His revenues had doubled in the previous year. And bookings by American, British, and Brazilian tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of elephants, giraffes and lions at South Africa's famous Kruger National Park were up.Now, with borders closed and airlines grounded due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa's multi-billion-dollar safari industry is unravelling and he can no longer afford the payments on the new 21-seater, which sits collecting dust in the parking lot.
But a survey of over 300 tour operators conducted by the online safari travel platform this month showed that almost 93 per cent reported a drop in bookings of at least 75 per cent due to the pandemic. Cancellations have also spiked, the majority of them said.Leon Plutsick's Distinctly Africa lodge on the Manyeleti private game reserve bordering the Kruger National Park had been full in March.
"We'd saved some money. But its running out, so we'll start starving," said Nkosi, standing outside a half-completed community hall that was being built using tourist donations.The Madilika Craft Centre sits so close to the boundary of the Kruger National Park that lions can sometimes be heard roaring in the distance.
In South Africa, which has recorded the most COVID-19 cases of any African nation, Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane warned parliament last month that up to 600,000 jobs were at risk if the sector remained shut until September.
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