Tour operators banking on 2021 for safari tourism

The second and third quarters of 2020 were quiet for safari tourism. As travel restrictions continued to unfold, those with upcoming safaris had little choice but to change their plans. Fortunately, most people opted to postpone rather than cancel their safari, according to our recent survey to more than 300 tour operators, which indicated that two-thirds of tour operators had their current client bookings postpone their safari.

With international borders slowly reopening, tour operators are anxious to welcome guests back. In fact, according to latest figures, roughly 35% of tour companies had safaris booked for Q3 2020.

Safaris in Kenya and Tanzania have resumed, with guests adhering to new hygiene protocols including mandatory masks on game drives and frequent hand sanitizing.

Tour companies optimistic for Q4 and 2021

Tour operators appear optimistic for tourism. 41% of those surveyed have rebooked clients for Q4 2020. Most are banking on 2021. 47% have rebooked 2020 safaris for some time in 2021. Interestingly, as of now, no one is booking for 2022. This may be partly due to uncertainty in lodging pricing as well as tour operators’ eagerness to resume business.

Your African Safari will continue to monitor the travel situation. At the time of publication of this article, over 380 tour operators have participated in our surveys, providing us and our members with valuable feedback.

Headquarters of companies that participated in our surveys