by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 10:25 AM ET, Tue July 4, 2023
Like many other segments of the travel industry, safaris are experiencing something of an evolution at the moment, not only to meet the latest interests and desires of travelers, but also to encompass the realities and challenges facing the planet in 2023.
The good news is that in many cases, that has meant a heightened focus on safaris that emphasize sustainably, or that allow travelers to meaningfully support conservation efforts and have a positive impact on the destinations visited.
Underscoring this point, global search volumes for the term 'sustainable safari' have increased by 16 percent since 2019, according to the safari travel company Go2Africa, which recently produced its first annual African Safari Travel Report.
“Sustainability is quickly becoming a key consideration in the decision-making process of travelers. This has become very evident in the safari industry,” says the report. “This is a testament to the work of charities, organizations, governments, and local communities who have championed the importance of sustainability. And the effect comes back around as travelers' changing desires then help drive the movement further.”
The burgeoning demand for sustainable safaris is merely one of the key trends dominating the safari industry for 2023. Here’s a look some of the other significant developments this year and the meaningful ways in which safari companies are responding.
(Photo Credit: Courtesy Go2Africa)
Safaris Focused on Positive Impact and Preservation
As the Go2Africa report points out, preserving and protecting Africa’s critically important biodiversity and landscapes continues to be one of humanity's biggest challenges. Safari travel companies and travelers themselves are increasingly acknowledging this reality.
In the case of Go2Africa, that has meant launching new “Positive Impact initiatives” and also “Trips with a Purpose.” Through such efforts, Go2Africa works with partners on the ground to help protect Africa’s environment and actively contribute to restoring areas that have been negatively impacted in the past.
Trips with a Purpose in particular, provide travelers with hands-on experiences within a safari itinerary that involve supporting local communities and ways of life, as well as opportunities to engage in environmental work or wildlife conservation. The experiences are designed to be meaningful for clients, while also helping to provide a sustainable future for Africa’s natural ecosystems and people.
“We have seen a large uptick in inquiries for sustainable safaris in destinations like Rwanda and South Africa this year. To prioritize this for our travelers in the future, Go2Africa has created Trips with a Purpose,” explains Maija de Rijk-Uys, managing director of Go2Africa.
The company’s nine-day Tanzania Hands-on Conservation Safari, which is part of its Trips with a Purpose portfolio, takes participants to the Douglas Bell Eco Research Station where travelers join researchers in such activities as positioning camera traps and image analysis of predator identification and even tracking collared lions using telemetry.
Go2Africa Trips With a Purpose in Tanzania (Photo Credit: Courtesy Go2Africa)
The Tanzania experience is just one example of the growing number of options available. The company offers similar Trips with a Purpose throughout Africa including to Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia.
The purposeful activities on these journeys range from experiencing rhino tracking in Kenya and learning about the fraught conservation efforts of the critically endangered animals, to staying at lodges and camps in Zambia that are designed and operated with sustainability
and community involvement as a top priority. And in Namibia, travelers visit a local Himba Village, engaging with tribe members of one of the world's last nomadic tribes.
Martin Meyer, CEO and founder of Martin Meyer Safaris, which offers privately guided trips, says clients of high net worth are seeking even more immersive conservation activities.
“We’re seeing our clients that are high net worth individuals wanting to embark on unique conservation experiences. That has included a rise in activities such as rhino de-hornings, Pangolin walks with vets, and elephant collaring,” says Meyer, who has led eight de-horning trips over the past year alone.
Budding Conservationists Program with Cottar's Safaris (Photo Credit: Courtesy Cottar's Safaris)
Conservation Activities Designed to Inspire Future Generations
Go2Africa is hardly alone in its effort weave a thread of conservation and preservation throughout its 2023 safari itineraries. Cottar’s Safaris, based in Kenya's Masai Mara is also doing so—while including an emphasis on family travelers and engaging even the youngest visitors in conservation efforts.
The company recently launched a new Budding Conservationists program featuring experiences designed to inspire and educate children about the importance of the environment and the need to help protect the flora and wildlife within it. Immersive activities on the trips offer the chance to join female conservation rangers on their daily patrolling, even helping with de-snaring and wildlife counting.
Still other activities for young travelers (perhaps the future David Attenborough) range from walking with an expert hunter-gatherer to participating in reforestation work. All of which is meant to help participants develop a deeper understanding of why conservation and our participation is so important.
“As a family-run business, it was important for us to develop a safari experience for families that is not only enjoyable for children, but also provides values, purpose and impact,” says Louise Cottar, co-owner of Cottar’s Safaris. “We want families to travel more consciously and we hope that these new experiences will have long-lasting effects—not only on our guests, but ultimately on the complex and unique biodiversity that surrounds Cottar’s Safaris.”
Longer and Slower Trips
Many safari operators have also noticed an uptick this year in clients visiting for much longer periods of time and requesting extended visits at individual lodges.
Intentionally or not, this shift dovetails with an important element of sustainable travel: slow travel. The value of slow travel lies in reducing the carbon footprint of one’s trip overall. Rather than jetting or driving feverishly from one place to the next with the intention of checking off as many boxes as possible, visitors stay in places for a longer duration, and perhaps visit fewer locations overall. Not only does this reduce carbon emissions associated with transportation, but it also allows travelers to have a more meaningful financial benefit for a single destination and its people.
Clients of Meyer Safaris for instance are not only spending longer overall in Africa, but they're also booking stays in lodges of up to four or five nights, rather than the usual two or three.
Clients of the safari operator Alluring Africa are booking even longer trips, eschewing the usual eight to 10 days for trips of 14-plus days or longer.
“Fewer people are tied to their desk and have more flexibility to be away for longer periods, while still being able to stay in touch remotely to keep an eye on the work situation,” says Susan Neva, a travel designer for Alluring Africa.
Alluring Africa clientele are also digging in more fully when it comes to experiencing a country, rather than trying to collect passport stamps and see several countries during a short period of time. Which again, happens to align precisely with what the eco-friendly, slow travel movement espouses.
At ROAR AFRICA, the same trend is emerging. “Trips are 30% longer in duration, with clients looking to profoundly immerse in the safari experience and appreciate the stillness and seclusion from modern-day chaos it provides,” says ROAR AFRICA CEO Deb Calmeyer.
PHOTO: Meditation at sunrise. (photo via Getty Images/ Marija Jovovic. (Photo Credit: Getty Images/Marija Jovovic)
Well-being in the Wild
One last notable development, safari travelers this year are increasingly seeking well-being in the wild. What does that mean exactly?
“From Sterrekopje Healing Farm and its sanctuary-style accommodations in South Africa to Kisawa in Mozambique and our own specialist restorative journeys, clients are seeking well-being and spiritual connection beyond the traditional safari,” says Calmeyer.
And ROAR AFRICA has plenty of itineraries designed to accommodate this burgeoning demand.
“All our specialist trips, from The Greatest Safari on Earth to Into the Wild with David Whyte and our annual Women's Empowerment Retreat, are learning journeys that rewild and explore our connection to the inner landscape, as much as the outer,” says Calmeyer. “We're seeing a renewed appreciation for this level of thought and sensitivity in the offering.”
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