Nowadays, food choices and food allergies are an important part of the travel experience

miami – Dealing with food preferences and allergies is an essential part of the travel experience these days, no matter where you go in the world.

A kitchen is locked at the Lion Sands Ivory Lodge in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in northeastern South Africa. It is kosher, two separate items for meat and dairy products, and all prepared foods comply with Jewish dietary rules.

“The room in the kitchen is not kosher,” said Andrew Templet, former manager of the lodge. “It’s actually a fully equipped satellite kitchen.”

CBS News Correspondent Wendy Gillett got a special look at the kitchen with Timeless Africa Safaris, which caters to kosher guests.

“We are a Jewish company, so the natural combination of pleasing and meeting our guests’ every need was an easy match with understanding the culture and religion and the differences from ultra kosher to light kosher.” says marketing manager Casey Van Embden.

Only about 5% of guests who book Timeless Africa Safaris are kosher, but about 95% have some sort of dietary request.

According to a recent survey by Statista, more than 4 in 10 Americans now follow some type of diet. Other studies put the figure at about 6 in 10 Americans.

For travel consultant Jim Bendt, trips have been a challenge for his family since his son Andrew was diagnosed with celiac disease 17 years ago.

“We had one suitcase and we packed it with gluten-free food that you can’t buy in the market because it’s just not available in packaged goods. We made all the food and traveled the world.” He says.

Bendt offers a few tips for travelers with dietary needs:

Let the hotel know what you want in advance

If you are in a distant place, contact the chef

Try to find the same host during the meal.

“It’s so easy to manage the travel and food choices out there today,” says Bendt. So all you need to worry about is the look.