JRNY Travel Podcast

Marcelline Kuonen worked at Switzerland Tourism for 15 years and was the UK & Ireland Director from 2010 to 2015. She has worked all over Europe to share the stories of Switzerland, originally hailing from the Valais region in the south of the country, before moving to Zürich, then Berlin, then London. She returned to her homeland in order to join Valais/Wallis Promotion as Head of Tourism, an...

Martin Frankiny is a local guide and destination expert on Zermatt, in the Valais region of southern Switzerland. Working for the NostalChic guide company on the Gornergrat railway , his tours include insider information on local produce and travel experiences around the Gornergrat, including the famous - and miraculous - railway itself. He has extensive hiking experience in the region and ha...

Johanna Dayer is a Master of Wine candidate and the managing partner at Hedonistica, a company creating food and wine experiences that focuses on the education of production and tasting. Having graduated from the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland, she became managing partner at Clos de Tsampéhro, a premium organic boutique winery in Switzerland focusing on fine wines from the Valais terro...

Bastian Gaerner is a hotelier from Germany with worldwide experience in luxury-brand hotels like Jumeirah, Intercontinental and Kempinski. Working mainly in city and beach destinations during his career, he decided to settle down in the car-free mountain village of Aletsch Arena, at 2000 metres above sea level, in the Valais region of southern Switzerland .  He tells host Si Willmore about li...

Emilie Mariéthoz is a hiking guide based in Nendaz in the Valais region of southern Switzerland . Her guiding focuses on local heritage such as Hérens cows and the world-famous raclette, the iconic dish of cheese melted under a lamp and served with potatoes and bread. Raised as a cow-herder's daughter, Emilie has an authentic connection to alpine farming life and knows the Nendaz region by he...

English ski instructor Pat Gracey has lived in Saas-Fee, in the Valais region of southern Switzerland , for six years. A keen mountaineer, he fell in love with the destination and even bought a flat here. He spends his days in the high alpine terrain participating in activities such as hiking, ice climbing, skiing and snowshoeing. He tells host Si Willmore what life is like in the Saas Valley...

Kathryn and Peter Straughan are the General Managers at Leshiba Wilderness, a private wildlife and ecotourism destination located on top of the Soutpansberg Mountains in the Limpopo region of South Africa. On a day to day basis Peter is in charge of reserve management and Kathryn is in charge of hospitality. Featuring rock paintings that were made by local bushmen up to 2000 years ago, Leshib...

Over a decade ago, Tom Wortley traded the comforts of his UK home for island life in the South Atlantic Ocean. He relocated to one of the world’s remotest islands – St Helena, to start a family with his St Helenian wife. In 2019, Tom opened Rock Mount, a beautifully restored stone cottage offering guest accommodation for tourist and locals. Recently, expanding his venture, Tom launched Rock Mount...

Dickie Ashcroft is the Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, Uganda & Rwanda Senior Specialist at Audley Travel . Inspired from a young age by the classic stories of the African exploration, after schooling in Shropshire and graduating from university, he packed his bags and headed to the Caprivi Region of northern Namibia to train as a guide. Apprenticing with a safari company operating throughout Namib...

Derek Shenton is the Head of Operations at Shenton Safaris in Zambia. He’s a third-generation conservationist and safari guide who helped to establish Kaingo Camp in 1992 and Mwamba Bush Camp in 2000 and nowadays is involved in everything from camp building, to guide training, to road maintenance. He’s also on the board of Conservation South Luangwa (CSL) , an organisation established to protect t...

Tour operator Cazenove and Loyd -- more commonly, cazenove+loyd or simply cazloyd -- has been designing personalised itineraries, group trips, and celebrations for over 30 years, providing exclusive access to inspiring people and places. The company specialises in immersive travel that showcases authentic local culture and communities, from popular destinations like India, Kenya and Peru, to...

Jason Bowers is the General Manager of Bikes and Hikes LA Tours , which takes guests on cycling tours of Los Angeles to get up close and personal with the city in an eco-friendly, health-conscious way. Before working for Bikes and Hikes, Jason worked in radio and TV with shows for Westwood One, Sirius XM and KIIS-FM Los Angeles. Jason also has a background in improv comedy having played to sold-ou...

