Fancy a safari? African countries on the hunt for lion’s share of Chinese tourists
- After three years cut off from China’s sprawling pool of cash-strapped travellers, tourism operators in countries such as Tanzania are moving fast to lure them back
- However, Africa remains a niche travel destination, and there are abundant challenges to welcoming an influx of Chinese visitors
This is the first story in a two-part series about the current state of tourism and business between China and Africa. The Post took part in a two-week promotional trip to Tanzania in May, arranged by the Tanzanian embassy in China.
As the manager of a Tanzanian travel agency, when Lucy Minde made her first business trip to China in 2018, she did her homework – calculating how to best tap into the vast potential of a market full of middle-class families willing to spend big bucks abroad.
Her agency, Laitolya Tours and Safaris, had started catering to Chinese tourists a year earlier, arranging trips to the East African country known for its vast and scenic wilderness areas, including the plains of the Serengeti and Mount Kilimanjaro.
Many came for African safaris and to see the largest mammal migration on Earth, featuring millions of wildebeests, zebras and gazelles.
But when the pandemic struck, Chinese borders closed for three years, not reopening until earlier this year.
And Minde did not waste any time, again fixing her gaze on China.
“China’s large population and potential customer base mean there is a vast pool of potential tourists to tap into,” she said.