African Travel, Inc. Appoints New Marketing Director

African Travel, Inc. (ATI), the African travel agency focusing on luxury safaris, has announced the appointment of its new Director of Marketing Kristen Malaby.

Most recently, Malaby served as a marketing communications manager for Tourism Australia, The Americas, a position she held for seven years. During her time there, she developed award-winning marketing and PR campaigns; and managed agencies and partnerships in the U.S., Canada, and Brazil.

“We are thrilled to have Kristen join our team,” said Sherwin Banda, president of ATI. “Her enthusiasm, dedication, and passion for travel is infectious, and will help us achieve our goal of promoting travel to Africa in North America and Canada. We are confident Kristen’s prior experience will be a great help to advisors and our loyal industry partners.”

Malaby started in the travel industry nearly 16 years ago with Tourism Australia (TA). During her time there, she enjoyed varying roles in advertising and PR, as well as spearheading campaigns around Oprah and Baz Luhrmann’s “Australia” with Twentieth Century Fox, and acted as the director of marketing during the launch of the award-winning Dundee Super Bowl Campaign. 

Her recent job responsibilities included overseeing TA’s paid and owned activities, event activities such as “G’Day USA,” and ensuring TA America’s consumer and corporate communications were on strategy. She also worked on industry development, creating trade and consumer marketing plans with the partnership team, events, content with consortia, airlines and travel sellers; and managed CRM initiatives to deliver trends and industry updates. 

Malaby has also led earned activities including PR strategy, running TA America’s International Media Hosting Program and Visiting Opinion Leaders Program, and managing social advocacy programs such as HSMAI Best of Show Digital Influencer Program.

“African Travel, Inc. has a special place in my heart because I traveled with them on my first journey to Africa to watch the World Cup,” Malaby said. “One day, I hope to take my kids there, because it was one of the best trips I’ve experienced, and I want to share with them what makes this continent so special.”