Post Covid Rising Safari Cost

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

As a Zimbabwe safari operator I have watched our post Covid cost of doing business increase substantially. Here are a few of the increases.

Elephant permits 100% increase
Plains game permits 50%
PH with his or her hunting rig 50%
Toyota 4X4s 100%
Toyota OEM parts 100%
Fuel varies
Food % unsure
Concession fees 100%
Ammunition 100%

So far we have increased our prices by 10%. Most operators in most popular African hunting destinations are facing the same rising cost. Not sure about RSA.

As hunt prices increase many hunters and operators try to compensate by cutting the number of hunting days. Example we receive requests for seven day elephant hunts, thats usually doable. Then the hunter wants to add, buffalo, hippo and croc and maybe some tiger fishing. Impossible.

Recommendation, hunt now while it is still affordable. Do not cut your hunt time so short that you cannot full fill your dreams.

Lon

 

[Frederik]

I fear its only going to get worse with world at Knife edge and rising fuel cost, what is however wrong is that Food in the grocery chain shops never lower their prices even when fuel drops but the food producers the farmes do drop their prices.

With my workers who works above minimum wage they struggel to keep up with inflation here in South Africa but I cannot just pass on the cost to my clients but rather work more clever and make plans.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

I fear its only going to get worse with world at Knife edge and rising fuel cost, what is however wrong is that Food in the grocery chain shops never lower their prices even when fuel drops but the food producers the farmes do drop their prices.

With my workers who works above minimum wage they struggel to keep up with inflation here in South Africa but I cannot just pass on the cost to my clients but rather work more clever and make plans.

Vehicle cost & expense management is the one area. That we are working on.

Lon

 

[sierraone]

Covid caused many of we as hunting clients to lose substantial money (by my standards) for the hunts that we had pre-paid before Covid hit. I recovered my international flight costs, but also lost my local flight costs within South Africa. Not the same problems that outfitters are currently having due to rising cost. As one poster mentioned about higher food cost, we have the same problem here in the U.S.
whether you are a hunter or not.

Good luck to all of you that are affected by this whether you are in Zim or Texas.

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

in SA for outfitters prices are going up and up for everything, food, fuel, vehicles, vehicle maintenance, booze, wages, electricity, permits, hardware for maintenance, radios, radio lic fees, wifi, etc etc
but if i check my price list, the ave safari price is the same as a few years pre covid

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

in SA for outfitters prices are going up and up for everything, food, fuel, vehicles, vehicle maintenance, booze, wages, electricity, permits, hardware for maintenance, radios, radio lic fees, wifi, etc etc
but if i check my price list, the ave safari price is the same as a few years pre covid

Just kidding, but with you being RSA you should be saving quite a bit on electricity these days?

Lon

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

Just kidding, but with you being RSA you should be saving quite a bit on electricity these days?

Lon

you would think so
but your elec account doesnt seem to be less, even with loadshedding

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

you would think so
but your elec account doesnt seem to be less, even with loadshedding

I know where we are located no load shedding, but we are without domestic power 75% of the time due to faults.

Lon

 

[Scott CWO]

As a Zimbabwe safari operator I have watched our post Covid cost of doing business increase substantially. Here are a few of the increases.

Elephant permits 100% increase
Plains game permits 50%
PH with his or her hunting rig 50%
Toyota 4X4s 100%
Toyota OEM parts 100%
Fuel varies
Food % unsure
Concession fees 100%
Ammunition 100%

So far we have increased our prices by 10%. Most operators in most popular African hunting destinations are facing the same rising cost. Not sure about RSA.

As hunt prices increase many hunters and operators try to compensate by cutting the number of hunting days. Example we receive requests for seven day elephant hunts, thats usually doable. Then the hunter wants to add, buffalo, hippo and croc and maybe some tiger fishing. Impossible.

Recommendation, hunt now while it is still affordable. Do not cut your hunt time so short that you cannot full fill your dreams.

Lon

Almost the same here in the USA.
Food up 50%
Fuel up 50%
Vehicles up 40%
Horses up 100-200%
Parts for anything up 50%
Our hunt prices up “only” 15%

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

There is one cost not mentioned so far the cost of medical.

