From volunteer to visionary: Jessica Smit’s journey in the South African tourism industry

Following SATSA’s 2024 Conference, themed "This is Us," where industry leaders and trailblazers shared their personal journeys and highlighted the importance of unity within the tourism sector, we continue the conversation by showcasing more remarkable stories. One such inspiring journey is that of Jessica Smit, whose transition from a volunteer to a visionary in the South African tourism industry perfectly encapsulates the themes of shared stories, resilience, and growth.

Jessica’s story is one of adventure, perseverance, and passion. It began with her travels across Greece, Cyprus, and Gran Canaria, and culminated in her leadership role at White Shark Projects, a marine conservation and tourism organisation in South Africa. Like many in the tourism industry, her path wasn’t linear—it was shaped by life choices, volunteerism, and a deep love for wildlife and conservation.

From volunteer to visionary: Jessica Smit’s journey in the South African tourism industry

Jessica Smit left school at the age of 16 (as is customary in England), faced with the first of many life choices: to study or work. She chose the latter. “I wanted to earn money to travel, so I went to work on a small island in Greece called Crete. For the next couple of years, I travelled between Crete, Cyprus and Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, managing beach bars, training as a beautician and working on cruise ships, and selling timeshare in Gran Canaria,” she shares. “On my travels, I also spent a lot of time in zoos, animal rescue shelters and charities.”

She would only realise many years later that this was when her tourism industry journey really began.

When Jessica returned to England at 29, she felt like she had no skills to show for the time she had been away. “All my friends from school had good jobs working at banks, had settled down with their families and owned homes. And I went back to school.”

She explains that her time spent around animals when she was travelling had made her curious about the animal industry, She enrolled at the Royal College of Horticulture and completed a Diploma in Animal Management and Welfare, as well as a Bachelor of Science and a Master’s in Animal Behaviour and Conservation.

For the next six years, she volunteered during the summer breaks in between studying. “I was in a different place every year – in Africa, Asia, and a few places in Europe,” she says.

Jessica was volunteering in Kenya at a sea turtle sanctuary when she googled sharks, South Africa, and volunteering. White Shark Projects, a global research organisation founded in 1989, popped up. The company is dedicated to the conservation and health of the oceans. It also uses shark-cage diving to bring travellers closer to these marine animals to rectify some of the misconceptions the media has created around them. “My favourite movie growing up was Jaws. Ever since then, I’ve been fascinated by sharks – specifically white sharks,” she says. “At the same time, all the stories of poaching and overfishing during my conservation studies and research made me interested in marine life.” It was fate.

A South African love story

Jessica called the White Shark Projects’ landline and Liz Botha, the operations manager, answered. “They had an opening the next week and I was in. I got on a plane to Cape Town,” she says. “When I got there, the volunteer coordinator had left a month prior, so it was a bit ‘girls gone wild’ to be honest.” It was during the American spring break when many young women come to South Africa to volunteer.

“At the end of a month-long stint, I ended up staying an extra few weeks but had to go home to finish exams and hand in my research paper,” Jessica explains. When she got back to England, she found herself missing South Africa.

She compares it to falling in love: “When you wake up every morning and it’s the first thing on your mind, or when you go to sleep and it’s the last thing on your mind… and it’s in your dreams.”

Jessica sent Charmaine Beukes, one of White Shark Projects’ former CEOs, an email explaining that she had been a volunteer there recently, had just completed her studies and wanted to be their new volunteer coordinator. She started the following year.

“That’s how I ended up staying in South Africa. Now, whenever anyone asks me how it compares to all the other places I’ve travelled to and worked in, I always tell them: when the plane hits the ground in Cape Town, I know I’m home,” Jessica says fondly, adding that this is mainly because of South African people.

Embracing the tourism industry

In addition to shark-cage diving, White Shark Projects has two massive recycling projects, is an avid ambassador of ocean health and conservation initiatives and runs the Ocean Defenders Youth Club. “It was my job to work with Charmaine to grow these projects,” Jessica explains.

In the meantime, she married a South African and had a daughter. She bought a property and made a home for herself in the country. “But I was on a volunteer visa, so I had to prove that I had enough finances to support myself without any contribution from anyone,” she says.

Then, March 2020 came and brought with it the pandemic. “We were all laid off work for a while, but I was focused on keeping our social media alive and maintaining awareness for the White Shark Projects’ cause.”

In August, Charmaine asked Jessica to see her. “I thought I would have to go back to England again,” she remembers. However, Charmaine wanted to sell her shares, and the company. “Because I had grown so passionate about the business, she wanted to come to me first with the offer to buy her out,” Jessica explains.

Charmaine stood in front of her with a newspaper in hand as evidence, pointing at the front page, where Jessica was photographed in a White Shark Projects T-shirt, leading a tour of children through Panthera Africa Big Cat Sanctuary. “It was in the middle of lockdown and the children at the Butterfly Children Centre in Stanford, a home for children with learning difficulties, were becoming bored and restless from being inside. So, I hired a bus and took them on a tour of the sanctuary,” Jessica says.

She owned an apartment in Manchester from her earlier life there, “but I knew that I wasn’t going anywhere and decided to sell it,” she says. In November 2020, she became the owner of White Shark Projects.

Learning the ropes

While she had worked in the tourism industry for many years, Jessica admits that she never really knew where the visitors and the volunteers came from. “I simply went to work, and people would just show up from the hotels they were staying at. I didn’t know which agents to talk to, who the industry experts were, or any of that, which was now a massive part of my job.” She had to learn in a very short space of time, and still finds herself learning more every day. “Now, I often look back on those initial years I spent in the tourism industry for guidance.”

Jessica explains that no one working at White Shark Projects has finished matric because “they have other skills that are self-taught from being in the industry for a long time”, and this was invaluable to her in her journey as an owner. “I had to rely on my team a lot to give me information and tell me how things worked. For example, they had to explain the booking processes, backend systems and payments to me.”

She believes anyone can work in the tourism industry and a specific skill set is not required. Jessica tells the story of how, indirectly, a local family became part of the tourism industry as a supplier and enabler. Initially, White Shark Projects was not able to cater to halaal visitors, but when the first Muslim family arrived to live there and started selling their food at the local market on Sundays, Jessica decided to approach them for their help. “They made a curry, and our guests loved it. There was so much flavour in it. When I asked the lady where the spices were from, she said Durban. So, I decided to go to Durban, buy spices and do some travelling.”

This is Us – The People of South Africa

Jessica says events like the SATSA ‘This is Us’ conference which took place in August are important in bringing everyone together to share their insights and learnings, and in creating a more cohesive industry. “At the conference, SATSA Chairman Oupa Pilane said: ‘There is no you, no me, no them, just us’. He explained that South Africa is comprised of multiple layers of stories woven together in a unique way, and this is what makes it a beautiful country,” Jessica says.

“For White Shark Projects, we could see for ourselves where all our travellers and volunteers were coming from and meet the industry experts face-to-face for the first time.”

Jessica says knowing what she now knows, she would have embraced the tourism industry more confidently. “Don’t worry about the skills you have or don’t have – the tourism industry is so diverse and welcoming; anybody can find something to do and learn along the way. If you have a good work ethic and you’re willing to work hard, you can be successful,” she concludes.