Zambia Safari is Bursting at the Seams

Livingstone International Airport has experienced a whopping 70 percent rise in tourist arrivals. Domestic tourists are up too by 41 percent. All this in just the first quarter of 2005! National Heritage Conservation Commission (NHCC) acting public relations manager Maxwell Zulu confirmed this. And so it’s a field day for Zambia safari operators.

So what’s up? The city of Livingstone is bursting at its seams. Investment activities are in top gear more especially around the Victoria Falls. A variety of new hospitality facilities such as ultra modern hotels, lodges and guesthouses to accommodate tourists are being constructed all round. And land is up for grabs. It’s like the ‘partition of Africa by Europeans’ in the late eighteenth century…

Various airlines are flying in international arrivals: Nationwide, British Airways,
South African Airways and Zambian Airways. Air charters are also busy taking a piece of their pie.

But who’s getting the spin offs? The operators of cruise boats on the banks of the Zambezi River, the airlines and hoteliers. They’re all rising to the occasion… They’re equal to the task of increased demand in traffic. And this particular traffic is welcome too

For instance the African Queen, a five star cruise boat named after the high priestess Bendwango, serves the Sun International hotel resorts. In July 2005 the cruise boat recorded a mega increase in tour hires – 60 percent!

Other cruise boats that provide water spots and boating services ply the Zambezi above the Victoria Falls: Bwato Adventures, Taonga Safaris and Makumbi. These flowery-like names mean something: “Boat,” “Thank You” and “Clouds.” And Safari Per Excellence operates the Makumbi cruise boat.