The Story Behind Destination Morocco

Welcome to the Destination Morocco podcast, the show that takes you way to the beautiful country of Morocco. I am your host, Azdean Elmoustaquim. In each episode, we explore Moroccan culture, history, attractions and activities real and practical information coming from experienced travelers and native Moroccans like myself. And now let's go exploring. Welcome back to another amazing episode of Destination Morocco podcast. In today's episode, we have Ted, the producer, who is joining us. Welcome back.

Ted.

And basically we're going to talk about us, about our story and how everything started. So, ted, welcome back to the show. Thanks, and we're super excited to have you again with us.

Yeah, always nice to be here. I was thinking not too long ago, maybe a couple of weeks ago, that we kind of talked a bit about your story. It's kind of unraveled over the course of the last year and a half or so of doing the show, but maybe it'd be good to kind of get everything in one place, people wondering exactly who you are and how you ended up where you are. Of course you're from Morocco, but now you live in Houston. How did that happen? What is Destination Morocco and the company and why you started the whole thing. Just getting into a bit of kind of an all-in-one place where people can learn about who you are and what you guys do, because it's kind of sprinkled throughout all the episodes, right, but it's nice to have a bit of a summary here. So that's what we thought we'd focus on today and get to know you a bit better.

Absolutely, yeah, absolutely. Thank you for that, ted. Basically, I was born and raised in Morocco. My ancestors they, are from a small village in the outskirts of Wazizat called Tlwet. I'm sure you have heard of it, you know by now, because we talked about it a few times in the past few episodes. I was born and raised in Morocco. I moved to the US in 1995 and I came to Houston and that's the only place that I have lived. Obviously, I travel from place to place, but that's my home now.

How did you end up in Houston?

It's a really good question. Basically it's a funny story. One of our neighbors, karim. I just went to say goodbye to him. He moved to the US and he was studying in the US and I just said, hey, he's going back and I'm not sure when I'm going to see him, so I just want to say goodbye and have a safe trip. Then he said, hey, you know, I can send you the paperwork and you can come to the US. And he's like that's a long shot, it's definitely not going to happen. But a few weeks go by then he talked to his family and his mom. He said, hey, you know, karim, call and say hey, if you want to proceed with the paperwork, we can help. And I said, okay, sure, and the process really took me, I would say definitely less than a year. But I had to learn English. I had to pass a test, which is the TOEFL Test of English as a Foreigner Language, and I studied English on my own and I scored really good in the test, plus other challenges that I came and that I faced. But his family was very gracious and extremely helpful. So that's how I was able to come to the US and I stayed with him for a couple months. Then I moved on my own in 1995.

So you spoke a bit of English then before you came. You know what?

was it like growing up At that time? We learned English in high school, so for me the level of English was not really that good, but then, knowing you know that I have to come to the US and have to pass the test, basically what I did is we have an American Language Center in Marrakesh and I had membership to the library, which costs $10 a year, and that's how I started learning English on my own. The gentleman at the library was super nice to me and he was like. He asked me questions can you afford these classes? Obviously they're expensive. Can you do this? And I said no, this is my goal. I want to get to the US, I want to get that TOEFL, that test, and I need to score above 500, because anything below 400, it's still going to be challenging for you. So he did something for me that I'll never forget and he was like hey, I'm going to help you, but don't say nothing to anyone. And instead, of course, he said you have 10 bucks and said I don't have it today, but I'll have it tomorrow. He said buy the membership to the library and I'll take care of everything else for you. So the next day I actually borrowed $10 from my neighbor. I came back, I gave him $10, I got the membership and he started giving me the classes the classes that they teach us. In three months I studied them in three, four hours. I go there every day, nighttime, then on Saturday Saturday for me, this is also what helped me learn English. His music I used to get the lyrics, whether it's Phil Collins, mj, gloria Stiffen, vanessa Williams, and I look at the songs with the lyrics and that's how I start recognizing what they sing about and the words and everything else. And then everything I studied. I had a dictionary with me so I always look at. If I need to look at one word, then I end up learning 10 words. Then the owner and the general manager of the American Language Center is an American and he did something amazing. He wasn't, still does. We had Wednesday. We call it Movie Day, so on Wednesday they'll have a movie for us, then we watch it and it's in English, there's no translation, nothing. And he said something to us when we got to watch the movie that really changed me in way. He was like you know, the best way to watch a movie is with a pen and a piece of paper, and I did not understand why and it's like you do it. The reason is because when you hear the word that you do not understand, wear it down, keep watching the movie. At the end of the movie, go and look for that word. So when I remember, for me the first movie we watched at the American Language Center was the film, and you know the conversation between Tom Cruise and you know Jack Nicholson and Demi Moren, he was like you know, you can't handle the truth. You know, guilty like guilty, and I was like I don't know what guilty is. So I wrote the guilty on my piece of paper plus a few other words. Then I learned maybe 30 words that day. Then the next week, the same thing, I remember. We watched Philadelphia, we watched Malcolm X. I read down a list of things that I did not understand, which helped me tremendously. So that was a major influence on me learning English and for me to pass the test. It was very challenging. Any teacher that I asked him to help, they just say, hey, you know, you're not going to make it, it's not enough time, your level is beginner and you need to be professional to register for the TOEFL, for the test. So I really did not listen to any of them. I went ahead and registered for the test but I studied, you know, for about 40 days, about 15 hours a day.

