It was quite awesome to meet up with a fellow ex-Zimbabwean by the name of Jordan Davy who is the Marketing and Reservations Manager at Sungani lodge Zambia.
I could tell straight away that she shares the same desire for the African bush that I do, as she spoke passionately about her role at Sungani Lodge.
Although Sungani Lodge and Kulandila Camps are family run and owned, Jordan puts in an enormous amount of work and clearly does not let the grass grow under her feet. She was kind enough to give me 30minutes of her time to talk about her thoughts on tourism in Zambia and beyond.
RJZ: So why should overseas visitors come to visit Sungani and Kulandila camps?
JD: I guess I will pick up a USP that I think differentiates us. So, we are in the most southernly section of the South Luangwa. In a part of the park that was very inaccessible for many, many years. You know, nobody had operated here since 2012.
Then we started building the properties in 2019, just before COVID. Fortunately, we were able to continue building over COVID, since it is all been built by our local community and its family run and owned. The special part of our location is the remoteness.
For an overseas traveller who is looking for luxury, in a remote setting, I think we would be the perfect property. I believe remoteness and exclusivity is a luxury nowadays, especially in a national park. Travellers who want to understand where their contribution is going and what it does in terms of “giving back” to the community, we would be a very good option for those visitors.
RJZ: What problems do you think you solve for that overseas traveller?
JD: In general, I think a lot of people are overstimulated today in our society. Whether that is with work or kind of keeping up with certain expectations of where their life should be or should be going. One thing we have had sort of consistent feedback on, with guests coming through is that this is a place to disconnect, even though we do have Wi-Fi.
It allows you to also meet Zambian people that have been part of the grassroots development, training, and upskilling. People that were working with us building our properties are now a core part of our front of house and back of house teams. So, it allows travellers to immerse themselves within a property that is full of very happy and loving Zambian people.
You know, a lot of our guests comment on the kind of feeling of going somewhere where it feels like home where you can kick off your shoes and it does not feel sterile or corporate. I think especially for safari goers and safari lodges around Africa, we want to create a feeling of, this is not like your typical hotel, where you feel like you are just a number.
We want our guests to feel like they are part of the system, they get to know the staff and get to know the people who are behind the scenes. I think our properties allow people to disconnect and experience true wilderness. This i believe offers our clients ample relaxation and the chance to get them completely out of their daily routines.
RJZ: What is your favourite destination and why?
JD: I am going to have to say Zambia. Obviously, I am biased because we have our properties here. I also love Zimbabwe, because that is where we are from and where we grew up, it is such a beautiful, diverse country. However, the one thing that I have noticed in comparison to other destinations is I find the Zambian people to be very kind and very friendly.
You feel very safe here. The true wilderness feeling that Zambia can offer that. There are a variety of activities and destinations within Zambia. You have got the Victoria Falls, you have got the lower Zambezi, you have got south Luangwa. Just such an array of beauty and adventure here.
RJZ: How do you see the tourism sector developing over the next five to ten years?
JD: I think obviously with different governments, everything changes in the way people think about how they will spend their disposable income. But I do think people are travelling now more than ever.
I think people are looking for unique experiences, that are not cookie cut. People that have disposable income, want to move slightly away from your typical Safari destinations. I think tourism into Africa will just get stronger. From discussions in the trade, various sales trips, etc the consensus is that to Africa will just get better.
RJZ: Can you give me a fun fact or experience about something that has happened to you, either at the lodge or something in the tourism industry?
JD: I remember, I think it was 2021. We had finished building and we were opening in May 2022. In the late October 2021 we went out on a walking safari here. I love elephants, I have always thought they are the most amazing animals. I think for those of us that have grown up in these kinds of environments we too often, take them for granted.
However, I have always been slightly fearful of course, because we know what they can do especially if you come into their space. So, during the walking safari we stopped for a break and set up, tea and coffee and rusks etc, just in a little area under tree and suddenly there was about 20 elephants surrounding us.
They were however so chilled and seemed to have no worries that we were there. I think when you can experience things like that, knowing what, you know, especially with elephants who remember a lot of information, you know, being chased down by people from the village or whatever it might be, they were still calm and relaxed in our presence. That was a very special experience for me.
RJZ: Great, let us just end off by telling me what is Jordan Davy’s position in the company, and what you do for the company on a day-to-day basis.
JD: I went to university in the UK and have been in London for close to seven or eight years. I started my career in corporate events and marketing. I did a lot of awards dinners and corporate events for companies like Facebook and Google, that sort of thing.
As much as a lot of people think events work is glamorous, it is not really, you end up putting a lot of your life into those events. I moved over and started working for a charity, challenge company. Thereby organizing all the logistics for big marathons, triathlons, cycle rides around the UK and in Europe. Then went self-employed, because I felt like I had a better chance with all the skills that I had built up, to do my own thing.
As things are with close knit families, my parents said to me, “come work in the family business, we’d love if you did a little bit of work for us here.” It was really a no-brainer; I get to have another income stream and I can obviously work from home. My role day to day is to head up all the marketing activities for the properties. I also head up the representation companies we use across the different source markets as well as social media, digital marketing and I also do the reservations, so I am a busy person.
Something very important to us as a family business, is that we maintain control of those key areas. Slowly over time, we will relinquish, that responsibility to a reservation’s person. At present, we are still small, we only have the two properties. So as time goes by, I will begin to relinquish those responsibilities, but currently I am the front-facing person for the company.
I go to all the travel shows etc and I believe that I add a lot of value because I am part of the family and I know the business, what we offer, from the bottom to the top. So, it works well to have that kind of knowledge
Interested in finding out more about great deals to Zambia, please feel free to email me: rael@wildsunsets.travel or check out some of our specials at www.wildsunsets.travel