Meet our judges

Michelle has been in the Hospitality and Tourism industry for over 28 years, I believes that enabling individuals especially the youth and women to empower themselves is a necessity that contributes to the upliftment of our society.

Michelle is co-owner of ServicesGurus , a business that focuses on people development, performance culture, skills development and enabling team members.

LoAnn Halden is Vice President-Communications for the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA), the global leader in advancing LGBTQ+ travel. IGLTA’s mission is to provide information and resources for LGBTQ+ travelers and expand LGBTQ+ tourism globally by demonstrating its significant social and economic impact. In her communications role, LoAnn frequently speaks to global media outlets about LGBTQ+ tourism trends and has participated in travel sessions for consumers and trade on five continents, including WTM Africa, the Barcelona LGBTI Tourism Summit, the New York Times Travel Show, GNetwork360 in Buenos Aires and the JATA Expo in Tokyo.

She is based in Fort Lauderdale, home to IGLTA headquarters, and London, but has been passionate about Africa travel since her first visit in 1996/97: a two-month trip around South Africa and Zimbabwe.

CEO of African Bush Camps (ABC), and professional guide, Beks Ndlovu, was born in the small rural village of Lupane, on the outskirts of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. His formative years in the bush ingrained a passion for wildlife and conservation that has been burning since.

Beks has become a leading voice in the tourism and conservation spheres, always advocating for tourism to be used as a vehicle to transform African communities and conserve wildlife.

Louise has enjoyed an exciting career in the hospitality industry spanning over 25 years. After studying at Granger bay hotel school she started her career in Operations and quickly moved to sales and marketing.  She’s had the privilege of working in some exciting places, all in a sales and service capacity – from Super yachts in the South of France, to London’s iconic O2 arena  where she was responsible for looking after premium hospitality in seating and suites. She progressed to Business travel where her focus shifted to technology sales and large scales operations and efficiencies.

Louise now works in hotel technology driving direct revenue for independent and hotel groups globally through Allora.ai which leads the way in using ai to drive engagement and increase conversions, optimising the profitability of the hotels direct channel.