This comment was made by GM of Micato Safaris, Christopher Owen-Collett, about an article based on a webinar highlighting the importance of investing in Africa’s tourism value chain.

Owen-Collet shared his thoughts on investment and how it should be directed meaningfully rather than being a tokenistic act for big companies.

“This is a misdirected conversation. We as a tourism industry need meaningful investment opportunities shared with local communities around our amazing safari wildlife areas. These particular brands that claim conservation ‘credits’ from the market as a sales tool, need to be audited around what exactly they give back. Guests will want more than vague promises of what they have done, and food parcels are not meaningful enough. Give neighbours proper ownership, and then maybe we will see a more responsive government to tourism. That leading luxury brands are still claiming "with pride" that they handed out food parcels during C19 is a perfect example of their short-sighted approach. ‘Teach a person to fish, and you will never have to give them fish constantly’.”

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