Tourism is one of the businesses of the future, as long as it is sustainable and planet-friendly, said Nick Stone, CEO of Wilderness.
“We have been investing in conservation for 30 years, we have one of the best destinations in Africa, we have created luxuries and we need personnel to serve, 96% of the workers are from nearby areas,” he commented during the second day of activities at the Forbes Forum. Economy and Finance 2024.
“We started with a tent and now we have luxuries,” added the businessman about his business in Zimbabwe.
He declared that businesses must be done that are sustainable over time and that his business has one main objective: “Take care of our lands and have twice as much by 2030 but continue taking care of them and restore them.”
“Now we have 4 million hectares and we hope to reach 10 by 2030, each of the fields we have, people contributed so that we could obtain it,” he said.
He added that the objective of tourism companies should be to take care of the earth and continue to offer experiences for their clients.
He highlighted that his company seeks to ensure that the tourism field it manages has an impact on the consumer and guests, but that it does not have an impact on the environment.
“The conservation efforts do not end there, we manage water to fight fires, in a credible way we have supported the population of this area of Africa, we also protect the fauna,” he noted.
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He added that now populations can have close experiences with native fauna, such as the white lion, an issue that generates an economic impact and ends up benefiting the community.
“We can associate ourselves with experience and luxury. We also work with associations and communities so that the inhabitants of the communities can get closer to the fauna and learn, before they used to be afraid of it,” he expressed.
Pandemic and tourism
He mentioned that during the pandemic, 41 million dollars were injected to attack the famine problem that hit the population, since tourism fell in the region.
“We believe you have to be a partner with communities in good times and bad,” he said.
He mentioned that after Covid they launched new projects to increase income and unite communities and thus restore what was lost during the pandemic.
“We have added equipment such as drones, lights, and this now generates more visits, but this equipment does not impact the environment, nor does it generate a carbon footprint,” he noted.
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