“We knew we wouldn’t get the vaccines as quickly as America and Europe,” said George Gituku, owner of Sandrage Safaris in Kenya, “so given the circumstances, we’re grateful that we have something to do.”
In 2019, Kenya received more than two million international visitors, a record number and an increase of almost 4 percent over the previous year. In 2020, overseas arrivals plummeted 71.5 percent to 579,600, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Between January and June of this year, the country welcomed just over 300,000 travelers, the state tourism research institute reported.
As of June, Sandrage Safaris in Nairobi has been receiving about 30 guests a month, a marked decrease from the average of 100 guests in the 2019 high season. Most of the visitors were Americans who felt optimistic after vaccination, Mr Gituku said, but Kenya’s low vaccination rate – currently just over 3 percent of the population – has caused many of its customers to postpone vaccination.
“We are learning to live with this virus and we are constantly adapting our protocols to provide our guests with a comfortable and safe experience,” said Mr. Gituku. “Everyone has had a great time so far, the migration this year was amazing, there were so many animals to see and luckily no one tested positive for Covid when they came back.”
Kathy Freedman, a retired architect from Boston, said she felt safer on her recent 10-day safari with her husband in the Masai Mara than on a walking vacation an hour from her home, where she stayed at a hotel full of guests she said, not wearing masks or social distancing.
“Our children were so concerned we were traveling this far in Kenya, but Covid is worse at home than most other places,” Ms. Freedman said. “We chose the best time to go on safari when there were no crowds. It was just us and our guide in the wild with the animals. “
Safari staff hope that when their customers return and share their positive experiences with friends and family, more people will be encouraged to book trips. Many companies pay their employees daily rates based on the bookings received, which the workers say is insufficient to pay their bills and debt accumulated over the past year.
