Set in pristine wilderness, Botswana is known for its colorful sunrises and lush oases where zebras or elephants can sip from the soothing waters.
This has always been their natural habitat, and people always passed off as curious visitors, observers and sometimes sad – as poachers.
Since the pandemic, people have slowly come to realize the importance of conserving wildlife for our own wellbeing and health so that we can better protect the planet from the growing risks of climate change and infectious diseases.
Amid these changes in tourism and travel, wildlife camps in Botswana have had to establish new rules to regulate the movement of tourists, which has posed both financial and operational challenges. But this has also given companies that are dependent on wildlife tourism the opportunity to redefine their ecotourism strategies.
Neil Midlane, Gaborone Impact Manager Wilderness Safaris Group, Skift said the pandemic has certainly kept their camps busy for the past year, particularly in Botswana.
“One of the biggest takeaways from this pandemic is that we need to find ways to make conservation and community support that comes from a company like ours more resilient to future challenges of this nature,” said Midlane.
The Wilderness Safaris Group has around 40 luxury lodges in seven African countries – namely Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The camps are all located in some of the most remote and unspoilt areas on the continent. The group also prides itself on being in the midst of wilderness areas while helping to “conserve biodiversity, conserve wildlife and uplift local communities”.
The Xigera Safari Lodge is home to lush greenery. Source: Wildlife Safaris
Like other camps in the region, Covid-19 has forced Wilderness Safaris not only to improve their biodiversity conservation standards, but also to live up to them. This has led to a greater focus on new offerings that also support the local community.
“People around the world are realizing the importance of making a positive contribution to reducing global warming, saving the world’s wilderness, and conserving species,” said Midlane. “It is also becoming increasingly clear the importance of investing locally, empowering local communities and starting businesses to sustain them, and tourism can go a long way in that.”
Various species of wildlife live in Botswana, including around 130,000 Elephants – the largest population in the world.
But its beauty has proven to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the pristine wildlife and vast open spaces have enabled the country to prop up its tourism sector, which contributed 13.1 percent to GDP in 2019, up from 6.3 percent in 2000. Tourism and travel also accounted for 8.9 percent in 2019 Total employment.
On the other hand, sectors such as tourism can often deplete and deplete the natural resources and local wildlife on which they depend if not consciously and carefully managed.
A year ago today, coronavirus prevention measures brought travel and even our everyday lives to a shocking standstill. Humans spent much of their time indoors and in isolation, giving many travelers the time to question humanity’s relationship with nature and the world around us.
“There seems to be a growing realization that the Covid-19 outbreak is closely linked to the destructive relationship humanity currently has with the rest of nature,” said Midlane.
Many people have missed this connection with nature in the past year. This is one of the reasons retreats seek to meet the needs of evolving travelers who are now looking for ways to reconnect with Mother Nature.
Xigera, a new Red Carnation property that officially opened to tourists on January 1, 2021, has had a growing appetite for socially conscious travel in recent years and expects this trend to increase even further in the future.
“Particularly in a post-pandemic world, we believe travelers will continue to seek ways to protect and return these beloved areas of the world,” said Jonathan Ragett, managing director of Red Carnation Hotels.
As a luxury outdoor camp, Xigera was already designed with social distancing in mind.
The view from one of the rooms at Xigera Safari Lodge. Source: Wildlife Safaris
The camp is located in the green floodplains of the Okavango Delta and offers its guests the opportunity to immerse themselves in nature. It also only allows a maximum capacity of just 24 guests staying at the lodge at any given time.
“Travelers crave more meaningful experiences because they know how to ask about them and where to look,” Ragett told Skift. “With the millions of resources available to study a brand’s sustainability efforts, agricultural contributions and commitment to the local community, travelers are more careful about which destinations to visit and spend their money on. “
The diesel-free luxury lodge was also built with sustainability in mind, another selling point that will keep many consumers busy in a post-pandemic world.
Xigera currently has 95 percent of its energy requirements from a solar hybrid power supply system, which is fed by a 400 kW Tesla system with lithium iron batteries and Tesla inverters. Your next goal is to reduce most of the unnecessary single-use plastics by December 2022.
However, one thing that has changed during the pandemic is the intended audience.
In the past, tourism marketing in Botswana has focused on international visitors, with domestic marketing only being studied since the pandemic. The country’s tourism products are largely based on wildlife and are expensive, leaving many citizens with only one option to travel abroad.
“We have had haunting experiences to capitalize on the fact that people often do not appreciate or get the opportunity to enjoy what is on their doorstep,” said Ragett.
There are still many concerns about global travel – from hygiene, health and safety to sustainability to the need to respect local cultures.
“We partnered with Southern Guild to hire more than 80 artists for nearly 90 percent of the lodge’s outstanding artwork and furniture that adorn Xigera and believe in the importance of highlighting those African influences,” said Ragett.
In the past, safari routes in Botswana have also tended to include multiple lodges in one visit, with guests moving constantly every few days. But that has changed since the pandemic, reducing the human and carbon footprint in pristine regions.
“The guests realize that you don’t necessarily see more when you visit more areas,” said Ragett. “This is less disruptive and more relaxing for the guests. It’s also a more sustainable way to travel. “
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