IT'S ALL ABOUT ACCESS

IF THE LAST THREE YEARS HAVE TAUGHT US ANYTHING, IT'S THAT EXPERIENCES MATTER WAY MORE THAN THINGS. BUT FINDING THE RIGHT INSIDER TOUR, OR BOOKING THE IMPOSSIBLE TABLE, IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY COMPLEX. WITH THE WORLD REOPENED, HERE'S OUR GUIDE TO MAKING EACH TRIP THE BEST IT CAN BE.

- Mary Holland, Chris Dong,

THE INSIDE TRACK

Tours that educate visitors on the business of conservation offer a glimpse of the future of safari travel.

ON A DECK overlooking a hippo-crowded river in northern Tanzania, I was one of a small group of adventurers thumbing through workbooks while drinking tea and snacking on slices of cake. It was mid afternoon at and Beyond’s Grumeti Serengeti River Lodge and beyond.com; doubles from 1,135 per person, all-inclusive), but rather than getting ready for a game drive, as visitors might normally be doing at this time of day in the Serengeti, we were settling in for class.

 

Our instructor was Sue Snyman, director of research at the School of Wildlife Conservation at African Leadership University ALU), and she was laying out the idea behind our immersive, six-day course: How do we use natural resources in a way that is sustainable, so that everyone benefits?” she asked, smiling as the grunts of hippos lent a distinctive soundtrack to our gathering. This is not going to be about sitting in a classroom and having lectures; this is going to be interactive.”

You can say that again. Snyman’s talk set the tone for my week long trip to Kenya and Tanzania. I was attending the first ever WILD economy Masterclass—an innovative, insider look at where the safari industry is headed. Devised by the outfitter and Beyond in partnership with ALU, the Rwanda-based higher-learning institution, the program aims to introduce travelers to some of the pressing issues at stake in Africa’s wild places.