Sherry Rupert is the CEO of AIANTA , the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association. This organisation serves as a voice for the US$14 billion native hospitality sector and showcases the importance of visiting authentic native destinations. AIANTA’s mission is to define, introduce, grow and sustain American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian tourism that honours traditional values. S...

Angela Shen is the founder of Savor the Wild where she takes visitors on tours of Washington state, showing them the best places for mushroom foraging, shellfish harvesting and for visiting pop-up culinary events.  After working in Brand Management at Quaker Oats, Angela quit corporate life and headed to Seattle where she originally founded Savor Seattle Food Tours, one of the very first food...

Sophie Morgan is a disability rights advocate, presenter, producer, travel writer and artist. She fronted the travel series Living Wild; How to Change your Life on Channel 4, and she presents coverage of the Paralympics. Last year she completed a staggering 4000-mile solo trip across the USA. Her memoir ' Driving Forwards ' is available now.  She tells host Si Willmore about the car crash tha...

Mark Ezell is the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and Chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail Marketing Alliance, a non-profit organisation created to elevate over 140 historical sites that tell the stories of the Civil Rights Movement. These sites, such as national parks, museums and churches, focus on events that happened in the 1950s and 1960s and are spread over...

Jeff Crowe is the director of Kentucky Experiences at the Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. He plays a key role in the Louisville Bourbon and Belonging initiative which celebrates Queer Kentucky and he was instrumental in launching Kentucky's Queer Bourbon Week.  He talks with host Si Willmore about Heaven Hills Kentucky Experiences, which forms part of Kentucky's famous bourbon...

Staci Mellman is the first female Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Brand USA in 12 years. She drives the organisation's international marketing efforts and leads the teams responsible for marketing, comms, marketing technology, research and analytics. Originally from Texas, Staci has been working in the travel and tourism industry for over 13 years, most recently as Chief Marketing Officer at...

Mike Frohlich is the is the owner and brewer at Laughing Sun Brewing in Bismarck, North Dakota. He’s been a member of the local brewing scene since the mid 90s, using his former employment at the State Historical Society and State Museum to advance legislation on brewing. As such he’s helped to get new laws passed on the production and promotion of locally brewed beer. He and host Si Willmore talk...

James Draven is multi-award-winning travel journalist covering adventure; wildlife and environment. He’s has words published in National Geographic Traveller,  Wanderlust, The Times, The Telegraph, Travel and Leisure and CNN. Featured in best-selling anthology The Best British Travel Writing of the 21st Century , he has visited 114 countries and 32 American states and recently visited Id...

Katherine Doãn is a publicist for a Taiwanese design firm. Born and raised in Hanoi, she has travelled extensively from an early age and has lived in several different countries, namely Vietnam, China, Taiwan and Mongolia and right now she is based in Taipei. She tells host Si Willmore about her experiences as a 'third culture kid' in Taiwan as well as her multiple and varied childhood influences...

Sarah Gillespie is a freelance travel and lifestyle writer. Half Filipina and half Scottish, she’s based in Glasgow but has written extensively about the Philippines and other East Asian countries and recently she has been exploring Taiwan for JRNY Travel Magazine. Sarah tells host Si Willmore about her background including her early experiences visiting Asia with her family as well as her travel...

Jo Davey is a travel writer and photographer from London, specialising in food, visual arts, culture and adventure travel. She also specialises in eastern Asia and is the author of the upcoming Bradt Guide to Okinawa and Japan's Southwest Islands. Jo has been exploring Taiwan for JRNY Travel Magazine and she and host Si Willmore discuss her latest experiences of the island, checking out the advent...

Transition is an indie rock band. It was formed by brothers Josh and Jesse Edbrooke when they were teenagers in Bristol in the UK, who went on to live in Taiwan in 2009. Since then they have collaborated with numerous Taiwanese artists, including Rainie Yang and Julia Peng, and they worked on Wing Lo’s Golden Melody Award-winning albums in 2016 and 2021. The band talk with host Si Willmore ab...

Artist Yosifu hails from an aboriginal village on the east coast of Taiwan. Once a victim of a severe disconnection from his own identity and heritage, he nowadays stands as a passionate advocate for the art and culture of his home land. An internationally acclaimed and award-winning artist, he has dedicated the last two decades to showcasing the splendours of Taiwan through his artwork. Yosifu sh...