Meet our team
Marcelo Novias, General Manager, North America
Ker & Downey® Africa > About > Meet the Team > Marcelo Novais
Marcelo Novais is the General Manager of Ker & Downey® Africa North America DMC. With 20 years of experience in the luxury travel industry and 40 countries ticked off his bucket list, Marcelo is one of our most seasoned travelers, and managers to date.
Born and Bred
Born in São Paulo, bred in Campo Grande, Brazil. Marcelo joined Ker & Downey® Africa in 2015 and has lived in Cape Town ever since.
Highlight of his time at Ker & Downey® Africa
Marcelo’s greatest achievements at Ker & Downey® Africa was recruiting a strong team of Brazilians to head up the new Brazilian division and building a successful business from scratch. He is also responsible for the expansion into North American markets and succeeding in differentiating the Ker & Downey® Africa brand from its competitors.
Travel Expertise
Marcelo has traveled to over 40 countries in the world but his African expertise lies in luxury travel to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania & Kenya. His knowledge of these countries comes from personal travel experience, high-level destination training, selling with confidence and keeping up with the latest travel trends in Africa.
Marcelo’s favourite destination in Africa
Marcelo has a passion for Botswana, as it’s one of the wildest and less populated countries in Africa. He loves the fact that you can fly around from camp to camp with only vast landscapes on the horizon and elephant trails below. In his opinion it is utterly unique and is one of the few destinations in Africa that remains untouched by man.
Marcelo’s Top 3 Recommended Safari Lodges & Hotels
Zarafa Camp, Selinda Reserve
Tswalu Kalahari, Kalahari
La Residence, Franschhoek
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