Spotlight | Life as a Journey: Travel Dream Creator Malaka Hilton

By Carol Brzozowski | June 2022

In 1997, Malaka Hilton and her husband Ryan Hilton founded Admiral Travel International in Sarasota. Since that time, Malaka Hilton has earned distinctions from Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, and National Geographic Traveler, among others. Ryan Hilton is an accredited Virgin Galactic Space Agent. Malaka Hilton took time to speak with Sarasota Scene about family, the value of travel, and what factors put Sarasota on the map.

Tell us about yourself.

I’ve been in Sarasota since I was five years old, when my family moved here in 1975. I have one older brother who is the deputy athletic director at the University of Georgia.  I am married, for almost 25 years, to my business partner Ryan Hilton. We have two gorgeous kids, Alexandria, 21, who is in her third year at Florida State University (FSU) and Carter, 18, an FSU freshman.

I started at ATI in 1997 and am celebrating 25 years this year. I am passionate about everything I do, whether it comes to my family, friends, or career. I enjoy creating travel dreams. I love champagne and wine dates with my girlfriends. When there is time, I love to get away with my husband on a boat to anywhere our gorgeous state of Florida allows us to.

What led you to pursue a career in travel? 

My father is Egyptian and my mother is Slovenian. They met in the mid-1960s in Austria while my dad was in medical school at the University of Vienna. Although my brother and I were born in the U.S., my parents were still very European. The European way was always—and to date, still is the way—to pull your kids out of school and travel the world. I had been through three passports before I was a teenager.  I fell in love with travel. My older brother was the opposite, he just didn’t enjoy it as much. For me, it led to a major in hospitality at FSU, where I graduated in the class of 1993. My original goal was to work in hotels, but once I interned at a few of them, I realized I hated it. One day after graduation, someone asked me why I wasn’t in the travel field. I thought, ‘Yeah, why am I not in travel?’ In 1994, I applied for a job at a now-defunct travel agency in Sarasota and by 1997, I was ready to open my own.  Later that year, I went on a site inspection to South Africa post-apartheid where I went on safari at Londolozi Game Reserve. My then-safari guide is now my husband and business partner.

You have a special affinity for travel to Egypt. Tell us why you love to travel there and why it makes a great destination. 

With my father being from Egypt, I went to visit there every year since I was four years old. I am now 51, although I want my COVID years back, so I tend to say I’m still 49. I have probably been to Egypt close to 100 times. With having as many relatives there as I do, it’s always fun to go back and visit them. It’s such a diverse country. So much has happened in recent history that every time I go, I am truly fascinated to learn something new each time. When it comes to Egypt, it’s always truly magical, which is something I can’t say that about many other destinations. I light up when talking about it.

What makes the Sarasota area an ideal place for you to live and work?  

I’ve traveled the world and there is truly no place like Sarasota, Florida.  The weather—yes, even in the summer—is perfect. It’s a great place to raise a family. I went to school here and my kids have gone to school here. Inasmuch as it’s changing a lot, it still has a small hometown feel. We love to work downtown and just invested in one of the new condos going up. Now that we’re empty-nesters, to be able to live downtown is really going to be exciting.

You have received many accolades. What does that mean to you? 

It means taking chances and thinking outside the box to create true once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences for my guests hasn’t gone unnoticed.  I took the chance to charter ATI Skye—formerly known as Crystal Skye—three times now so my guests could have an opportunity to experience the luxury of the non-stop flights from SRQ on that 777. It also allows others who don’t live in our Sarasota world to find me through Conde Nast or Travel + Leisure magazines, since I’m recognized by both, so that I can make some sort of impact in their lives by working with them to create memories that they may not have been able to make by not meeting me.

What impact does travel have on our lives? 

I met my husband through travel. My kids, who have gone through three passports, are true global citizens. They have been able to learn about the world through travel in a way that classrooms simply can’t teach. They are worldly and understand the world through their global travel perspective.  That has made them true leaders amongst their peers. Sure, I’d like to say that their dad and I are the reason and perhaps a bit of that is true, but travel has made a strong impact in their lives to help mold them into the amazing young adults they are now.

Where do you see yourself five years from now?  

We just bought a home in South Africa in the bush close to the Londolozi and Singita game reserves, so we will start to split time between Sarasota and South Africa. We have started a new business as well, with a focus on adventure/wildlife/Africa, so in five years we anticipate growth, and perhaps one of our kids will have taken it over. That will allow us to still be involved in travel, and selling many more ATI Skye journeys, but we hope to also be enjoying some slower down-time and enjoying some champagne from our balcony in our new Sarasota downtown condo.