So after last year’s American presidential election a new gimmick entered into the world of Africa Travel Deals, the “Obama Safari“! I noticed this for the first time several months ago, but have recently seen this interesting safari title pop on numerous safari websites. What I wonder is if this Obama Safari really have anything at all to do with Obama? A safari is usually centered around watching animals. What does that have to do with the American President? Or did I miss the news about a new animal species called Obama? To me this looks like a silly way to sell more safaris, but maybe I’m wrong, is this actually an interesting alternative to the regular safaris?
Well, I’m not going to make this a huge research study. It took me very short time to find out what the typical Obama Safari includes out of the ordinary; the name and an extra stop in the village where Obama’s father grew up. Some of the itineraries didn’t even have Obama’s name mentioned once in them. Even as a huge Obama fan I find this pretty silly. Obama himself grew up in pretty much all other parts of the world than in Africa. I can understand that some people would want to explore his father’s roots. But then it would not be a safari, would it? Would they call their hunting trips in Kenya for “Obama Hunting”? You won’t find Concentration Camp Safaris in Germany either.
Actually, here is a suggestion to Africa tour operators: Just change the name to “Obama Tours”. And if you would want to create something that’s actually more relevant to Africa. Why not create a “Mandela Tour”? A historical Mandela Tour could probably be really interesting for everyone from history buffs, political activists and school children to plain simple souls like me. And if the tour operator insists on using the word safari, well then at least make sure that the safari part is separated from the Mandela part, like Mandela Tour and Game Safari. Or Obama Tour and Game Hunting.
