

Episode sponsor:

This episode of the Folo by Travel Weekly is sponsored by Princess Cruises.

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