Wow.

And thank God, I made it so when I learned English when I came to the US. Yes, I can understand quite a bit of it, but then there was a delay. When somebody speaks to me, it takes me about three to four seconds to understand the reply back. So but it took me about, I would say, about six months. Just get the hang of it.

Okay, how old were you at the time?

22.

Oh, wow, were you with Khadija, with your wife.

No, no, me and Khadija. We met a lot later yeah.

Really Okay.

Yeah.

Huh. So then, what did you do once you kind of got yourself established in Houston? What did you do for work?

Well for work. Basically, I worked in the hospitality industry for quite a bit. When I first came in here I worked as a busboy at a Mexican restaurant. From restaurant to restaurant then, you know, from busboy you go up to become a waiter. Then, I believe in 98, I worked at the Western hotel. So I worked quite a bit in hotels Western hotel, marriott, a few of them actually and that's how I learned quite a bit of you know, the hospitality, teamwork stuff like that responsibilities. And then I sold some cars. I mean I look like I used car salesman, but they were new cars, by the way. So you know, I went through a lot of training. I'm very grateful for their investment. So in each job that I had held I learned something which is very valuable, and they all stayed with me and that's why I really shaped who I am today.

Well, let's bring around to destination Morocco itself. When did you start that company and what was the motivation for doing so?

Oh, that's a good question. We started the company back in 2016. You know we are immigrants. You know Menchadija, we traveled back and forth to Morocco, I would say, on average about two and a half years or so, and as we get old the travel becomes a little bit more challenging. And you know, and then we had Amran was born in 2015. That really really changed a lot. Then we want him to be exposed to Morocco, to the culture, and know where he's from. So he was really the biggest influence and inspiration behind creating destination Morocco, because we want to share that love that we have for Morocco for all the audience and you know we're very grateful. But then Amran I mean he's just, he's hooked on Morocco, he loves Morocco. He speaks the language, I would say, fluently, probably 90%. He has an accent and it's funny sometimes, but yeah, Well, that's great, that's super important.

I mean, do you feel still connected to family back in Morocco? Do people are able to come and visit you and you know, do you still have some of those links?

Yeah, of course, oh, absolutely. I mean, family and friends are really, really important. The last trip we took, obviously we did not get to spend a lot of time with them because we were touring, but family is very important, friends are very important and also it helps you. You know, just go back to a lot of memories, your roots. It's really really important to know who you are and where you come from.

Yeah Well, when you were setting up the tour company, did you have something in mind to make it a little different, to stand out Like what was your approach to how this would actually operate?

