Why is an Africa Safari Vacation to Botswana so expensive?

Botswana is possibly one of the best safari destinations in the world, but our clients often get sticker shock when we share the price of several days on safari in this country. They often ask “Is Botswana that much more luxurious than any other safari destination?” The answer is yes and no and requires much more understanding of the total experience.

Botswana’s Economy is the Shining Gem of Africa
Botswana emerged as a sovereign nation in 1966. At the time, it was ranked as one of the 10 poorest nations in the world. It had no infrastructure – with only 7 miles of tarmac on its limited roads and no schooling system whatsoever – it relied heavily on missionary work.

Today, Botswana is one of the most successful countries in Africa. Its economy has grown by 8% per annum, consistently, year after year, for more than 4 decades. The reason? Diamonds. Botswana is so rich that the second largest contributor to its GDP is interest earned on its foreign investments. Tourism, comes in third.

A strong economy results in benefits for its locals, relative to its neighboring countries. A local Botswanan drives on state of the art roads, has a modern telephone system, broadband internet access, free health clinics with nearly 100,000 citizens receiving free anti-retroviral drugs in treatment for HIV aids, piped drinking water to every village and free primary schooling for more than 300,000 pupils.

Botswana’s Entrance into Tourism Was Slow and Calculated
Tourism may seem like an obvious choice for economic growth for most southern African nations, however, Botswana was not focused on tourism for many years. It was not until they took notice of their heavy reliance on the diamond industry, that they considered tourism as a strategic move to diversify its economy.

However, they didn’t just jump into tourism. Rather, they did it in a very calculated way, which has lead to a successful tourism industry that appeals to the high end of the market. Realizing they didn’t want Botswana to end up over-run with tourists and let things get out of hand with respect to the environment and the wildlife, the first step the Botswana government did was to control the amount of tourists arriving.

Concessions Control the Number of Travelers – The Supply
If you want to open a safari lodge in Botswana, you must first get a “concession” which is a right to build and operate a tourism business on their land. You cannot buy the land. You can only get a lease and the term of the lease is quite limited, often as short as 3 to 5 years long. In essence, the government is controlling the number of beds available to tourists – the supply. Fewer beds in the wildlife areas result in far greater demand.

Demand Exceeds Supply – Driving up the Price
For example, a geographic area in Botswana might have a total of 40 beds, where in South Africa, the same size area would have 400 beds. Having so few people out there with you, experiencing the wildlife, makes it feel as authentic as possible. This type of experience certainly drives up demand and with a limited supply, prices get driven up too.

So, this is why Botswana is one of the most expensive safari options in all of Africa. The higher cost of a safari does not translate directly into a more luxurious experience. The safari experience in Botswana is more expensive because of the exclusivity, the awesome wildlife, and the tremendous variety available in one location.

Outstanding Wildlife, Tremendous Variety and Very Few Visitors
This is a country where the vast, dry Kalahari Desert, meets the calm, quiet waters of the Okavango Delta. Chobe National Park is your quintessential national park and is home to over 300,000 elephants. Then there is the Moremi Game Reserve where, you will find the big predators like lion, leopard, cheetah, and wild dog, but also all the herbivores like zebra, giraffe, and antelope.

Perfectly complimenting this experience is the Okavango Delta. This authentic safari experience appeals to lots and lots of people. It is still less expensive than an exclusive, private camp experience in Tanzania. So, Botswana offers the traveler a stable country and stable politics, no safety issues whatsoever, great access, incredible wildlife. All around a fantastic experience.

The most expensive camps are definitely luxurious, but the separation between your bed and the bush is less than what you would find in South Africa. Most accommodation is tented due to strict building guidelines from the Botswana government. In addition, as a safari camp owner, if you have 3 to 5 years to make your money back, you are not going to invest heavily in permanent structures.

Botswana appeals to people looking for a truly authentic safari experience and embrace the idea of being close to nature. If you like the sound of Botswana, but are having trouble with availability, Zambia is a good alternative. If you don’t have the budget for Botswana or have been there, then Zimbabwe is a great alternative.

An extravagant world of mystery and enchantment awaits you in Botswana. Allow Hills of Africa Travel to take care of all your travel needs with their expert private guides, detailed destination planning and advice, dedicated customer service, and personalized travel itineraries, guaranteed to provide you with memories that will last forever.

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