About us

Founder of the podcast, Adele Mackenzie, has performed various roles in the media industry – from starting her career in 1992 as an advertising sales person and later senior journalist at the independent newspaper in the Free State – aimed at the black and coloured market in the province.

Covering the first democratic election in the township was certainly a career highlight – seeing joy and hope and celebration on people’s faces.

Other media-related roles included video production and scriptwriting, working as a PR consultant to the tourism industry, advertising copywriting and many years as journalist, consulting editor and editor of the inbound tourism trade publication – Tourism Update. The latter being another highlight in Adele’s career and which created an unshakeable love for the tourism industry.

In February 2025, Adele suffered a series of optic nerve strokes, losing 88% of her eyesight due to irreparable nerve damage, and eventually leaving Tourism Update as she was unable to manage the daily demands of her job.

Adele focused first on recovering her health and then began to plan a different way to continue serving the tourism industry by providing information essential to the key role tourism plays in growing the South African, and indeed, the African economy.

And so, the Tourism Check-in with Adele was born.