Are safari bookings down?

Talking to a friend of mine who is U.K. agent for a hunting safari company in S.A.
He says that across the board safari company,s are not getting as many bookings as usual.
Are any of you guys having the same problems? He was painting a very gloomy story regarding the future of hunting in South Africa.
Markcz

I would say overall it is down for sure. When I was going through jo-berg this july all the people in the offices I went into said they are seeing less hunter.

For companies that have adjusted and watching the market it is still ok. I know the last 3 years at Paw Print has been good and still growing. It all depends on who your marketing to and what you are offering.

I think there will be a big drop off in hunting outfitters coming yet and prices still adjusting for a year or two yet. I think a lot of people just did not realize how many hunters from the states will go once and then pick another country to go hunt.

It was a market that started to out price it self and will come back around or need to deal with less people coming.

MarkCZ said:

Talking to a friend of mine who is U.K. agent for a hunting safari company in S.A.
He says that across the board safari company,s are not getting as many bookings as usual.
Are any of you guys having the same problems? He was painting a very gloomy story regarding the future of hunting in South Africa.
Markcz

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I would tend to agree as a whole. Serapa has been busy virtually since the SCI convention was over with very few downtimes between hunting parties. And that downtime has been no more than a day or two. I believe Jacques @AAA Africa Serapa Safaris has a day off coming up the end of this month. That would be the first in the last few months. But I know other outfitters have not been quite this busy.

I would say that the mood at DSC and SCI earlier this year was quite different, much more upbeat, with Trump winning the election. There were numerous times at SCI the booth was full and it was challenging to get the time to speak to everyone who came in. While there are those who book in the same year as the convention there are many who book for the following year. So if the Trump victory is helping to turn things around, it may be next year before we really see that.

In the future, I believe demographics will have more of an impact on the foreign hunting industry than Donald Trump. My question to the outfitters is how many of your clients are retirees or soon to be retirees versus those still working.

Hogpatrol said:

In the future, I believe demographics will have more of an impact on the foreign hunting industry than Donald Trump. My question to the outfitters is how many of your clients are retirees or soon to be retirees versus those still working.

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That's a good point and I get what you're getting at. What makes it a bit cloudy to draw a conclusion on age, is that how many 20 something year olds can afford even a fairly low cost hunt in Africa? Then you're getting married and then kids, building a carreer. Typical first time to Africa is a mide to late 40 something right? There are certainly exceptions but generally speaking most hunters to Africa are already at least thinking about retirement even if there a few years away.

I think all hunts are all a bit down. Most guys aren't going to be able to go every year or even every 3 years. With there being so much out there to hunt, with such precious vacation days and with finite supply of funds, decisions have to be made. I say this as a fairly young hunter.

PHOENIX PHIL said:

That's a good point and I get what you're getting at. What makes it a bit cloudy to draw a conclusion on age, is that how many 20 something year olds can afford even a fairly low cost hunt in Africa? Then you're getting married and then kids, building a carreer. Typical first time to Africa is a mide to late 40 something right? There are certainly exceptions but generally speaking most hunters to Africa are already at least thinking about retirement even if there a few years away.

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I agree, there are certainly a few young guys going to Africa but the majority are guys who are older and more financially secure. The majority of 20 and 30 somethings can't swing ten grand for an African hunt.

I will say this also, the majority of African hunts don't appear to be too physically challenging. It makes sense in your older years to do an adventure that you are physically capable of. When I was younger I walked the Colorado elevations for elk and my dreams were of hunts in the rugged areas of Alaska and northern Canada. Honestly Africa was further down my list of want to do hunts. Now as I get older and packing a bull moose through a bog or elk quarters down a mountain sound like more than I might want to take on a nice comfy lodge in Africa with a wide variety of game in multitudes sounds pretty darn good. So I honestly feel the appeal is stronger to an older crowd as well.

As far as demographics I think there will be less people in that 50 to 70 age bracket and as hunting becomes less popular there will be less people within that age bracket that desire to hunt in Africa. The end result I think will be prices dropping even further or a reduction in the number of outfitters as supply out numbers demand.

The thing about Africa is that the hunt is just a part, maybe even a small part, of the total cost. Airfare is very expensive as is dip and pack and shipping as well as import agents stateside.. Then of course taxidermy. The smart outfitter is one that can package as much of that as possible and reduce the costs to the client.

