Africa is home to numerous beauties and wonders centuries old and encapsulating a divine heritage and history in its landscape. Journeying through the continents cardinal points immerses you in its majestic wonder. In the “Ventures Travel Interviews,” Vénicia Guinot follows the trail of international globetrotting artists, entrepreneurs, chefs, CEOs and designers, who share their most memorable travel experiences with our readers.

Ferrouz Bousselma is an Executive with a distinguished career with more than fifteen (15) years experience in Sales and Customer Service. Highly motivated Senior Sales Professional with an established track record in the airline industry and a solid background in all facets of sales, merchandising and customer service, Ferrouz Bousselma has a proven success driving profitable growth through account development, negotiations and new product introduction programs. As a skilled negotiator, she has been able to build working relationships with strategic partners.

Ferrouz Bousselma is an entrepreneur who decided to combine her love for fashion with her passion for philanthropy. After many years of working in the corporate world she launched “Fashion Flair Bazaar” in April 2014, the day of Fashion Revolution. In this interview, she shares her passion for African tourism with our readers…

 

Welcome and thank you for granting us this interview. Please introduce yourself to our readers…

– Thank you for having me, it’s an honor for me to do this interview. I’m an epicurean; my motto is “carpe diem” and that is how I live each day to the fullest. I love to meet people and learn about different cultures. I believe in the good of people and that there are no coincidences. My journey has taught me that we create our reality, that everything we ask, we shall receive and I’m thankful for my family, my husband and all the people I get to meet each and every day. I feel very blessed, so every day when I wake up I say Merci, Thank you, I want more.

Which country do you come from/call home? All in one, what is your heritage?

–  I was born and raised in France but my parents are from North Africa, Algeria. Which is probably why I’ve always loved and felt very comfortable when traveling to this beautiful continent.

Are you a backpacker/long term traveler/business traveler/live and work abroad?

– I’ve lived in France, Germany, Spain and New York is what I now call home.

How do you fund your travel (savings/work whilst travelling/other)? Please take us through this experience…

– Working is how I fund my travels.

What is the first trip you remember taking in Africa and what are your favorite memories?

–  My first trip to Africa was to Dakar, Senegal. It was a business trip, back then I was working in Sales and Marketing for an airline company. I had to meet the local branch of our team and they made me feel at home. The people, the food and everything else were so warm and welcoming. I loved how the women dress; the “boubou” is so elegant!!

Have you had any bad experiences whilst travelling the African continent?

– Not at all! I always leave full of love and energy.

The media portrays the African continent as a no-go-zone. How do you feel about this label and how will you rate the African tourism system based on your personal experiences?

– I think everybody should build their own opinion through first hand experience. Fashion Flair Bazaar’s social responsibility brought us to partner with the “Bisila Bokoko African Literacy Project.” Together we travelled to Zimbabwe few months ago. Before travelling everyone was telling me how crazy I was to go in the midst of the Ebola outbreak. The media was really exaggerating and creating “Africa phobia”.  We are constantly bombarded by “pre-digested” information that aim at skewing one‘s personal opinion. Through communication, partnerships & publications such as yours, I believe that we can offset the wrongs done. I usually take decisions based on my guts and I let the universe guide me and luckily my gut was right! I got to meetso many amazing people. From the truly inspiring Doctor Julia Musaririat the St. Albert Mission Hospital in Centenary to the children in Chirumanzu.

Another beautiful experience was the discovery of the Victoria Falls. No words can describe the beauty and power of Mother Nature. There are so many attractions for tourists in Zimbabwe and the hospitality you encounter in Africa is unique.


Where is your favorite place in the world and what makes it so interesting for other visitors to discover?

–  I don’t have a favorite place, I think every country and every culture has its own charm, “magique.” The diversity of our world, its colors, shapes, climate is what makes it so wonderful. However when it comes to people we are all the same. No matter what languages we speak, the gods we believe in, with a smile you can connect with anyone on this planet. Love and Kindness arethe visa you need to get you through any borders.

If you were not travelling, what would you be doing instead?

–  Working!! I started Fashion Flair Bazaar this year with my sister Nadia, she lives in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and we share the same passion. We want to get more designers onboard of Fashion Flair Bazaar. We have a lot of projects because when you awake to a new level of consciousness, it becomes a lifestyle. And since we do it to help others, we need to travel more to meet the people out there who are making this world a better place.

Take us through your daily activities and let us know how you still find time to juggle your professional career and travelling?

–  The alarm rings at 7:00 am every morning. Quick breakfast with my husband and our ritual, we love to burn incense and cleanse ourselves to have a powerful day with a clean energy field. I have a daily face time / Skype meeting with my soul sister and partner and we discuss new ideas, decide on our social media planning for the week as well as the designers we want to approach. We select very carefully the designers we want to work with and they come from all over the world.

All you need today is a computer and an internet connection, which makes it pretty easy to travel and work!

If you could be transported to one day/place in Africa, what would it be and what mode of transport would you prefer to use to get there?

–  They are so many places I want to discover! I definitely want to keep being involved in the work that BBALP.ORG does, you will probably find me in Uganda some time soon. But if I could be tele-transported I would say: lunch in Kenya with the Maasai and dinner with the Touaregs in the Sahara Desert in Algeria.

What has travel taught you?

–  Travel teaches about other cultures, history and traditions. It has taught me that we get richer when we connect, it has taught me to believe that we are one and that everything we do can create a positive impact no matter where we stand on this planet.

QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS

Favourite airline company? Air Europa.

FavouriteAfrican  city/country? Zimbabwe.

Favourite beach? I’m in love with the crystal blue waters of Formentera.

Favourite food? Any good food. My mum is an amazing cook so she taught us how to appreciate a good meal no matter where it comes from. Her couscous is the best!!

Favourite language/dialect? I speak French, Spanish, English, Italian, Russian so I’ll be comfortable with any of these. Lately I’ve learned some Shona: Makadini? (it means how are you?)

Let’s stay in touch:

Website: www.fashionflairbazaar.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/fashionflairbazaar

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FashionFlairBazaar

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ffbazaar/

 

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