'Tourism can be unpredictable,' says safari company owner
Tourism accounts for a large part of many African countries' GDPs, but the industry faces numerous obstacles.
The tourism industry is a major income earner and employment provider in many African countries. However, this industry faces many obstacles. The uprisings in North Africa, the threat of terrorist attacks, political instability and recession in developed countries have all negatively affected the tourism industry on the continent.
Richard Corcoran has been involved in the tourism industry in Kenya for over 30 years and has weathered many storms. Corcoran is the co-founder and president of Liberty Africa Safaris, a destination management company based in Kenya that provides services for tour operators from all over the world. The firm has a fleet of 40 minibuses and 25 Land Cruisers. The business also operates two lodges along the Kenyan coast, Delta Dunes Lodge and Kipalo Camp.
Last week a fire at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport left thousands of people stranded, many of them tourists. “It was a horrific week,” says Corcoran. “We had more than 50 people stranded here trying to leave and more than 50 people trying to get in to join the safaris. It [the fire] has cost us a lot of money but I must say I am also quite impressed… we were back in operation two and a half days later.”
Corcoran began running wildlife safaris as a young boy with his father, and fell in love with the bush. After completing high school he decided to start his own business with his wife Annie. “I used to do safaris with my dad. I grew up with a passion for the bush, a passion for Africa, a passion for the people and, slowly, over my whole life, [it’s become what I do best],” says Corcoran.
In 1997 Mario Enzesberger, founder and CEO of destination management group of companies Liberty International, joined one of Corcoran’s safaris as a client. Enzesberger enjoyed the trip and decided to expand into Africa through Corcoran’s business. “There was no way we could grow our little operation. We were never going to become major players. Today we are the third biggest operation in Kenya thanks to being part of an international group. Mario also has a big passion for Africa,” says Corcoran. With the backing of an international group, Liberty Africa Safaris was able to expand and now operates across Africa with offices in South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Libya and Kenya.
Corcoran says the expansion was partly inspired by the need to diversify into other markets as a cushion against difficult times in East Africa, referring to the 1998 bombing of the US embassy, repeated tribal clashes and post election violence in Kenya in 2008. “There are times here when things are really bad. Generally, when East Africa is not doing very well, South Africa is booming. If it is South Africa that is struggling like it did after the World Cup, then East Africa is booming and it kind of swings like a pendulum,” says Corcoran.
But the expansion also presented challenges. “The last time I saw our office in Libya was on the news and there was no wall on the front of it. The whole place was destroyed,” says Corcoran. The company’s Egypt branch has also been struggling since the country’s political unrest began in 2011. “The office has been downscaled,” says Corcoran. “In Egypt and Libya all [we] can do is keep our team. Tourism is all about people. You keep your team, your contacts... until things improve and then you reawaken everything. It is going to take time, but things will get better.”
In Kenya, the kidnapping of tourists in 2011 and last year’s tribal clashes in which more than 110 people were killed resulted in tourists cancelling their bookings at Delta Dunes Lodge.
Corcoran says such difficulties have brought out the resilience and tenacity of African people. “This is Africa. I struggle to explain to my partners how Africa works, how things can turn around so quickly, both for the positive and for the negative. Europe is all about stability."
Passion for Africa
“In Africa everything is done with the heart, not with the head. If you sit down with a calculator and start doing all these risk analyses, then Africa is not for you,” he says. “You have to have a passion for Africa.”
Corcoran says doing business across Africa can be rewarding in many ways. “You have to know that you can make a big success here. You can do so much on this continent, but it is all about people. [You have to] to keep your allies close, look after people, treat them well and Africa will reward you in so many ways, not just financial.”
He also says that some of the negative perceptions about Africa help his business. While the internet is eating into the business of middlemen in Europe’s tourism industry, this trend has been slower to emerge in Africa. “It is a blessing in disguise. [Tourists] are scared. They think we are all going to run away with their money. There are also too many services that you cannot find online yet.” However, he recognises the influence of the internet on the tourism industry, saying players need to be strategic to remain relevant in the future.
To cushion itself, Liberty Safaris Africa is diversifying into accommodation through lodges and camps as well as transportation. Corcoran intends to expand investment in these two areas. “We have gone into that because even if the internet takes over there is one chain in the loop that cannot be avoided and that is the end service. The solution is to have the beds and the vehicles.”
Entrepreneurship has taught Corcoran to focus on targets but also to be adaptable to changing situations.
Looking to the future
During difficult times he draws motivation from his 104 employees, his passion and love for Africa and the positive feedback from satisfied clients. “They [employees] have given me blood, sweat and tears, so I have to try and steer the ship to keep them going. This work is so incredibly satisfying. When you do a great job, the letters, the comments and the thanks we get from clients and their agents are so satisfying.”
Corcoran would like to see more appreciation for the tourism industry in Africa and its contribution to the economy. The biggest challenge in Kenya he says is the view of tourism as a rich man’s business that does not affect the whole population. “That is so shortsighted. I mean, [a significant percentage] of Kenya’s GDP is created by tourism. Take that out of any equation and nobody is going to have a job. It affects the country so dramatically.”
According to Corcoran, Africa has a unique opportunity to learn from the mistakes made in other parts of the world, he says. “I think Africa is going to become the next superpower,” says Corcoran. “It will take a generation, maybe two [but] there is no limit for this continent.”