Fax machines, TV fame & a leap of faith: The making of Calgary’s Travel Lady

In Calgary, Lesley Keyter is something of a local celebrity – though not in the way you might expect.

She’s not an actor, pop star or politician, but say a few words in the checkout line at Safeway grocery store, and someone is bound to turn around and ask, “Where are you off to next?”

That’s because for the past three decades, Keyter has been a weekly fixture on Global TV, sharing travel advice with viewers as “The Travel Lady.” It’s a title that stuck and one she turned into a powerhouse brand.

But her path into travel? Completely accidental.

“I joined the travel industry shortly after I arrived in Canada – all quite by accident,” says Keyter, CEO and founder of South Travel Inc, better known as The Travel Lady Agency. “My profession up until then was in law, but when I came to Canada, I could not get a job despite having over 20 years experience, working for some of Johannesburg's top advocates.”

So, she pivoted. Hard. Spotting a newspaper ad for a travel franchise, she convinced her husband to take a leap with her. “I am good at sales I have to admit,” she adds.

What followed was less smooth transition, more trial by fire.

She recalls being in Vancouver at a franchise owners meeting. “I did not understand one word anybody was saying. GDS, OBD, code share, TMC and ‘flying behind the curtain.’ This was a new language.”

Undeterred, the couple opened a corporate travel office – despite having zero contacts. “What the hell were we thinking?” she says.

From fax machines to TV fame

Their first marketing tactic? Fax machines, lots of them, and fax out a weekly newsletter.

“These computers were buzzing and hissing all day long and the response from people who were woken up by the fax in the middle of the night was epic!” she says.

Then came the lucky break that would change everything: television.

Her franchise had a deal with Global TV, and when a call went out for on-air talent, Keyter—despite being “too nervous to give a speech” back in her school days in Mbabane, Swaziland —stepped up.

“I knew I had to make it happen and the producer loved me!” she says.

That moment turned into a 30-year run. “I have seen anchors come and go. I think I am a bit of a fixture!”

The “Travel Lady” brand itself came about almost by accident too. While doing segments for the franchise, owners noticed clients asking for “that travel lady” from TV. When the franchise pulled out of the TV deal, Keyter made a bold move.

“The rep at Global said, ‘Well why don't you take it on?’ I said, "Are you kidding? We are only a small agency and this costs $1,000 a month.’ He countered: ‘Would you do it for $500 a month?’ I said, ‘You’ve got a deal.’ And I became The Travel Lady.’”

Building a travel brand

It was a gamble, but one that paid off in spades.

Travel, for Keyter, was always in her blood. Born in England and raised in South Africa, her childhood was shaped by movement.

“My father was in the Royal Navy and it seemed I was always the new kid in class from the top of Scotland to Malta in the Med,” she says.

Later, she explored Africa extensively – Mozambique, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Seychelles, Comoros Islands and Madagascar – long before she ever sold a trip there.

Today, her agency specializes in custom vacations, higher-end cruising, and destinations like Africa, Europe, and Australia.

Experience over algorithms

But selling travel in 2026 isn’t what it used to be – and Keyter has seen the shift firsthand.

“Way back in the day, the consumer really found it hard to book their own travel,” she says. “Now, there are numerous websites with flights, hotels, attractions and it can be difficult – especially doing custom travel, when you have someone price checking the individual components of the FIT you have put together.”

In other words: clients have more tools than ever. But not necessarily more clarity.

That’s one reason she’s skeptical of one of the industry’s biggest buzzword.

“Artificial intelligence has definitely made an impact, which I think is overrated,” she says. “It certainly can be useful, but we are seeing that AI can be extremely imaginative and cannot really be relied on. It is a guide, nothing more, and certainly does not meet the expertise of a qualified travel agent.”

For Keyter, expertise isn’t about algorithms. It’s about experience. And she’s had plenty of it.

Her favourite trip? “Antarctica by far,” she says, admitting that she never had a desire to go because she doesn’t like the cold.

But once she got there, “it was like being on another planet.” 

“Nature just overwhelms,” she says. “It was the profound silence broken only by the thunderous crash of glaciers of the sound of whales coming up to surface.”

Despite decades in the business, Keyter hasn’t lost her spark. If anything, she leans into the unpredictability.

“You never know what the day will hold. It is definitely a sexy industry,” she says. “We are not dealing with nuts and bolts. We are dealing with people's dreams, discoveries and ambitions.”

Of course, it’s not always glamorous. “Sked changes, cancellations, earthquakes and lost luggage” are part of the job. But that’s just background noise.

“They pale in the light of the joy of the sale and the satisfaction of the enthusiastic reviews you get when clients return from their trip,” she says.

Turns out, sometimes the best journeys aren’t planned. They’re improvised, a little chaotic, and just bold enough to work.

This article originally ran on May 6, 2026, as part of PAX's annual "10 Most Fascinating Travel Advisors" list to mark Travel Advisor Appreciation Day. To read the full feature, click here.

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