EPIDEMIC OF IGNORANCE: TOURISTS AVOID AFRICA, ALL OF IT FYI from USA TODAY @ usatoday/story/news/world/2014/10/31/safari-ebola-africa-geography/17784729/ Travelers fearful of Ebola are avoiding Africa or canceling long-planned safaris, creating dire consequences for the economy in Africa, tourism and government officials said. More than 13,000 people have become infected with Ebola, and approximately 5,000 have died, mostly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. But the outbreaks are thousands of miles from prime safari spots, tour operators say. The Ebola panic shows most Americans dont know Algeria from Zimbabwe when it comes to African geography, safari operators say. They point out that those stricken West African countries are closer to Madrid, Paris and London than they are to safari hot spots, such as Kenya, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Tanzania in the continents south and eastern areas. South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool said jobs affected by canceled vacations reach far beyond the safari workers. Every tourist who visits South Africa generates income for eight jobs in industries such as transportation, hospitality, restaurants and agriculture, he said. There are no Ebola cases reported in South Africa and the country is 3,300 miles from the nearest outbreak in West Africa. Ironically its not the epidemic of Ebola that is the problem, Rasool says. It is the epidemic of ignorance that is the problem. Anyone who would even look at a map would know the tourism industry in most of Africa is suffering from an outbreak of ignorance. Before Ebola, African tourism had soared to an all-time high, said Wouter Vergeer, owner of SafariBookings, an online marketplace with hundreds of safari operators. On Aug. 8, the World Health Organization declared Ebola an international public health emergency. Vergeer heard the first reports of trouble from safari companies in mid-August. It has taken a huge hit on our industry, and its getting worse and worse, he said. SafariBookings surveyed 500 safari tour operators in September and found more than half had experienced drops in bookings ranging from 20% to 70% since the Ebola outbreak. Among the people who considered canceling a long-planned safari vacation to South Africa was Raquel Dambrosi, 29, of Staten Island, N.Y., who fretted on Twitter about her Ebola anxieties. Friends and family worried she would catch Ebola on the airline flight. Ultimately, Dambrosi decided to go. She leaves Nov. 4. I am doing my research and staying up-to-date on the news, she said. I check online and on CNN every day. Jake McCormick, who runs the Shadows of Africa safari company, cant remember an October where his phone wasnt ringing off the hook with customers hoping to schedule holiday safari getaways. This year his phone is silent. My worst fears came true, McCormick said. Bookings and inquiries are down more than 70% from last year. Shadows of Africa books most of its safaris in Tanzania on Africas east coast and 3,000 miles from the center of the outbreak in West Africa – about the same distance as Alaska is from Texas. Ashish Sanghrajka, president of Big Five Tours & Expeditions, worries that workers left unemployed from the tourism downturn will turn to poaching elephants and rhinos to make ends meet. The Wildlife Conservation Society estimates 96 elephants a day are killed by poachers, who sell their ivory tusks for $1,000 per pound. If we are not careful, we are talking about accelerating the extinction of elephants and rhinos, Sanghrajka said. Revenue from tourism accounts for nearly 10% of the economy in many of the countries where safaris are popular, he said. The entire safari industry has come to a grinding halt, he said.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 09:57:26 +0000
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