“We Will Take You There”: Scaling the Maggie Holidays Promise

Having spent years in the travel industry, many of them at the vibrant hub of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Maggie met people at the start of their journeys - excited, curious, and full of expectation. But she also saw the uncertainty: Where should they go? Who can they trust? How do they experience the “real” Kenya?

“I really wanted to turn ordinary trips into transformative journeys that truly capture the spirit of Africa,” she says.

And that’s how Maggie Holidays was born, 20 years ago. Maggie set out to create a company that would walk the journey with travellers, connecting them not just to destinations, but to experiences, people, and stories that stay with them long after they leave. 

Despite her deep industry knowledge and infectious passion, running a business in an increasingly volatile global landscape presented challenges that passion alone could not solve. For years, Maggie Holidays operated in what Maggie describes as an "analog" world. In the early days, international guests would simply arrive at the airport, and Maggie would be there to meet them, sitting down to draft itineraries and convince them of the magic of Kenya right there in the terminal.

But as the world embraced digital-first strategies, her conventional ways of running operations, marketing, and sales began to fall short and Maggie realized that her business was at a crossroads.

The internal pressures were just as significant. Without appropriate organizational structures, Maggie found herself caught in a cycle of micromanagement. She was the founder, the manager, and the customer service representative all at once. The volatility caused by external factors, most notably the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector, also served as a wake-up call. To survive and eventually scale, she needed to move away from being the sole driver of every minute detail and start building a team and systems. This need for a shift in mindset and operation led her to AMI’s Grow Your Business Programme.

“The programme gave me a practical toolkit to ideate and refine our model, finally allowing me to leverage our team’s strengths and the power of digital tools to grow.” 

This strategic shift helped her bridge the gap between her "analog" roots and the tech-savvy demands of today’s travellers.

 “The Grow Your Business Programme empowered me to finally move beyond just providing a service to building a scalable system,” Maggie notes. 

Maggie also prioritized building a team of "vision supporters". Shifting from gap-filling to strategic hiring, she moved from solo driver to leader. “I no longer just fill positions; I find the right people who share my vision for excellence,” she explains. 

This strategic overhaul translated into tangible growth. Maggie Holidays reported a 150% increase in revenue in 2025, driven by a proactive "pitching" strategy and a surge in incoming business. By focusing on excellence from the first point of contact to the moment a client boards their flight back home, Maggie has fostered a cycle of repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals. This expansion has created opportunities to onboard additional subcontracted travel professionals, further reinforcing the local tourism ecosystem.

Looking ahead, Maggie strives for "structural autonomy" - building a business structure so robust that Maggie Holidays can run itself professionally without her being involved 24/7. 

“At the end of the day, as the vision carrier, you may end up doing everything while others are sleeping,” she reflects with a laugh, “but I want this business to run itself.” 

By continuously developing "vision supporters" and investing in high-quality delivery, Maggie is ensuring that her promise, "we will take you there", remains a gold standard for travellers for years to come.