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By the team at The Luxury Safari Company – with love and support for Kenya.
Once again Kenya is in the news for all the wrong and very tragic reasons, Kenyans are literally despairing over their situation, not only are their kinsmen in far distant corners being brutally murdered, but their families and friends in the safe areas are also being persecuted. Many of Kenya’s rural and remote communities rely on tourism for support and income, many luxury safari camps and lodges also help to fund local schools and hospitals. Without tourism Kenya starts to take giant leaps backwards and it is the young who suffer, with no chance of education or medical support.
Kenya is under terrorist threat, just as the USA, UK, France, Australia and many other countries are. Have people stopped travelling to Australia on their holidays due to the tragedy which took place in a roadside café there? Have people stopped taking romantic breaks in Paris, or Christmas shopping excursions to New York? Is London a ghost town? The answer is unequivocally no. The question has to be posed why is it that terrorism in Africa seems to terrify everyone so much more than in other parts of the world. It is the same reason people are attracted to Africa, it’s the mystery of this amazing place.
For many, before they travel to Africa they have no idea what to expect, it seems like a far off magical land full of mystical creatures, breathtaking colours, smells, sights and sounds. When you land into your remote bush airstrip you will be overwhelmed by the power of the wilderness, and the sheer vastness of it all. The mystery unfolds before you but the magic increases to enchant you until you realize you never want to travel anywhere else in the world but Africa – yet it is this mystique which now keeps tourists away when terrorists threaten the Kenyans. It is the not knowing truly how far your luxury safari camp or lodge is from danger, or the unrivalled experiences one can still have there. It is the not knowing how much better Kenya is as a safari destination than it’s neighbours – no they are not all the same!
When planning a luxury safari many look to us, the expert operators to give you advice and help in planning the trip of a lifetime – yet when it comes to whether a country is safe we are ignored. It is more than our industry or job is worth to ever suggest sending a client into an area which was unsafe or dangerous which is why us loyal Kenya followers continue to sing it’s praises as loudly as we can, although at the moment so many refuse to hear.
Many people consider environmental issues when booking their luxury safari – or consider how a camp helps a local community, or the protection it provides to the local wildlife. The safari camps and lodges in Kenya are now struggling to stay afloat, with millions of mouths relying on them. Don’t persecute Kenya over other areas in the World that are also under threat from tourism, as surely it is Kenya that needs you more. Our MD Rose Hipwood is in Kenya once a month, to ensure that our clients have real up to date knowledge on the situation there – ring her to talk through any concerns you have, but don’t let the terrorists in far flung corners ruin what will be a trip of a lifetime.