Meet the luxury travel agent who plans trips for former US presidents and world leaders
n a personal trip to Ethiopia in 2015, former US President George W. Bush encountered a pleasant surprise.When he arrived in the ancient Christian town of Lalibela, dozens of children wearing royal blue Texas Ranger hats – one of the Texan's favorite sports teams – gave him a warm welcome."We prepared a lot of cool surprises on that trip," Jaclyn Sienna India, founder of the Sienna Charles luxury lifestyle company, tells CNN Travel.
"I try to think of cool ways to make (travelers) excited, so I bought about 100 Texas Rangers hats. And when Bush came to the village, all the kids had them on."Personal touches, exclusivity, security, discretion – these are the things that world leaders have come to expect while traveling."It's very much like theater – world leaders have this vision of what this place could be like, how exotic and how amazing," adds India. "And we want to fulfill that vision with special moments."Bush was not the first world leader India worked with.
Her agency has planned more than 100 journeys for at least 15 presidents, prime ministers and premiers since 2012."Whether it's a former president or billionaire or celebrity, everybody's an individual," she says."If you understand what makes them tick and why are they taking that trip, it will be a successful relationship."