You know, a lot of people have or friends have, say hey, you know, tourism, tourism, being involved in tourism, and I've seen a tourism company, you know, even when back in Tlewat in our village, we have a Thursday market or the Soek, and when we go we see a lot of four by fours, we see many buses, large buses, so there's a lot of tourists go back and forth in that area. It's really really popular. But knowing how to do it is the challenge. So I had an idea, but then when I met Sam, it really changed, because the hospitality industry in Morocco is not regulated for the most part. So and for example, just prices, prices, they fluctuate from few dollars to few thousands of dollars and it's up to you and how much risk you want to take and gamble. So when we started, we I, you know Sam is more experienced than I am and I said, okay, let's, let's analyze the business and what are the pain points that the customer will feel, the customer, we need to prevent those. So we start, okay, through the experience, you do pick up from the airport and that's how it starts. Who does the pickup? You have the current driver, sometimes you have a tour leader, sometimes you have a national guide. Sometimes you have nobody, just the current driver. So when you go from here then you go to the hotel. How can you make that experience different? What are the challenges that they can run into between the airport and the hotel or the read, and then at the read or the hotel? What are the issues that they can have? Checking in, checking out? You know, because sometimes this is what happens, and I know what happens with everybody, not just us. You go to a real door hotel and somebody will approach you how we can sell you a tour in a 30 days or two or four 250. I knew to learn and I'm good, thank you, I already have my tour. Okay, that's amazing. Wow, that's, that's really, really good. And they'll tell you how much you pay for it. Obviously not gonna tell them, but then they'll say, well, make sure you didn't pay over $200 for it. So basically, when we come to you and pick you up and you look at us and it's like, wow, we just took a huge advantage of you. You see what I'm saying we had those cases because a lot of the guests they don't know, they don't understand. You can, you've been to Marrakech, you've been to the square of Jamal Fna and you can see those. They're lucky in white boards on the streets, you know, but those it's just, it's a mess. I don't even want that, isn't? It's on episode, I promise yes Point.

So because that's it, it's unregulated. That's a perfect example. This really very little, if any regulation of those prices and who people are allowed to talk to.

Exactly. Then you talk into the terms of the insurance. Do they have insurance today? Not have insurance? Then you know they have your own CPA. Everything is controlled. Everything is, you know, trackable, not trackable. Is it just cash? You know, because you know there's, there's a lot of things that are just done in cash and nothing is traceable. So it's For the guests. There's a lot of things they don't know. What they see is what they see, but what's underneath it's really, really complex. So then I asked Sam and said hey, you know, we can do this in Two different ways. We can be the Walmart of things or we can be the Mercedes of things. And he said what do you mean? And I said well, there's a Walmart which is obviously the biggest retail store, probably globally, but in the US. And I said we can do just cheap tours and we can sell ton of them and we'll make a little bit of money here and there, but the gross eventually is going to be good. Yeah, or we can do what Mercedes does. Everybody knows Mercedes, the quality, it's premium, it's luxury, it's this, and that we sell less tours. But we don't have to better quality, for sure, but we don't have to market up to Mercedes does. It's still affordable, but the overall experience is better than anybody else. You know, pound versus pound, whatever that competency in competency when I make us versus somebody else with 100% better than them. Now we're talking about the combination of price and experience. The experience hands down better than anyone and I believe it and I feel it, and people who have traveled with us they know it and they feel it because we do it later different. So then when we decided, okay, we're going to do, we're going to be the Mercedes of things, meaning when in the business, the tour company as a Mercedes, good quality, premium, luxury service, going above and beyond the call of duty, you know. So that's basically how we set up the company first. Then he came to okay, how are we gonna price it? So at first we had an issue the price is very important to price it. You don't want to do it too low, then you'll be out of business in no time. And then you want to don't want to price it too high, then nobody will book with you. So it was a delicate process for us to find the right percentage or, you know, addition to the wholesale that we get the tours.

So we finally got it and and it's been amazing since then- yeah, so from then, how do you approach like customizing experiences for your clients? Because one of the big things we talk about a lot in episodes is how it is so personalized and people can really choose and build the itinerary they want. They don't just go where they're told to go, they can choose where they want to go.

