About The Journey

We specialise in tourism destination management, planning and marketing. We assist tourism destinations in making most of their potential by drawing on our experience, knowledge and creativity. Since 2005 The Journey has conducted more than 170 assignments in 35+ destinations, both as sole provider and in association with our partners. Our clients include major international agencies (UNWTO, UNDP, World Bank, USAID, EU, DFID, etc.), regional tourism organizations, national Tourism Ministries, local municipalities, private operators, etc.

The Journey offers high level, personalised service delivered by experienced and senior tourism professionals. We are accessible to our clients at all times and pride ourselves in the quality of our work.

Mike Fabricius (PhD), Managing Director and Tourism Destination Specialist

Mike Fabricius is an experienced tourism strategist, policy analyst and marketer who has played a leadership role in the successful development of South Africa's tourism industry and has been consulting at an international level for the past 20 years. He is a leading tourism destination specialist who has worked extensively in South Africa, many destinations in the rest of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Mike qualified as an urban planner and started his career as Director of the Institute for Planning Research at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, where he became involved in tourism planning and marketing. He established The Journey after occupying various senior management positions in South Africa's tourism industry, among others Director of Tourism Development for SA Tourism; CEO of Western Cape Tourism Board (covering Cape Town and Western Cape Province) and Chief Director (Head) of the Tourism Branch of the South African Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. He has managed and executed multiple consulting assignments across 35 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the Caribbean and Asia and often acts as team leader for The Journey's assignments.

He regularly participates in missions for UN Tourism (UNWTO), Tourism Ministries and other international development agencies (World Bank, IFC, USAID, UNDP, EU, AFDB, RETOSA, SNV, etc.) and has taught courses on Tourism Policy and Marketing Strategy for Tourism Managers in many destinations across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. He has been team leader for many assignments and has participated in the formulation of numerous regional, national and local level tourism policies, master plans, destination strategies, destination brand developments and many specialist tourism assignment related to statistics and information management, funding and financing, human resources, community-based and sustainable tourism development and other specialist topics.

Dr Fabricius was Editorial Board member of the international Journal of Sustainable Tourism for many years and is a regular speaker at tourism seminars, conferences and workshops. His qualifications include BA, BA(hons), MA, PhD and MBA. He has received various academic and business related awards and was invited to have his profile included in the Who's Who in Southern Africa. He was awarded the University of South Africa Council Medal for the best MBA course student for his dissertation "Competitive Strategies for Tourism Destinations."

Our Values

Empowering Clients

Ownership

Participation

Interaction

Input
Enhancing Competitiveness

Markets

Competitors

USPs

ROI
Drawing on Experience

Track Record

Best Practice

Global Benchmarks
Delivering Quality

On Time

To the Point

Value for Money

Understandable

Associate Companies

Trout and Partners Positioning Strategists

The Journey is a partner of Trout and Partners the consulting firm founded by Jack Trout, who is recognized as the world's foremost marketing strategist. He is responsible for the freshest ideas in marketing in the last twenty years and his concept of Positioning has become the world's #1 business strategy. Together with other talented consultants, Mr. Trout has created an international network of consultant boutiques which offer preeminent skills and hands-on experience in the implementation of Positioning strategies.

Associate Specialists

Dr Anna Spenceley, Sustainable Tourism Specialist

Dr Anna Spenceley is a tourism consultant focusing on sustainable tourism based in South Africa. In particular, she works in areas of high biodiversity in developing countries. Anna is Chair of the IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group, a Senior Research Fellow with the University of Johannesburg, and sits on the editorial teams of several journals including the Journal of Sustainable Tourism. She is also the editor of the book "Responsible Tourism: Critical issues for Conservation and Development" and also co-editor of "Evolution and Innovation in Wildlife Conservation".

Natalia Rosa, Marketing & Communications Strategy and Implementation Specialist

Natalia Rosa is a seasoned tourism communications and marketing professional with over two decades of experience. She specialises in developing and implementing strategies for diverse tourism clients globally. Natalia currently leads tourism projects for, among others, the SADC Business Council Tourism Alliance and Big Ambitions, enhancing collaboration and visibility across African states. Her extensive portfolio includes work with international brands like WTAAA and Flight Centre, as well as consulting for various national tourism organisations. With leadership roles in the Travel Lifestyle Network, Natalia also leverages her expertise in PR, Generative AI, marketing, and training to drive tourism growth across Africa. Her academic background in publishing, journalism, and digital marketing further enhances her ability to create impactful tourism marketing strategies.

Johnny Johnson, Brand Strategist

Johnny Johnson has forty years of experience working on brands and communications. He has a commercial bachelor's degree in commerce and an honours in business administration. He has been client service director and deputy managing director at Ogilvy’s, managing director at Young & Rubicam and Saatchi & Saatchi and chairman of specialist agencies at TBWA. He has worked with The Journey on development of the tourism destination brand strategies and identities for Kavango Zambezi Trans Frontier Conservation Area, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia national tourism brands.

John Perrottet, Tourism Investment Specialist

John Perrottet brings over four decades of experience in tourism and hospitality specializing in investment. He has successfully led feasibility studies, financial structuring, capital raising, and operational improvement initiatives for a wide range of tourism enterprises—including hotels, resorts, convention centers, tour operators and visitor attractions—serving both government entities and private investors. A former Director at KPMG, John held several senior roles within the World Bank Group, most notably as the Global Lead for Tourism based in Washington, DC. His extensive international career encompasses assignments in more than sixty countries across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Europe. John holds a Bachelor of Town Planning and a Master of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management and has served on several boards in the travel, education, relief, and community development sectors. He is a member of the Advisory Board of The World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage.

Peter Fabricius Digital Marketing and AI Specialist

Peter specialises in building the capacity of businesses and organisations in digital tourism marketing and management. Over the past decade, he has collaborated with businesses, destinations, and development programmes across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East to navigate digital change. His various consulting assignments have focused on training, advice and mentoring of entrepreneurs and employees in responsibly adopting and applying digital marketing technologies, including emerging tools like AI. Peter believes that digital transformation should feel practical and achievable, helping tourism stakeholders grow with confidence while staying authentic to their markets. Amongst others, his entrepreneurial journey has led him to found Springnest, a software solution that empowers tourism SMEs to launch and manage professional websites with ease. He holds a Bachelors degree in Tourism Management and a Diploma in Web design.