Meet REYA's Travel Experts, Your Next Source to Quote
- Oscar Saettone
- Jan 13, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 25
REYA’s clients are led by extremely knowledgeable and well-connected travel experts. With decades of experience in their destinations, they are deeply passionate about the locations they specialize in. If you are looking for information about a specific country, unique ways to experience a place or quotes on what makes a locale so unique please contact us to arrange interviews with our travel experts in the Americas and Africa. We’d be happy to coordinate interviews virtually or over email.
The Americas
Guiding in the Southwest
Kevin Jackson, Co-Founder of EXP Journeys
As the Founder of EXP Journeys, Kevin has guided over 600 days in the Southwest and its national parks over the past decade. He has created several firsts in the region, including hosting a lunch on Tower Butte and organizing storytelling with a Navajo Code Talker. Kevin is a seasoned expedition leader with a wealth of experience in global mountaineering and outdoor adventures. EXP Journeys curates bespoke travel experiences across North and South America to Antarctica. With roots deeply embedded in the guiding community and with its own guide training program, EXP approaches every itinerary with a blend of creativity, experience, and environmental responsibility, ensuring that each journey is as memorable as it is sustainable. The company’s ‘Leave No Trace’ mobile camps are designed to provide luxury accommodations and incredible access to the most remote and stunning landscapes of the United States, including Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Zion, Moab, Escalante, and Lake Powell.
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Guiding in the National Parks and Alaska
Andrew Roberts, Co-Founder of EXP Journeys
Andrew specializes in privately guided tours through the national parks in the Western U.S., Alaska, and Canada. He has developed a wealth of first-hand knowledge of these destinations during his countless visits. Andrew was exposed to the great outdoors at a young age and used the setting as a classroom to develop his technical and leadership skills over the years, allowing him to teach and guide people to some of his favorite locations all over North and South America. Andrew guided his first group at age 15 through the deserts and mountains of New Mexico. In the following years, he achieved multiple ascents of Mt. Whitney, descended dozens of canyons in the Southwest, paddled many miles on the Pacific Ocean, scaled countless rocks, and skied mountains from the Appalachians to the Pyrenees. Andrew is an AMGA SPI, a Wilderness Medical Institute-certified Wilderness First Responder, and is Red Cross-certified in First Aid and CPR.
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Eastern & Southern Africa
Great Ape Trekking in East Africa
Praveen Moman, Founder of Volcanoes Safaris
Praveen Moman founded Volcanoes Safaris in 1997, which has been at the forefront of reviving gorilla and chimpanzee tourism in Uganda and Rwanda. In 2000, Volcanoes Safaris became the first international safari company to take clients to Rwanda and in 2004 built the now renowned Virunga Lodge. It helped kick-start gorilla tourism after the genocide. In 2009, Praveen established the Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust (VSPT), a non-profit organisation that aims to create long-term, self-sustaining projects that enrich the livelihoods of local communities and promote the conservation of the great apes. In 2013, Praveen was asked to join the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, which promotes sensitive economic development of the forests of Central Africa. In 2014, Into the Virungas, a conversation with Praveen about his essential vision to champion the people, the animals and forests of Africa was published. In March 2017, the Dian Fossey Map Room was opened at Virunga Lodge by Praveen. The Map Room pays tribute to the unique contribution of Dian Fossey and other conservationists, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Karisoke Centre. A catalogue and exhibition entitled ‘Conservationists and Explorers of the Virunga Volcanoes‘ was published. Praveen Moman has been described as a ‘visionary conservationist’ by the Financial Times and as ‘one of top twenty-five conservation-philanthropists’ in Africa by Departures Magazine. In 2024, Praveen was recognised as a Top Travel Advisor on Travel and Leisure’s A-List. Praveen has strong relationships with local NGOs including Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Jane Goodall, Conservation Through Public Health and Gorilla Doctors. Under Praveen’s guiding vision, Volcanoes has designed and built five unique lodges near the great ape parks – Virunga, Mount Gahinga, Bwindi, Kyambura, and Kibale. The luxury lodges are sensitive to local culture and aesthetics, the post-conflict context, and the need to use resources responsibly. Local people have been trained and empowered to run and manage the lodges. Today the company is recognized for the unique great ape tourism model it has created. With five eco-safari lodges, guests can enjoy all the highlights of Uganda and Rwanda in comfort and style while primate trekking through Africa. Guests can also experience and take part in the eco-tourism and conservation efforts with the local communities developed by the Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust (VSPT). FULL BIO.
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Sustainable Tourism in Africa
Liesel Van Zyl, Head of Positive Impact at Go2Africa
Raised in South Africa by bush-loving, Zimbabwean-born parents, Liesel is fervently devoted to the field of tourism as a conduit for conservation and community empowerment. With over 15 years of experience in tourism development across Africa — from the Cape to Congo, Kruger to Kafue, and myriad breathtaking locations in between, she has cultivated a profound understanding of the intricate tapestry of the continent's diverse landscapes. In her current role as Head of Positive Impact at Go2Africa, she spearheaded the establishment of a Conservation Committee, fostering partnerships with carefully selected projects spanning the domains of community, education, environment, and wildlife. Over the past year, her endeavors have encompassed the sponsorship of student scholarships, enhancement of school facilities, collaring of rhinos and wild dogs under threat, fostering an elephant orphan, and planting 1000 trees. Her current mission is to revolutionize every safari holiday into an opportunity for meaningful impact, collectively generating increased benefits for communities while concurrently safeguarding wildlife and the environment.
For more information or questions, please contact Julie Leventhal at julie@reyacommunications.com.
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