While I have no idea about the actual numbers, it does seem like now is a great time to take advantage of the deals and offers posted here.

It sure seems like you can get a whole lot of hunt for maybe 40% or less of what it may have cost a few years ago- especial large and dangerous game.

Supply and demand will always work to a place of equilibrium where prices move up and down. That being said you have seen prices come down on many animals because the supply got out of control and variables like weather or public sentiment impacted some breeding operations. Line for example! Government also gets in the way from time to time. There may well be outfitters with open slots this year and the discounts will make their way to the market place thus opening the door for demand at a lower price.
In short some under capitalized operations may go away and new ones will spring up.
Let us all hope that the industry throughout Southern Africa continues to supply the hunting opportunities that people want and can afford.
I know I'm going back!

Yes, I was in my 40,s before I was in a financial position to have a hunting safari in Africa.
Markcz

PHOENIX PHIL said:

That's a good point and I get what you're getting at. What makes it a bit cloudy to draw a conclusion on age, is that how many 20 something year olds can afford even a fairly low cost hunt in Africa? Then you're getting married and then kids, building a carreer. Typical first time to Africa is a mide to late 40 something right? There are certainly exceptions but generally speaking most hunters to Africa are already at least thinking about retirement even if there a few years away.

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MarkCZ said:

Yes, I was in my 40,s before I was in a financial position to have a hunting safari in Africa.
Markcz

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Same with me, I hadn't really looked into it prior because my perception of how much it would cost put me off doing so.
However once I turned forty there were certain things I wanted to do before I turned fifty and hunting in Africa was one if them.
That said, I am shortly to depart for my third in as many years but that's only because I have the opportunity to work overtime in a period of austerity and have worked every available hour it is possible to do.
I couldn't afford it on my basic wage under a pay freeze for the past five years.

have you ever been in the Waterberg region ?
Like a mall,hard to decide which shop you are going.
The offer is simply to big for Plains Game in South Africa and Namibia
In Dortmund and Salzburg (biggest Intern Fair Trade for the German language) ,round 70 suplliers for PG in RSA and Nam. sit there and are bored.
The few really Big Game hunts are sold out quickly.
You get 7 or 10 day hunt in South Africa,three trophy animals,mostly Kudu or Oryx,Springbock and Warthog,full accomodation,licences and flight from Frankfurt !! and back for € 2.200.-
Good times for consumer.
Carpe diem.
Foxi

Foxi said:

have you ever been in the Waterberg region ?
Like a mall,hard to decide which shop you are going.
The offer is simply to big for Plains Game in South Africa and Namibia
In Dortmund and Salzburg (biggest Intern Fair Trade for the German language) ,round 70 suplliers for PG in RSA and Nam. sit there and are bored.
The few really Big Game hunts are sold out quickly.
You get 7 or 10 day hunt in South Africa,three trophy animals,mostly Kudu or Oryx,Springbock and Warthog,full accomodation,licences and flight from Frankfurt !! and back for € 2.200.-
Good times for consumer.
Carpe diem.
Foxi

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Flight included~ now that's a deal!

At least from what I have read RSA is down and Namibia is up, way up.

Never been busier. Taken quite a few bookings for 2019 already. 2018 Season looking very good so far.

Had a very busy year. Started on 2 Jan and finish last hunt of the year tomorrow. The encouraging sign is that about half our clients this year were under the age of 30 years. Great to see.

wesheltonj said:

At least from what I have read RSA is down and Namibia is up, way up.

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Namibia all the way for me and my pals. No hassle at the airport regarding firearms, no one wanting tips (bribes) just for doing what should be their jobs. animals every were and more free range. The people are very friendly.
Markcz

KMG Hunting Safaris said:

Never been busier. Taken quite a few bookings for 2019 already. 2018 Season looking very good so far.

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Hopefully you've already started ramping up biltong production towards next July

The thing about Africa is that the hunt is just a part, maybe even a small part, of the total cost. Airfare is very expensive as is dip and pack and shipping as well as import agents stateside.. Then of course taxidermy. The smart outfitter is one that can package as much of that as possible and reduce the costs to the client.

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Agreed!