SAFARI - Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism - page 149

Europeans began to worry. Something had to be done to save the elephants, lions and
native antelopes from European rifles and extinction. The authorities' solution was to set
aside vast parks where the animals could roam free. Those parks were carved out of land
that had been hunting grounds and tribal lands of local African people, setting up more
reason for resentment. Then the colonialists left and by 1980 the African nations were in-
dependent.
Today those parks are the foundation of African tourism. Nearly 50 million visitors go
to Africa annually, and the majority who travel to sub-Saharan Africa are drawn initially or
exclusively to the wildlife parks. Package tours can include a weekend on the beach after
a safari, and a few nights in a stunning city like Capetown, South Africa. But without the
animals, most tourists are unlikely to travel those long distances when other beaches and
beautiful cities are closer and less expensive. The top sub-Saharan African tourist destina-
tions all rely on parks: South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Kenya
and Namibia. To attract more tourists and encourage them to spend more days and money
on the continent, the industry offers packages of visits to three and four wildlife camps
in different countries, trumpeting what officials call their sublime “nature base” tourism.
One visit to the Johannesburg airport, the massive air hub of the region, says it all. The
shopping area of the terminal is kiosk after kiosk of safari-themed clothes, toys, gadgets and
books. It is called, naturally, “Out of Africa.”
Despite some attractive marketing, the parks are not on firm footing. The checkered
history and modern pressures have created considerable problems: poaching, corruption,
deforestation and, above all, encroaching human settlements. The promise is singular for
the industry: without those animals, the industry would shrink, and with it the $76 billion
in revenue tourism brings to the continent every year. When adding up all of the money
spent indirectly because of tourism, the figure rises to $171 billion. For several African
countries, money from tourism is the largest source of foreign exchange receipts, gross do-
mestic product and new jobs.
No other continent is so dependent on preserving nature for its tourism as Africa.
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Flying into Zambia is a trip back in time. The Kenneth Kaunda airport in the capital of
Lusaka has lost some of its sparkle since it was built in 1967. Today it has the feel of a well-
worn pair of shoes, nicely buffed. The terminal was blessedly quiet. People chattered and
laughed in the lounges. The pace was easy. The taxi stand was beyond the parking lot. I
loved it. But the atmosphere did not suggest much of a tourism business.
The city of Lusaka resembles its airport. It has the appeal of a provincial capital going
through a small renaissance. Modern buildings and apartments have been built alongside
old colonial homes and offices along wide tree-lined boulevards. The sidewalks are still