 

[Altitude sickness]

We as hunters can help by having trip insurance. So we don’t expect the business to refund a deposit. Rescheduling at the business owners discretion maybe. But we can’t expect them to eat it as many did during Covid.


Lon, how do the animal permits work. Do you have to pay for them before the hunter pays?

If this is common knowledge and not sensitive information.
How much are permits these days . Say a Buffalo permit? If that is a sensitive topic. Feel free to ignore the question.

 

[Fatback]

Agreed that costs are up for everybody since Covid, no doubt. For somebody planning a safari this needs to be considered. If it hasn’t already, it will start impacting folks being able to go on safari at all which will be even worse for safari operators as well. Whether we want to admit it or not, hunters and outfitters/PHs need each other to make dreams come true for hunters and for operators to make a living doing what they want to do.

Compromises will have to be made by both sides and plans made for this industry to continue to thrive and ultimately wildlife conservation to flourish. We all know that without well regulated hunting the ultimate losers will be the wildlife and the environment. The good news is we all seem to be a resourceful group with a commitment to ensuring this life style continues for all of us.

 

[Neil Molendyk]

Almost the same here in the USA.
Food up 50%
Fuel up 50%
Vehicles up 40%
Horses up 100-200%
Parts for anything up 50%
Our hunt prices up “only” 15%

Add Canada to the list of countries that are experiencing similar increases in just about everything, I suspect that this is a world wide symptom of our times.

 

[sierraone]

There is one cost not mentioned so far the cost of medical.

Lon, are you referring to medical insurance you have to carry for your staff? On both of my trips over I carried Global Rescue to for medical emergencies and to get me back to my home if necessary. Fortunately I never had to use it. I believe I paid about $170 for each trip to cover me. I consider that insignificant for myself when you consider the overall cost of a hunt. My last trip was 2018 since covid cancelled my last in August 2020. I am pretty sure it would be more now if for no other reason I am older now since age is a major contributor to the cost of the insurance.

 

[Hogpatrol]

in SA for outfitters prices are going up and up for everything, food, fuel, vehicles, vehicle maintenance, booze, wages, electricity, permits, hardware for maintenance, radios, radio lic fees, wifi, etc etc
but if i check my price list, the ave safari price is the same as a few years pre covid

Are game meat prices going up enough to cover some of the increased fixed costs?

 

[sureshot375]

It’s everywhere. The inflation numbers being reported are way low.

At least maybe the RSA guys benefit from a strong dollar/ weak rand.

I think shipping cost may really start to have an impact on the safari industry. I was shocked at the quote I just got for shipping from Zim.

 

[Scott CWO]

It’s everywhere. The inflation numbers being reported are way low.

At least maybe the RSA guys benefit from a strong dollar/ weak rand.

I think shipping cost may really start to have an impact on the safari industry. I was shocked at the quote I just got for shipping from Zim.

Yeah, it’s a government scam. USA inflation figures don’t include food and energy! What a joke.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Auto Insurance has gone up 30%. Guided Elk hunts are up 50+%. I checked a price of a Yukon moose hunt that was $25k, all in a couple years ago and it's $43k now. I believe I'll pass on that.

Two years ago I booked a antelope hunt for my daughter and me in Wyoming. After signing the contract and firming up the dates, the outfitter came back to me with a price increase. While I sympathized with him and had no doubt that his costs were going up, asking for a price increase after a signed contract was not right. I paid the couple hundred dollars extra, but I will never hunt with that outfitter again. Pretty much done with Wyoming too, the way they've treated non-residents with their rule changes.

 

[Brent in Az]

I don't know how auto insurance compares in Africa, but mine has increased 35% in 18 months. No accidents or moving violations in almost 30 years.
I called my agent to complain, and she blamed it on the rising costs of the auto repair industry, and parts availability.

I can sympathize with the rising costs for outfitters in a highly competitive market.

 

[Puddle]

you would think so
but your elec account doesnt seem to be less, even with loadshedding

A safari operator and I were chatting about the load shedding and he mentioned as soon as the season wound down they'd start putting in solar panels and large generators across the facilities. The cost was staggering.

I wonder if I'll miss eating morning chow by lantern and head lamp...