Why Namibia and Botswana should be on your radar and what LGBTQ + travelers can experience while traveling in Africa.
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E.europe Borders could be reopened to US travelers, but another continent welcomes the Americans again quietly: Africa. Kenya Opened to Americans last summer, recalling the importance of tourism to the employment of 2 million people in the country; South Africa, which has one of the largest tourism industries in Africa, opened last fall. Most of Africa’s dream destinations are open and ready for business – and so are they really need it.
“We operate in 17 destinations in Africa, of which 17 are open – except Madagascar and Mauritius not,” said Sherwin Banda, president of African Travel, Inc., a travel company that specializes in planning trips to Africa . “People have moved Africa up on their bucket list and bookings have increased.”
To celebrate Pride Month, AFAR caught up with Banda, an LGBTQ + travel professional and native South African who currently lives in Los Angeles with his husband and nine year old son, to immerse themselves in what LGBTQ + travelers can experience while traveling in Africa.
African Travel markets especially for LGBTQ + guests these itineraries 2021/2022 and plans any personalized trip you want.
Are you actively promoting LGBTQ + travel as something you specialize in?
100 percent. You know this is personal to me as I grew up in Africa and have lived through some of its most terrifying times. Being LGBTQ + during apartheid meant we had to hide who we are. One of the biggest struggles for this community is the fear of – is it safe? My home is now safe for this community.
Each of our team members was either born in Africa, lived in Africa or has traveled to Africa several times. We say “We Know Africa” and you can be sure that we are the right Africa with the Law Customers like LGBTQ + travelers.
Most people are surprised to hear that South Africa legalized same-sex marriage in 2006 before it was legal in the US
Phew, I didn’t know that. On the other hand, there are some countries in Africa like Kenya, that is not included at all. The continent is of course not a monolith.
Absolutely! South Africa is a safe destination for our LGBTQ + community, but beyond that, all of our teams in our camps, hotels and experiences across the continent are trained in our destinations to meet the needs of our LGBTQ + travelers.
Even in a non-governmental place like Kenya, you have the resources and training to make someone 100 percent comfortable. What are some of the things you have trained people in?
Our training focuses on three key outcomes: knowledge, attitude, and behavior so that our team members understand the service expectations our LGBTQ + guests need. For example, we can make sure the guest has an LGBTQ + guide to show them around.
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For me personally, we travel with our young son and the language becomes even more important because I don’t want my child to experience prejudice or be asked where his mother is.
Have you seen any major changes on the continent in terms of acceptance and change in the past 10 years?
It’s exciting to see how far we’ve come in traveling. LGBTQ + guests can safely travel to some of the most remote parts of Africa. This is a huge success for the destination. LGBTQ + guests are warmly welcomed with genuine hospitality.
African Travel is a long-established safari company that really focuses on giving back to the destination. How do you create such experiences?
For the preservation of culture, one of our favorite hotels is a Red Carnation Hotel Oyster box in Durban, South Africa. It was named the best hotel in all of Africa. Aside from the excellent cuisine and the property itself, we are really proud of our partnership with Ardmore Design Studio, a Collective of local artists who create bold and beautiful things.
The art inspires us, but the people and the stories inspire us [more]. The experience is very encouraging, especially when guests learn how local artisans from genuinely impoverished backgrounds are now successfully feeding themselves and their families.
An example of species protection is the Shamwari Private Game Reserve. In fact, this is close to the area where Nelson Mandela was born. To begin with, to better understand South African history and the beginnings of our democracy, it is best to visit areas in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg that tell different parts of the Mandela legacy.
But here you will also experience incredible game viewing in one of the largest privately owned game reserves in South Africa. Shamwari has always been a leader in conservation. They have a wildlife rehabilitation center where rescued injured rhinos and other wildlife are nursed back to health before being released back into the wild.
Shamwari is also home to the Big Cat Sanctuary, whose mission is to rescue large cats that have been held in captivity and to release them in an area of the reserve that has been cordoned off for their safety as they have never learned to hunt. Some of these cats have never felt a blade of grass on their paws in their life.
We always ask people to turn off the GPS feature on their devices as it has embedded software that can help poachers browse the internet at night looking for the most endangered animals in Africa.
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And for the environment, we are actively working to offer climate neutral safaris for 2022, which will be an amazing accomplishment. [The Travel Corporation has pledged to be totally carbon neutral across all 42 of its brands by 2030.]
You have nine days Travel with the luxury train Namibia on the Rovos Rail, which takes travelers through the barren desert landscape and red sand dunes that Namibia is known for – as well as the Grand Canyon-like Fish River Canyon. Traveling by train is not what I would think of first when traveling to Africa.
Train travel was the only mode of transport when people first came to Africa. And Africa offers some of those lovely train journeys to the Old World that will give you a different look at the destination.
One of my favorite qualities, situated at the entrance gate to the Namib Naukluft Park Sossusvlei Lodge, Which provides direct access to the towering red sand dunes, the famous Pan of Sossusvlei, the burnt black trees of Dead Vlei and the remarkable depths of Sesriem Canyon.
If someone is traveling to Africa for the first time, where would you send them to?
It’s such a tough question to answer. Besides that, South Africa offers the greatest variety of experiences. For our LGBTQ + travelers, there is also the so-called Pink District, De Waterkant, in the heart of Cape Town. And of course the wildlife experiences speak for themselves.
Botswana is home to a “secret” migration that most people don’t know about, the mass zebra migration that is taking place Twice a year herds of zebras move first from north to south, then again from south to north. They move with the seasons and rainfall, always looking for fresh pastureland. While it is not the largest migration in Africa, it is the largest in southern Africa.
Speaking of Botswana: your sister company Red Carnation Hotels recently opened the Xigera Lodge, which is 100 percent solar powered, and it caused a sensation. Do you see a lot of bookings?
Yes! There is nothing like it anywhere in Africa. Xigera lies on the water channels of the Okavango Delta. When the delta floods after the rains, the Kalahari Desert literally comes to life. And because of its water channels, you’ll see the wildlife from a different angle on a mokoro or boat than the traditional Land Rover experience. It’s so quiet because you don’t have the roar of the car engine. Watching the predatory and prey activities when animals come to drink water reminds us of the fragility of life.
You determine the schedule of the experiences you want. If you want to get up at dawn to go on a game drive it is your choice or if you want to sleep in and leave later, that’s fine too.
There are fewer people and fewer camps in Botswana. I like to refer to Botswana as a high-touch, low-volume destination.
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