You know, everything we do is a hundred percent customizable. So now we're talking on the side of private tours. So let's say you have six people that are traveling. They can do six different things, but they are still traveling together. When we build itinerary, we build it on their terms. It takes us a few days to build it. We cannot do it overnight. Obviously we can insert emergencies because the time difference between the US and Morocco you know six hours now, but there's emergencies that we can do that, but the average is three to four days that it takes us. And it takes us that because we have to make sure we have the current driver ready for you, the local guides, the tour leader, accommodations, availability for each city, depending you go in the north side of the south side of Morocco, activities that you want to do. Sometimes you know you want to have a massage, but sometimes at certain times they're busy, they don't have any availability at that time. So it's it's quite a bit of things to put together and that's when we come back and say, hey, you know, this is the itinerary we presented to the client and it takes a little bit of time to make the changes and modifications. Then, when the itinerary becomes finalized, it becomes a proposal and that's when we start taking the payment, and so forth.

Yeah, I remember that with us because you did initial itinerary. It was a 10 day tour and I mean, for the most part of course it was great. But I said, is it a chance for us to maybe spend a night in the desert in Agafi with the Marrakesh? You said. You said, sure, well, you know, we'll obviously look into it and see what we can find. You guys came back a couple of days later and added that option. So yeah, it's a bit of that back and forth, but you get to the places you want to get to, Absolutely absolutely. So can you share some memorable travel experiences, maybe from clients, just any stories that come to mind? Because think back, of course, is how he started this whole thing. Imagine, you know, going back to 2016, 15, even thinking about maybe we'll start this tour company and kind of see what happens Now, reflect on it like what has been some of the experiences, right, the stories and just what's it feel like to have done this, you know, for the past eight years.

You know, it's been a pleasure, it's been an honor for me and my team and it's very humbling. There's nothing that can describe it in words, because when I see those comments and I get them, and sometimes I see the reviews it warms my heart. I mean, I feel that we have made a difference in someone's life. Just the same way, a lot of people make a difference in our lives when we need it the most. And you know I remember everybody when they go to Morocco. Some say, hey, my life has changed, I'm a better person because of it. Then some say we did not expect Morocco to be this hospitable, we did not expect the people to be this hospitable or generous. So it really it's from one person to one person. They definitely come with something else that it's tremendously positive for Morocco. It's a beautiful country to enjoy. We'll really change your lives. That's what we do.

It's the type of place that can do that. You know it's a distinct destination just by nature of what it is. It's in Africa. It's this mix of different cultures and backgrounds, whether it's the geography You've got everything from mountains to desert to beaches. You know fascinating cities, history, the culture, the food. Like every country has this thing, but Morocco really is quite distinct and you know people really capture that once they go.

You can be in FAS for two months and still not see everything in FAS. You can be in Marrakesh the same two, three months and still not see everything there is to see in Marrakesh. But we try to, you know, to package things and build itineraries for people so they can see the most out of each city, whether they are staying there for one day or two days.

So, yeah, that's a good point Because typically you get a local guide. So you're in a place like FAS in Marrakesh we had guides local guides just for a couple hours in like McNess, valdibiris, rabat too. Yeah, so that's a fairly standard thing. You'll get the local guide and they'll give you that nice introduction and sometimes it's like maybe an hour and a half, two hours and FAS is pretty much the whole day because there's so much to see. But yeah, so you'll get that, and then you also probably have some time to explore a bit on your own or add some of those other activities too.

Yes, I do agree, and you know, having some time on your own is really, really important and for me personally, I did not realize this until we tour last summer because we had full days of activities, of shooting episodes and recording and documenting. It's really important for us when we build an itinerary to keep in consideration. Hey, you know, don't fill up the whole day. Definitely the first half, then a little bit in the afternoon is okay, but leave room for people if they want to do something on their own. They want to relax they want to explore more, so that was a really good takeaway for me when we did our tour back in June and through August.

