MARCELLO PACENTI, BMS TRAVELLERS

As a 6-year-old boy, Marcello Pacenti was also called 'the Emperor of Rome'. With his baby blue eyes he stole the show on every street of the Italian city, after which he spent his teenage years in Cape Town, South Africa. An adventurer through and through, from an early age. The director of BMS Travellers, specialized in special trips, tells MASTERS about his life path. Who was Marcello's travel guide during his career? Text: Mical Joseph
Image: Marcello Pacenti

What was your very first job?

“From my Italian family there was an unwritten rule: you work for your money. My father was one of the greatest perfume designers in the world, and my mother and I worked in the business. My father was one of the first to market spray pressure perfume (aerosols). I never had the ambition to work for the company. I saw the ups and downs that the business entailed and my parents' obsession with success: I swore to myself that I would never start my own business. I wanted to explore! My mother always lost me. We lived in an apartment and I escaped through the drainpipe to explore the streets of Rome. With my charms I got a cheese there, an olive here and a sandwich there.

I moved to Cape Town with my family in the 60s. My mother was Dutch and could not settle in Italy. My father also had too many snoopers in the factory in Rome, in Cape Town he could do his thing in secret and do his work for all the renowned perfume brands.

Because of Apartheid, my mother did not want me to go to a private school where there was a clear brain wash regime was of the difference between black and white. That's why I went to the Constantia Waldorf School, based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, where I came into contact with a freer way of thinking.”

How did you end up in your current job?

“I wanted to discover, travel and know how other lives and cultures went through life. If someone said 'no' I didn't accept it. If someone said, "the door is green," I wanted to know why the door was green. During the Apartheid era, those around me in South Africa always said: 'if you travel outside the South African border, you are dead.' And what did I do? Traveling beyond the country's borders by motorcycle.

The plan was to travel across Africa with Europe as final destination. But this was with zero success. My mentality at the time consisted largely of stubbornness, know-it-all and impulsiveness. The trip was not well planned due to the wrong equipment, the wrong routes and the wrong season of the year. I ended up halfway to Africa after which I traveled back.

During my return trip to Cape Town (and my further Africa travels) I met a lot of people, like a sponge I absorbed all the knowledge I gained while traveling and decided to fly to the Netherlands to earn money so that I could continue traveling again. After three years the time had come: I had saved enough money to be able to stay away for a year. In the Netherlands I bought a Jeep and drove to Africa.” Marcello's trip through Africa in 1985. “The country that stays with me most is Tanzania. The purity, social and hospitable nature of the people is so beautiful. They have nothing, but share everything. In that country I met someone who determined my further career: Bernd Michael Schötz, the then owner of A-Reizen and BMS-Travellers. While enjoying a drink, Bernd said: 'If you ever come back to the Netherlands, you should definitely visit me.'

So I did. At one of Bernd's lectures he spoke about his company and traveling. I was sold. I wanted that too. My own travel company. Not knowing that thirty years later, in 2001, I would take over his company. During those thirty years I became an instructor at Camel Trophy Adventure. In 20 days we had to brave impassable roads in the rainy season. Later I founded the company Off Road Adventures on incentive trips together with a number of companions from the Camel Trophy world. Bernd took care of our logistics with BMS-Travellers and that is how we came into contact again after all these years.

At one point I was no longer satisfied with the company and spoke to one mediator about what would be the perfect company for me to take over. I described BMS, but didn't mention the name. The broker contacted me afterwards and indicated that he had found the perfect company: BMS-Travellers. This was pure coincidence. I took over the company.”

Who was your wheelbarrow in that?

“My father and Bernd have been two wheelbarrows. My father always said: 'It's not what you know, it's who you know.' As a result, I quickly learned that entrepreneurship, which I had acquired to some extent, came in handy while traveling. I met different people and gained knowledge. As a traveler, I was actually a 'mini entrepreneur': I had to budget, get from A to B and plan ahead. Bernd has taught me to offer the best to the customer, to arrange everything well and to offer unique tailor-made trips.”

What is your greatest passion in your profession?

“To be honest, I have several passions, I can't choose. Finding the most unique pearls in the world, involving cultures in the successes of tourism and improving their future prospects and continuing to discover them are important to me. That's why I do it.”

What has been the biggest learning moment in your career?

“Traveling alone at a young age has benefited me so much in my life. The big journey when I was 21 years old had many highs, but also many lows. I met a lot of new people, came into contact with different cultures, but I also became seriously ill from Malaria. Despite that, the best investment I ever made: I got to know myself and my limits, developed more gut feeling and learned to deal with setbacks. In short: when you travel you learn everything you don't learn at school.”

What advice would you give to your 18 year old self?

“Think occasionally and don't be too impulsive. Sometimes advice from a third party is wise. I was very stubborn and often only listened to myself and not to others. As a result, I sometimes paid a high price because things didn't go the way I wanted them to. While I was warned of the consequences.”

Have you been a wheelbarrow for someone?

“I have a different way of thinking about how to deal with problems and successes. Here and there I have inspired young people and afterwards I was told 'thank you' while I did not even realize that I was a wheelbarrow for them. I hope to inspire people, provide them with knowledge and offer them beautiful trips. Then my job done."