How Siham Lahmine Started a Travel Business Built on Community and Connection

“I want each one to feel special while they are traveling with me. Others say to me, 'Oh, you're supposed to do a lot of group tours. That's going to bring you a lot of profits.' I'm saying leave this aside because it's not about profit. This is about people.”

When 2020 brought global travel to a halt, Siham Lahmine saw an unexpected opportunity: to bet on herself. Leaving behind a stable career in education (and a seven-year role at a tourism company), she launched Morocco Travel Organizer, curating immersive, luxury experiences that go beyond the guidebooks. But her journey wasn’t just about pivoting, it was about rewriting her own rules.

Siham’s entrepreneurial journey is a testament to the power of patience and intuition. While many rushed to pivot in 2020, she took two years to refine her vision, proving that timing isn’t just about opportunity, but readiness.

After spending seven years working in tourism, Siham made the decision to branch out on her own during the pandemic. Rather than rushing to launch, she waited until travel began to recover before officially introducing Morocco Travel Organizer. That decision gave her time to think carefully about the kind of business she wanted to build and the experiences she wanted travelers to have.

In this Entreprenista Podcast, Siham shares her journey from employee to entrepreneur, discusses the challenges of starting a travel business from scratch, and explains why community and personal connection have been central to her growth.

You can listen to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Here Are a Few Moments From the Podcast

Siham shares why the pandemic became the catalyst for starting her own business:

"But the moment COVID started, I just decided, look, if this is the time that travel is quiet, this is the time that I wanna really fulfill this dream. I'm not sure how tourism will even be enriched in the next few years, but how about taking this risk and doing this on my own? So after like three or four months, I informed that company that I'm not gonna be part of them and that I would like to take this journey on my own now.

So this is what I've done. I've waited actually two years until the tourism revived again, then I launched my business."

She explains what the transition from employee to founder looked like behind the scenes:

"Yes. Well, I mean, like the transition is, I would say from employee to a founder. That's how I always summarize it.

And like, just to summarize, I know that it seems two words or three words, but it's a lot of challenges and a lot of good things at the same time... Website, logistics, accounting, all of this stuff has been like new words to me. But I'm learning through them until today, and I think it's gonna be a learning experience like my entire life."

When talking about travel, Siham explains why food experiences are about much more than food:

"Because a food tour is not just about eating. It's not about, like, tasting food in the streets or, like, itself, but it's about learning the stories of these local stalls. As an example, like a local vendor who's been there for 20 years, 30 years, and he loves sharing his passion with the locals, then you're entering as a traveler.

You're not just seeing monuments, but you're seeing what is behind monuments. You're meeting and you're interacting with people."

She shares the approach that helped her build customer loyalty without relying on a large marketing budget:

"Like, when I am working with a customer, like, it's not just a customer that's gonna come and go and leave, and that's it. I'm building a relationship with that customer, and I'm working on a personalized basis. I would go one-to-one call with them, virtual call with them, or a video call with them.

Get to know what they want, what their needs are, how make their past travel transformative in that sense... Make your customer feel special, work on a personalized level, and let them be your ambassadors."

Asked about growing an international business, Siham comes back to one theme again and again:

"Community. That's the word that I'm gonna always use as an answer. Community, community, community.

Like, I started this business from scratch, basically. I didn't spend a lot in the marketing because I just said, 'Oh, I can spend plenty of money on marketing, but what will that lead me to?'

If I am focusing on communities, that means I'm focusing on connection. That means I'm focusing on a lot of stuff. So this is all my concentration in terms of business, is being part of communities, really connecting, and seeing where it leads to."

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Connect with Siham:

• ⁠Morocco Travel Organizer⁠
• ⁠LinkedIn⁠
• ⁠@sihamlahmine⁠ on Instagram
• ⁠@moroccotravelorganizer⁠ on Instagram

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Updated on: June 26, 2026