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A former employee of The Food Network, Rani Cheema has always had a passion for food. Now, she's turned that love into an entirely new career as a travel advisor who specializes in culinary travel.
In this episode of Trade Secrets, Cheema speaks with Emma Weissmann (Senior Editor at TravelAge West) and Jamie Biesiada (Senior Editor at Travel Weekly) about her niche, and how she thinks culinary travel has shifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We’ll also hear from members of the World Travel Food Association, who wonder about off-the-beaten track foodie destinations and ask questions on finding experienced guides; crafting a budget for culinary trips; qualifying clients and handling various dietary allergies and restrictions.
Don't miss next week's bonus episode, which will feature a special "get to know you" segment on Cheema.
Credit: 2021 Jenn Martins
Resources Mentioned in This Episode and Related Reading
From TravelAge West
A Guide to Culinary Tourism's Top Travel Trends
Discovering Athens’ Best Food Spots With Athens Insiders (Weissmann's favorite food tour)
From Travel Weekly
A Taste for Travel
Experiential Culinary Outings Enrich Advisors and Clients
Travel Weekly’s Focus on Culinary Travel, Nearly One Year After the Pandemic Began
Tour Operators Feed Travelers’ Hunger for ‘Bourdain effect’ Experiences
The Details
Cheema's Travel
World Food Travel Association
Have a Question?
If you're a travel advisor with a question about the latest travel news, trends, social media, best business practices or more, please send an email to tradesecrets@travelweekly.com. Bonus if you send a recording of yourself asking your question — we may play it on the podcast.
About Your Hosts
Emma Weissmann is a Senior Editor of TravelAge West, a print and online magazine for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. She is also the co-host of Humans of Travel podcast, where she interviews notable individuals in the travel industry about their lives — the highs and lows that make them human.
Jamie Biesiada is a Senior Editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors’ 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.
About the Show
Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, is where travel advisors ask — and answer — questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel advisor to join them and field listeners’ questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more — as long as it’s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at www.travelagewest.com/podcasts.
