Makini Bush Camp Blog

Even though there are some countries still on an uphill battle against the Coronavirus, many other countries are easing lockdown rules and gradually encouraging people to resume work. Some countries, such as  Italy ,  New Zealand , and  Sri Lanka  had gone one step further and laid plans to open borders to resume tourism. The timeline they are looking at falls around July, and according to the chairperson of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, their destination management companies already started getting travel inquiries from various parts of the world. Travelers will still have to go through a security, health, and hygiene check as part of the entry process, and hoteliers will have to abide by new health and hygiene regulations enforced by local governments. Why Sri Lanka? The primary reason to pick Sri Lanka as the top post-coronavirus destination is the way they managed and contain the spread of COVID-19. Sri Lankan government foresaw the threat and took...

Last year Sri Lanka was recognized as the  “Best Safari Destination Outside of Africa”  by Forbes. At a time countries gradually lifting lockdowns and travelers eagerly searching for their first post-corona destination, we hope all wildlife and nature lovers will find this post timely and useful. In Africa, 'Big 5' means the animals that are most aggressive and difficult to hunt on foot, even though many think that it means the animals that are the highest in demand by visitors. Sri Lanka has it’s own 'Big 5' however, unlike in Africa the animals were chosen purely based on the popularity and demand by local and foreign visitors and it consists of both land and sea mammals. Namely, Sri Lanka’s Big5 is the Sri Lankan leopard, Sri Lankan elephant, Sri Lankan sloth bear, the blue whale, and the sperm whale. It’s truly miraculous that a small island paradise like Sri Lanka with an area of just over 65000 km² able to home the world's largest land and sea mammal...

The entire world is still in shock even the infection and fatality rates already started the dive. Once the virus threat is controlled, the next big challenge is to recover from the economic crisis caused by global lockdowns. Almost all industries are affected by the crisis one way or another. Among those affected industries Hospitality takes a special place because it generates revenue for local economies directly and creates millions of jobs across all levels. This post primarily targets SMEs in the hospitality industry, travel agents, tour operators, and policymakers and we discuss possible avenues that may lead to a fast recovery of the industry. The recovery of the industry will align with the end of lockdowns. As many experts predict, end of lockdowns will be carried out through several stages, it will be districts first, then states or provinces, and so on. Be prepared to open your office, hotel, or the establishment on the very first chance you get and start laying plans f...

Some countries are looking at lifting, rather relaxing post-pandemic curfews and lockdowns and some countries are waiting for the herd immunity to pass the 60% mark and other countries anxiously looking at their flattening curves. Sooner or later, people will be able to go to the grocery again, drive around the neighborhood and take a staycation. Then people will drive a little further and eventually start to go back on vacation. How long will it take for all this to happen? Well, only the virus can tell, however, we optimistically predict that this would happen within the next 2-5 months.  What about jump on a plane and cross the state or the country border? Well, figuring out that is the primary objective of this post. Right now there are two main challenges for air travel. Obviously there's the Coronavirus, and then there's the massive economic hit all airlines around the globe took because of the virus. Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic had recently asked for ...

Now that the curve has started to  flatten in most countries , we hear travelers here and there talking about their autumn plans, next country to visit,  how they should prepare , etc. Even though travelers are wiping out the dust after the long wait, are the hoteliers ready to host post-pandemic travelers? Given the demands of travelers, post-pandemic travel won't be the same as before. And are the hoteliers ready for the post-pandemic effect, or the next outbreak?  From this post, we are trying to break down the problem into 3 areas and discuss how hoteliers can prepare themselves for the post-corona effect. Health and Hygiene Health and hygiene are some of the top things that every post-corona traveler would demand. Early preparations will help you not only to meet the demand but also to boost confidence and attract visitors. When it comes to health and hygiene, private hygiene and public sanitation are crucial. Making hand sanitizers available, disi...