In East Africa, Safari Workers Wash Cars, Fry Fish, and


“We knew we wouldn’t be able to get the vaccines as quickly as the Americas and Europe, so we’re grateful to have some work to do under these circumstances,” said George Gituku, owner of Sandrage Safaris in Kenya.

In 2019, Kenya received more than two million international visitors, a record number and an increase of about 4 percent from the previous year. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, overseas arrivals fell 71.5 percent in 2020 to 579,600. The state-run Tourism Research Institute reported that the country welcomed more than 300,000 travelers between January and June of this year.

Since June, Sandrage Safaris in Nairobi has hosted around 30 guests per month, a significant drop from the average of 100 guests during the 2019 high season. Mr Gituku said most of the visitors were Americans who felt optimistic after getting vaccinated, but Kenya’s low vaccination rate – currently just over 3 percent of the population – has caused many of his customers to put off.

“We are learning to live with this virus and are constantly adapting our protocols to ensure our guests have a comfortable and safe experience,” said Mr Gituku. “Everyone has had a great time so far, the migration this year has been incredible, there were so many animals to see and thankfully no one tested positive for Covid when they came back.”

Kathy Freedman, a retired architect from Boston, said she felt safer on her last 10-day safari with her husband in the Masai Mara than on a walking vacation an hour away from home, where she was staying at a hotel full of guests. He said who did not wear masks or maintain social distancing.

“Our children were very worried about us traveling to Kenya but Covid is worse at home than most places,” said Ms Freedman. We’ve chosen the best time to do a crowd-free safari. Just us and our guide were in the wild with the animals.”

Safari staff hope that when customers return and share their positive experiences with friends and family, it will encourage more people to book trips. Many companies pay their employees daily wages based on the reservations they receive, which workers say is not enough to pay their bills and debts accumulated over the past year.



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