A group of seven tour operators have successfully boycotted a South African hotel chain because of plans for a large luxury development near the famous Victoria Falls on the Zambia side. The operators, along with opposition within Southern Africa, have become campaigners themselves to stop the building of the resort which they felt was environmentally disastrous.
One of the operators, Amanda Marks, director of Tribes Travel said ” We were extremely concerned about a new development planned by the Legacy Hotels Group in the World Heritage Site of Mosi-oa Tunya National Park. This is one of Zambia’s greatest natural assets and includes Victoria Falls. There are about 400 bird species in the park and 30 species of large mammal. It is environmentally and scientifically very important.”
“The development plans included two 5-star hotels, 500 chalets, a country club, conference centre and 18 hole golf estate. Whilst the Zambian government gave Legacy Hotels a tourism concession for the site, UNESCO has told the hotel group that the planned development would be “Irresponsible” and that they would mount a worldwide campaign to discourage tourists from visiting the area.”
“The development has was stopped by the environmental council of Zambia ruling against it. Legacy appealed but the decision was upheld.”
Other UK operators who backed the boycott of Legacy Hotels include Expert Africa, Rainbow Tours, Dragoman, Okavango Tours and Safaris, Aardvark Safaris and Wildlife Worldwide.
Valere Tjolle
