Given the ready supply of cheap traveloptions to Africa, including cheap airplane tickets, cheap vacation packages, and discounttravel deals, it is surprising that more people do nottravel to Africa.
Unfortunately Africa is subject to many misconceptions andgeneralizations that make would be travelers think twice before visiting,according to Everett Potter:
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Africais often thought of as a single country. In fact Africa is the second largest continent on earth, after Asia,home to 54 independent countries. Thesecountries contain dazzlingly diverse landscapes from mountains to beaches,grasslands to river deltas, and many exotic animal habitats.
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Africais full of violent crime and is very dangerous. The truth is that South Africa has halved its murder rate since the1990s and Africa is now less dangerous than Central and South America. While tourists walking to their hotels at 3am may well get their wallets stolen, a little common sense can prevent suchexperiences.
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Africahas major problems with diseases. Ebolahas been significantly curbed in Africa over the past year and the disease waslargely confined to three countries in Western Africa (Guinea, Liberia, andSierra Leone) which are not popular American tourist destinations. Europe and South America were closer to theepicenter of the outbreak than Africas two major tourist regions, East Africaand Southern Africa, which have had no incidents of Ebola.
Tourists should make decisions on where totravel in Africa based on geography, not on perception. HIV/AIDS remains prevalent in southernAfrica; though new infections are declining as the number of people receivingtreatment grows. Far larger healthproblems for any visitor to Africa are traffic accidents which are more commonthan crime or disease.
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Safarissound appealing, but many believe that the cost tends to be prohibitive. In fact there are safaris for all types ofbudgets. All-inclusive African tripstend to offer good value and compare favorably to the cost of Europeans tripsbecause everything is including: allmeals, hotels, gratuities, intra-country flights, transportation, and parkfees.
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Someare concerned that African hotels are not up to Western standards. 2015s Travel + Leisure Worlds Best listincluded 20 hotels in Africa. Africaoffers many five star brands such as Beyond and Sun International, ProteaGroup, Serena Hotel, Tsogo Sun, and Wilderness Safari Lodges.
That said, American tourists should notarrive looking for U.S. standards. African hotels and restaurants have their own standards and touristsneed to adapt. By being open minded youwill get more out of the experience. Smaller, locally owned places often come with quirky features than makeguests smile.
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