Zahirah Marty has built a career across television, travel production and destination marketing. She began as a presenter in South Africa, where her work on programs such as Top Billing, Top Travel and Mela established her in lifestyle and travel television.
After moving to Dubai in 2011, Marty expanded beyond presenting into marketing, communications, public relations and destination marketing. That broader experience later became closely connected to her work in international travel television.
Her career now includes presenting and producing travel programs such as Great Getaways and My Travel Diary. Great Getaways: Namibia, Africa with Zahirah Marty won two TASTE Awards, while The Lovely Lemurs of Madagascar, which she hosts, received a 2026 Daytime Emmy nomination.
How Zahirah Marty Started in Television
Marty was raised in Westville, Durban, South Africa. Her entry into television came through a presenter search in which she reached the top 12.
That opportunity led to work on Top Billing, a South African lifestyle and entertainment program. She later presented the first season of Top Travel and worked on SABC3’s Mela.
These early roles established a clear travel and lifestyle direction in her career. Rather than staying within traditional entertainment presenting, Marty increasingly focused on programs built around destinations, experiences and travel.
Why Zahirah Marty Moved to Dubai
Marty moved from South Africa to Dubai in 2011. The move became an important stage in her professional development because her work expanded beyond television presenting.
In Dubai, she gained experience in marketing, communications and public relations before moving further into destination marketing and tourism. This gave her experience on both sides of travel media: presenting destinations to audiences and working in the broader business of promoting them.
That background later became relevant to her work as a travel presenter and producer.
From Television Presenter to Travel Producer
Marty’s later work shows how her television and destination-marketing experience came together.
She joined Allen Media Group as a host of Great Getaways, an international travel series focused on destinations around the world. Her professional work has also included production responsibilities, giving her a role in travel content beyond appearing in front of the camera.
Marty has also worked on My Travel Diary as a presenter and producer.
The progression is significant because her career did not simply move from one presenting job to another. It developed from television into a wider combination of presenting, production, communications and destination marketing.
Great Getaways and the TASTE Awards
One of the strongest measurable achievements in Marty’s career came through Great Getaways.
Great Getaways: Namibia, Africa with Zahirah Marty won Best International Program and Best Single Camera Production at the 14th Annual TASTE Awards.
Source: TASTE Awards — official results confirm both awards.
The recognition covers two different aspects of the program. Best International Program reflects its international travel focus, while Best Single Camera Production recognizes the production itself.
The Star also reported Marty’s Best International Programme win.
Source: The Star / IOL Travel — independent coverage of the award.
These awards provide a stronger measure of Marty’s professional work than simply listing her television credits. They show that one of the travel programs associated with her has received formal recognition in two production categories.
Destination Marketing Became Part of Her Career
Television is only one part of Marty’s professional background.
The Franschhoek Literary Festival has described her as a destination-marketing specialist, travel-show host and producer. That description reflects the wider direction of her career, particularly her work connecting travel content with destination promotion.
She is also associated with The Destination Institute, which operates in the destination-marketing and travel sector.
This combination helps explain why Marty’s career has remained closely connected to tourism. Her experience is not limited to presenting places on television; it also includes work related to how destinations are communicated and marketed to audiences.
Zahirah Marty and Andrew Marty
Marty is married to Andrew Marty. News24 reported that the couple married in Dubai in March 2016 and identified Andrew as an Australian veterinarian working in the UAE.
Source: News24 — reports the couple’s March 2016 Dubai wedding and Andrew Marty’s profession.
Marty has also spoken publicly about balancing her career, frequent travel and motherhood. Beyond those publicly documented references, reliable information about her family life is limited.
For that reason, her professional career provides a more useful focus than adding unverified details about her private life.
How Old Is Zahirah Marty?
Marty’s exact date of birth has not been reliably confirmed by a primary public source.
Khaleej Times reported on January 2, 2025, that Marty was 36 years old. This establishes her reported age at the time of that interview but does not provide enough evidence to confirm an exact birthday or birth year.
Source: Khaleej Times — January 2, 2025 interview.
An exact date of birth should therefore not be presented as confirmed.
Zahirah Marty Height and Net Worth
Marty’s height has not been reliably established through a reputable public source. Numbers published by celebrity-information websites are not sufficiently documented to treat a specific height as verified.
Her net worth is also not publicly disclosed. Although her career includes television, production, marketing, destination work and consulting, there is not enough reliable financial information about her income, assets and liabilities to calculate a dependable figure.
Any specific net-worth amount published online should therefore be treated as an estimate rather than an established fact.
Zahirah Marty and the 2026 Daytime Emmy Nomination
Marty’s recent television work reached another industry milestone in 2026 when The Lovely Lemurs of Madagascar was nominated for Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program at the 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
Marty hosts the nominated program. The nomination belongs to the program rather than being an individual acting or presenting nomination for Marty.
Source: TheGrio / Allen Media Group coverage — confirms the nomination and identifies Marty as the host.
The nomination is significant in the context of her career because it adds another major industry recognition to her work in travel television.
What Defines Zahirah Marty’s Career?
Marty’s career is best understood as a progression rather than a collection of unrelated television credits.
She began in South African lifestyle television, moved to Dubai in 2011, and then developed experience in marketing, communications, public relations and destination marketing. Her later work brought those skills back into international travel programming, where she has worked as both a presenter and producer.
The TASTE Awards provide recognition for her Great Getaways work, while the 2026 Daytime Emmy nomination for The Lovely Lemurs of Madagascar marks another recent achievement in travel television.
Taken together, the documented record shows a professional career built around travel media and destination storytelling, with experience extending beyond television presenting alone.
Conclusion
Zahirah Marty began her television career in South Africa before moving to Dubai and expanding her professional work into marketing, communications and destination marketing.
Her later career brought those areas together through international travel television and production. Great Getaways: Namibia, Africa with Zahirah Marty won two TASTE Awards, while The Lovely Lemurs of Madagascar received a 2026 Daytime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program category.
Marty was reported to be 36 in January 2025. Her exact birth date, height and net worth have not been reliably confirmed or publicly disclosed.
Her career stands out for its combination of television presenting, travel production and destination marketing, rather than relying on television appearances alone.
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