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Some background
Zimbabwe
was one of Africa’s favourite safari destinations up until early in 2000
when Mugabe took revenge on the population for turning him down in a
referendum (in reality the rot had set in a few years earlier but that’s
another story).
What the Zimbabwean government has actually done since then and how the
media have chronicled events is on record. Take a look at "The
Zimbabwe Situation" for the latest (hosted by us since April 2000).
The
result of these shenanigans however has been the effective destruction
of a buoyant economy of which the safari industry was a small but
valuable component.
In the
years since 2000, despite very real hassles and regular travel
advisories against visiting Zimbabwe from many quarters we and a small
group of other specialist travel companies has continued to send a
steady stream of clients on safari.
- Our
roots are African and so for as long as we have partners, friends
and colleagues with a common hope in Zimbabwe we’re going to
continue encouraging people to visit.
- The
only reason why we won’t serve clients in Zimbabwe is if it gets dangerous
or becomes illegal.
- So
whilst the media and politicians carry on with their business we’re
still inviting enquiries for safaris in Zimbabwe.
Until we
have positive change in Zimbabwe there are still some real
considerations you should note – travel warnings and insurance.
Travel Warnings and Advisories
All
countries have the equivalent of a “foreign office” that provides
citizens with travel advice (e.g. the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
for British Citizens, the State Department for American citizens, the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Travel for Australians etc.).
Specific
travel warnings, or “advisories” are issued from time to time and they
vary in severity from something like “against all travel” to “against
all but essential travel to specific parts”.
- For
example Somalia is generally regarded as unsafe and most foreign
offices warn against travel under any circumstances.
- On
another level Kenya had a warning against “non-essential travel” to
“specific areas” after elections in 2007.
- In
the case of Zimbabwe, upgraded warnings against “all travel” were
issued in anticipation of election violence at the end of June 2008.
Nobody
has to abide by these advisories but they're likely to affect travel
insurance because the insurers don’t want risk and simply raise the
premium or exclude cover.
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Travel Insurance
Our
company policy is simple – “adequate travel insurance” is a “condition
of carriage”, we don’t provide it and we don’t specify what it must
include.
Quite simply it’s the client’s responsibility. Clients who travel with
us should look into the actual detail of their policies – a matter
between them and their travel insurers.
In the case of advisories and travel warnings, if a person travels to an
area against official advice then they could be putting their travel
insurance cover at risk by not taking “reasonable care”.
Typically if a client needs to claim in respect of a cause which was the
reason why they were advised against travel in the first place (e.g.
medical treatment following civil disturbance) then the travel insurer
could decline the claim.
In context, most policies include a war and associated risks exclusion
clause (including civil disturbance, riot) which would apply to all
sections of the travel policy and would apply regardless of whether a
travel warning was in place or not.
If a person travels with a travel warning in place and makes an
unrelated claim (e.g. lost camera) then the insurer should deal with the
claim because travelling against the advice doesn’t necessarily
invalidate the policy as a whole. Once again, clients should check the
detail.
If a travel warning comes into effect after a booking is confirmed and
just before travel and the client heeds the advice and decides not to
travel, then whether or not they can claim for cancellation under travel
insurance will depend on the definition of cancellation in the policy.
Most policies cover cancellation due to specified reasons, for example
illness (or illness of a travelling member, close relative), redundancy,
jury service, burglary. In these cases, cancellation due to advice "not
to travel" would not normally, but could be covered.
Some perspectives
Our
experience in Zimbabwe and Kenya is that people have continued to travel
despite travel warnings and not run into problems.
There’s not a single
report of any tourist having come to grief since the election problems
in Kenya at the end of 2007 and zero tourists in the last 8 years of
trouble in Zimbabwe having been affected either. (Trade
associations like ATTA would have records and the media would certainly
have picked up on any cases.)
In the case of Kenya we believe the travel warning applied in January
2008 was more a political tool to put pressure on the Kenyan leadership
than genuine advice. (If not, then it was a serious over-reaction that
practically wrecked their safari industry for the first part of the
year). We say it was a political tool because if consistent criteria
were applied throughout Africa then South Africa would have been subject
to equally strong travel warnings during the same period (where the
level of crime is amongst the highest in Africa) - they haven't.
The other problem with the travel advisories is that they’re issued
without proper attention to geographic detail.
-
For
example in Kenya where there were real problems in Kisumu, Kibera
and other very specific spots, a blanket warning applied to
“Nairobi” at one point affected people using Nairobi as a transit
point into Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda!
-
Similarly the travel warnings on Zimbabwe over the years have meant
that “low risk” places like Victoria Falls and Kariba/lower Zambezi
are tarnished with the same brush relevant to specific “high risk”
areas in say Masvingo province!
To Travel to Zimbabwe or Not?
The decision
to travel or not is entirely your call. We like many others have been
hanging in for positive change in Zimbabwe for a long time and might
have to go some way yet.
So until then many good people simply won’t travel on moral grounds and
for others the risk isn’t acceptable. When the time is right we hope
they’ll reconsider Zimbabwe.
For those who
-
aren’t
risk averse;
-
are
perhaps a bit anti-social and keen to catch some intense safari
action with outstanding guides in the absence of crowds;
-
simply
don’t have the time to allow bad situations get in the way of great
memories;
-
or just
want to get out and support some old friends…
…then we
assure the warmest reception, gracious company and as always, some
really extraordinary safaris.
Call our UK
office on +44 1548 830059 or
drop a note if you need a hand planning a
safari to Zimbabwe…
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More about our
safaris in Zimbabwe
- Victoria Falls packages, walking safaris, lower Zambezi canoeing
and more
-
Safaris
elsewhere
- a sampling of other trips that we operate in Zambia, Botswana,
Namibia, Tanzania, Kenya and beyond into Uganda, Rwanda, Gabon...
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