Yeah, it was neat because that put then you guys in the shoes of your clients, right that to be able to experience it, learn it, see it from their perspective. Add that to then how you build the itineraries. Yeah, yes, that reminds me too. I was thinking, like how Morocco has changed. It seems like tourism to Morocco is changing very fast over the last, even just a few months, and it's kind of those, you know, you get those cultural moments. The World Cup was a big deal and now, of course, there'll be another World Cup, people talking about that. You see the movies, john Wick, you know the movies, that where things are actually set in Morocco. Of course you know a lot of movies are filmed there. But it just gets into the cultural zeitgeist, the cultural thing where people talk about Morocco. And so, from your perspective, how has, like, the landscape of Moroccan tourism evolved over the years since you guys have started doing this?

Just to give you an idea, the US is a little bit behind because of the location Europe. They know Morocco, they're very familiar with Morocco. I see they know the history. Some of them probably they know Morocco better than I do. That's just a fact. So, when it comes to the US, it started when Morocco played in a World Cup the last World Cup and they went all the way to the semi finals. So that really really puts us. It did put us in the map. So a lot of people start asking questions Morocco, where is Morocco? And again, when you start doing your research, you become really, really fascinated with the country, and that's how we got actually a few bookings because of the World Cup. So it was the best marketing campaign or advertising for free, for the countries. Then, after that, came the women's soccer World Cup as well. They did really, really, really good. So those two major events, they played a huge role. Now for 2025, morocco will host the African Cup. In 2029, the Arab Cup, and then in 2030, we'll host the World Cup, joining Spain and Portugal. So all those are really really positive things for Morocco to happen. Now Morocco, since it opened back from the pandemic, it has not slowed down. We used to have a slow season, you know July and August. Obviously it's a slow season, but everything else you'll have a little bit of patch busy, slow, busy, slow. But now everything is consistently busy and it did not slow down yet. So all those things have helped Morocco develop and change in terms of tourism and hospitality and it made Morocco, in a way, you have to catch up to Europe, you have to catch up to the West, you have to catch up in terms of accommodation, in terms of food, in terms of, you know, just handling the business and doing the business. So that's why, when you look at Morocco now versus maybe five years ago, well, pre-covid, maybe 30% of the places accepted credit card payments, but now it's about 80, 90% of the places they accept credit card payments. So just one of those changes. Then, in terms of customer service, it's definitely better. They still want to improve, but it's definitely better. Then, when you look at your prices, when we compare the prices today, then pre-COVID, they has gone up an average of 30%. So, yeah, and you have to keep that in consideration as well. So the tourism industry in Morocco is the one really good and the plans that you know the country is planning for. You know His Majesty the King, the tourism board. They do an excellent job. They do an amazing job to set up Morocco. As one of you know, the trends and leaders in the tourism industry in Africa.

When, just thinking about hospitality, do you think there would be a time when, with the scams, right, for lack of a better word but the way that people kind of behave and approach them, the thing you're talking about, when people are trying to check into the Riyadh and someone's trying to get them on a different tour Do you see that maybe over time it's going to take time, but there's a point when the tours industry kind of evolves past that, so that sure, it's probably be more regulated, but just the attitude start to change.

I don't think so, Unfortunately I don't think so. I mean, it will become regulated at some point, slowly, but those scams, they will always exist. We have to do another episode about scams, but also we're going to talk about have another episode about tipping. But in tipping we're going to talk about shopping, and shopping is one of the most dangerous aspects of the experience for any guest. That's one of the worst habits in Morocco is the shopping experience. We have seen this with our guests timing again, not just one, not just two, and it doesn't matter how many times you talk to the tour leader or the local guide. They will always want to take them around, Even though we coach them and say, hey, these guests, they have already bought whatever they needed, they don't need to be shown anywhere else. But that's something we're still. We cannot overcome it, to be honest with you. We cannot overcome it. But the best that we can do is communicate to the guest. We talk to them, let them know that you know not to take your shopping because they get commission, they make money. Just say, hey, this is how you overcome that objection. Just in case, if somebody offered you, let's go shopping, let's do this.

Yeah. So that's why you guys are so important and the role you play is to prepare your guests and to keep them safe, and that includes telling them where they shouldn't go, what they shouldn't do and they may not. They may get that information from somewhere else, but the key is to get it from someone they trust. And when you take one of your tours, the people will talk to you, they'll get to know you and Sam and they'll certainly know their tour director, their tour leader, and they do build that trust because you know you guys are people that you are looking out for the best interests. You're not just trying to steer them somewhere where you'll get a cut right. You guys aren't interested in that.

