Almost 18 months to the day since Covid-19 made its ill-fated arrival, devastating the lives of millions and hitting the tourism industry hardest, Deborah Calmeyer – founder and CEO of luxe travel specialist ROAR AFRICA – achieved the seemingly impossible by setting off on an extraordinary journey that took just 10 guests to four of Africa’s most iconic destinations on an Emirates A319 private jet.

While a month earlier Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos spent millions on their vanity space trips, Calmeyer’s creation of “The Greatest Safari on Earth’’ to kickstart travel back to Africa, saving the livelihoods of thousands of people and the lives of animals, seems far more impressive. An Olympic torch for African tourism, it is visionary and formidable to pull off such a trip at any time, let alone when the travel and airline industries are in constant flux and Covid-19 regulations change by the hour...