Hope for safari recovery post Covid

Africa’s safari industry has been particularly badly hit by the Coronavirus pandemic, with the impact affecting businesses, communities and conservation efforts.

Africa as a whole has suffered a 57% loss in international arrivals due to the pandemic https://www.unwto.org/market-intelligence, and safari business are particularly reliant on an international clientele, most of whom have been unable to travel to Africa since March 2020. This has led to a significant reduction in customers and the temporary - and potentially even permanent - closure of many companies reliant on safari tourism.

A recent survey by SafariBookings.com https://www.safaribookings.com/blog/coronavirus-outbreak found that safari tour operators have seen a decrease in bookings of 75% or more over the last four months, compared to the same time last year, and many of those have been receiving no customers or bookings at all.

The human cost

Aardvark Safaris https://www.aardvarksafaris.co.uk/ works with lodges throughout Africa, and has seen the impact of this sudden loss of safari tourism.

Alice Gully, co-owner of Aardvark Safaris, explains: “We support over 1,000 camps and lodges throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and they are all looking at a year with limited or no income. Not only does this affect jobs and the income for an area, but it affects the dependants on these employees. In Kenya, for example, seven million people are employed in tourism - a third of the country’s workforce - and they each have approximately seven dependants. That’s nearly 50 million people affected by the lack of visitors.”

In Botswana, Desert & Delta Safaris https://desertdelta.com has managed to maintain all of its staff, albeit on reduced incomes, says Andrew Flat, Desert & Delta Safaris’ marketing manager: “High-value, low-volume destinations like Botswana have faced incalculable losses. Botswana is roughly the size of France, but with a population of just over two million people, and around 40% of the country protected parks and reserves.” With so few visitors to such a vast region, even a small dip in numbers can have devastating consequences for communities.

Some types of safari businesses have managed to fare a little better, such as Go Places Africa DMC https://www.goplacesafricadmc.com/, which arranges safaris in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia, has managed to maintain all staff. “Management and directors took salary cuts to make sure that we were able to pay our staff without any cuts as they rely on their salaries for their livelihood, and some of them are the main bread earners in their families. We also set up internet services for our staff in their homes to ensure regular communication virtually with them as well as with our clients.”

In South Africa, lodges across the country have had virtually no income since March. “Royal Malewane https://www.theroyalportfolio.com/royal-malewane/overview/ was effectively closed for five months with zero revenue,” says Ross Bowers, marketing manager of the luxury lodge in Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa. “The pandemic has been devastating for our industry, for our staff and for their many dependents. Government support for the industry has been extremely limited, but we fought hard to keep everyone employed.

“Since we reopened, we have had very limited local business. We need international visitors to return as soon as possible. Recovery for the safari industry will be extremely slow, but we are optimistic that safaris, nature and wildlife will be highly sought after post-Covid experiences.”

Conservation crisis

The effect of the Coronavirus economic impact on conservation is significant, too, with some reports of an increase in poaching activity. “With no game drives, there are fewer eyes on the ground to watch out for poachers,” says Gully of Aardvark Safaris.

This is a real concern throughout the industry, says Luke Bailes, founder and executive chairman of Singita https://singita.com/, which has 15 luxury eco-lodges in Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

“If ecotourism stops funding the conservation work of non-profit conservation partners, the likelihood of illegal hunting and poaching increases. Laid-off workers could turn to poaching to make ends meet, and if anti-poaching efforts are not maintained, traffickers have easier access to the animals and will simply stockpile until they can transport to their end markets.”

Some governments have noted the impact on their wildlife and landscapes, so plans are in the works to try to increase protection in some areas. In South Africa https://www.atta.travel/news/2020/09/a-new-initiative-to-strengthen-the-protection-of-rhinos/, the government, conservation organisations and local communities recently announced a plan to create protection areas to safeguard rhinos from poachers. But the funds available for this are limited, and until internaitonal visitors return in significant numbers, it’s likely that both the landscapes and wildlife that conservation projects help maintain will suffer.

Future bookings

While some African countries have recently started allowing international visitors, more openings are planned as summer sets in. This has helped a little for 2020, but since much of Europe and North America - the two major markets for Africa’s wildlife experiences - are still in various forms of lockdown, most safari businesses are pinning their hopes on 2021.

Roar Africa https://www.roarafrica.com/, a luxury specialist operating in 13 countries in southern and eastern Africa, has seen a massive loss to profits this year, but does have bookings for next year. “We had over 300 trips booked for 2020, and have had to move 80% of them,” said Deborah Calmeyer, CEO and Founder of. “With the recent reopening of Kenya and Rwanda, we have seen more enquiries for travel to these destinations, but we have a long way to go to get to pre-Covid levels of tourism.”

“We have seen a marked increase in enquiries since restrictions have begun to lift - an increase of 320% from Q2 to Q3,” notes Toby Pheasant, founder of Bonamy Travel, which operates in 15 countries in Africa. “But while we would normally expect to convert between 60 - 70% of these enquiries, our 'fill rate' is significantly lower than what we would expect at around 10%.” It seems many customers are dreaming and planning, but still worried about the pandemic, so less inclined to make a booking.

But some of the people who missed out on their 2020 safari trip are securing bookings early for next year. African Bush Camps https://africanbushcamps.com has recently seen a noticeable increase in reservations, particularly for 2021, says Beks Ndlovu, CEO and Founder: “Bookings were up 400% in mid-August for 2021 in comparison to 2019 bookings.”  This is no doubt helped by the company’s new policy of a 100% refundable deposit - a clever strategy to ensure guests know they won’t be out of pocket if the crisis affects their travel plans.

Unearth Experience https://unearthexperience.com/ has seen a similar trend in forward bookings for its safari trips, which it arranges to destinations throughout Africa. “The majority of our clientele impacted by Covid-19 restrictions have opted to postpone their travel plans vs cancelling their trips. This has allowed us to have a strong forward book for 2021,” says Rory James Loader, managing director.

Nobody knows how the pandemic will play out, but many safari businesses are doing their best to prepare, and there’s hope that many will be able to adapt to ensure the future of the industry.

“Africa is tough, its people and wildlife are resilient,” says Flatt of Desert & Delta Safaris. “The silver lining is that we are still here, ready and waiting to welcome guests back to our lodges and ready to prove that, post-pandemic, nothing beats the social distancing a Botswana safari offers.”