No, because you know it happened to us many times and there have been problems. And I'll give you an example A guest travels with their family. They have an amazing tour in amazing experience in Morocco. Then they go back to the US as an example. Then three months later I get a text or I get a call hey, you know, I ordered the rug and I ordered this and I ordered 20 other things. None of them have arrived. And I said you know what I do? Apologize, I'm not aware that you have bought anything. But to the guest, we are responsible because they went on our tour, they booked with us. So now we have to investigate and see what's going on, what happened. Then we reach out to whoever did that tour, whether a local guide or a tour leader, and then we reach out to the shop. You know and this is when it gets really really, really not good, because in one incident we had a family that they bought stuff and it was supposed to be shipped to them but it was never shipped. So you know, it's just it's just we offered to take care of it. We actually wanted to get the authorities involved, but the guest, the client, said no, there's no need, and I offered to pay for, you know, the shipping. But then he said no, but luckily one of the family members went back to Marrakech, they had a conference and they just they took the. At that time there was carpets, rugs. So rugs are, you know, this comes everywhere, because they can make a year's worth of income in one shopping experience. And when I tell that to the guests they are surprised. It's like oh, I don't think so and say yeah, that's, it is, it happens, you know, it happens. So that's why they want to take that chance. Hey, I'm just going to, you know, through this, mr and Mrs Smith, and if it sticks, it sticks and they buy stuff and I get paid. If it doesn't, hey, no, you know, no, no foul. That's why we have to communicate to the guests. Sometimes even this is just, even when you buy stuff. We had an incident with a couple that just visited Morocco. They were at a restaurant, they were eating and they have that stuff that they bought from fast and and the waitress you know the waitress came and said hey, you know, you got that stuff and said yeah, yeah, and they were very happy with their purchase. And then she was like, oh, all of it is fake. I mean, what kind of business do you have to talk to, you know to the guest about their purchase? You? know what I'm saying so they worried and they, you know, start texting us on the group. You know, fast is one of the best places to get ceramics, tajin and stuff like that. It's definitely amazing quality in Morocco. Certain tajins are for cooking, certain tajins are just for presentation and I said, hey, the lid of that tajin when you lift it up, if it has a small hole on the top that's for breathing, then that tajin is for cooking, and if it doesn't, that tajin is just for presentation, which means you cook the meal somewhere and then you put it in tajin and that you present it, you know to yourself family, you know to your household. So. And then she was like you know what? I see the ear has a little open. And then I said it's for cooking, it's the real thing, it's not fake. But why would you put somebody through that? You know it, just those things. It's really unfortunate. But I'm glad they have communicated to us and I'm glad that you know they felt really good about their purchase.

That's good and that's the whole thing, because then they're sitting there like they don't really know what to believe. They thought they made the right decision on it. Who are they going to ask? How are? they going to get a verified. They're not going to ask someone else down the street. They'll give them some other scam. They want to ask someone that they're going to trust, that they know they know you guys up to this point right. So it just gives the peace of mind when you're traveling in a place that's so new, that's so different culture and these that Morocco's not unique. There's lots of countries that have their thing too, but you got to be watch out for it. Now I'm realizing that we were talking about all this stuff. It's a little kind of scary or maybe intimidating, but not to say that it's constantly like this. Of course, in Morocco, most of it is a wonderful time. So what advice would you offer to someone considering a trip to Morocco for the first time? What kind of mindset should they have?

Okay, this is a really, really good question. I've read into this many times. And Morocco, it's not Paris, it's not Italy, it's Morocco. It's a bucket list destination. You want to do this once in your lifetime and do it right. If you're in the 50s and you're 60s 60s, for example and you know this is probably the last international trip you're going to take to Africa, for example Don't take a chance and book it on your own. Book it with the company. It doesn't have to be us because again, it's going back to that experience. If you didn't get the right experience, then it's going to be. You know it's an opportunity missed, you know, missed opportunity. So I've seen this many times. Some people they come back and say, hey, you know, we went to Morocco, we really, really had a good time, but this is what happened and we got scammed here, they took advantage here and all that kind of stuff. And some people they're just embarrassed to mention those things or share them with you, because we know a lot of things that the clients don't know. I mean it's Well, that's it.

It comes from years of experience now doing this, yeah.

Yeah, it's, you know it's. I have a different experience than Sam, you know, because I'm here and I travel back and forth, so I explain to them what the West want, what the clients expect, and how customer service is, how the experience is, and things that we do that somebody else may not do, may not even think about.

Can you talk a little bit about how Sam got involved? How did you meet him? How long have you?

known him? I don't know that story Okay. First of all, it's kind of funny. You know Sam, you know he has a funny side. But then he has a very serious side and you know when we do business he's always serious. Then you know, sometimes he'll be. You know him and I just talking like an hour and hour and a half on the phone, talking and say hey, I miss you man, and he just I throw him off. He's like what did you say? I say hey, I love you man, and just I kind of mess with him that way. Now it's different, you know. So he's used to me just playing with him that way. Actually, I met Sam. I went to Morocco in 2019. And I met him through a friend. Sam is a web developer. That's what he does. He's, you know, builds websites and stuff like that. So when we met, I realized that Sam, he has to be part of the company. He has to be a part of the company. He's too important not to be involved in the company. So I was very grateful, very fortunate, to this day. I mean, the things that he brings to the table are just tremendous in so many different ways.

Was he interested in tourism, then Before that.

Oh, he worked in tourism industry. He worked, yeah, for over a decade and he got tired of it and he started doing website and web development. And then, when we got together, that's how I realized he has a lot of valuable experience, valuable knowledge that I lack. So it was a good combination. My knowledge in a way, his knowledge in a way. Our experiences. They're different One in Morocco, one in the US so he gives us a different way of looking at things. Sometimes he sees things one way. Then I say, well, let's look at it another way and see what the outcome is going to be, what the results are going to be, which is good.

Yeah, especially when it comes to hospitality and expectations kind of thing that you understand now of being in the United States for so long.

Oh, absolutely, and I tell this to myself once you get into that plane, flying anywhere else, say goodbye to hospitality, to customer service. Don't expect it, but if it happens it's a plus. But that's how I prepare myself Anywhere I go. When you travel, you can't really be serious. You just go with the flow and just have fun.

Nice, well, this is fun. I wanted to do this for a while and to learn a bit more about you guys and your company and how we got to where we're at here. It really is quite the story, you know to think there you were growing up in Marrakesh and you've ended up in. Houston, texas running a tour company. It's pretty neat.

Yeah, it is. It's neat and weird, but it's been an amazing journey.

We got some videos lined up a whole bunch of video production and the other thing is the live question and answer. We need to plug that some more because it's a second Wednesday of every month. If anyone wants to join us, you'll find the link on the website destinations moroccocom. And yeah, it's a neat way to interact with people that way every month.

Yes, we're going to use StreamYard and hopefully we can stream it on Facebook, youtube and LinkedIn at the same time, because we look for ways to change, to enhance whatever we're doing. And you know we talked earlier how we are different than everybody else. We are different because we truly care about the guests. The guests are not a reservation number to us. They are not a confirmation number to us when you go with us. There are a few things that we do that they are not in the itinerary and we do it on purpose, but we don't talk about them afterwards Because we want you to experience the culture. You know, at the end of the day, we are Burbers and we love our culture, we love our people and we want to showcase. Hey, even if you don't get to go to the mountains, you don't get to spend some time with the Burbers. You are in between the Burbers. We are all Burbers and that's what makes us different.

So I'll be with you again soon. Wednesday, november 8th, is our next live Q&A. Sam will be there, I should be there, and Azdeen should be joining us from London, which is exciting too.

Yes, I can't wait, it's going to be amazing. I remember the last. Well, I did the episode, last one in Germany, going back to Morocco, so this is going to be kind of fun.

Great, We'll see everybody there. Thanks for tuning in everyone. Thank you so much. Thank you have a wonderful day.