andBeyond, the award-winning luxury experiential travel company, has launched the WILDeconomy Masterclass in partnership with the School of Wildlife Conservation at the African Leadership University.

Published By Everything ZA Travel

The six-day educational journey, hosted at andBeyond’s lodges in Tanzania and Kenya, examines the role of the wildlife economy in Africa, with a focus on five key pillars: ecotourism, carbon markets, forest products, game ranching, and hunting and fishing.

The masterclass is led by Dr. Sue Snyman, the director of research at the university’s School of Wildlife. In addition to a full complement of game drives and walks, the itinerary features plenty of opportunities for thoughtful discussion, educational resources, and interactive experiences.

The masterclass will address and discuss issues such as hunting, the role of tourism in a post-Covid world, how the tourism sector can be made more resilient, and whether wildlife should be assigned a monetary value. andBeyond aims to draw attention to the fact that there are more activities than tourism that need to be understood in order to create a successful and balanced wildlife economy.

“There has long been a growing awareness of the role that tourism and conservation play in the economy of many African countries,” says andBeyond chief marketing officer, Nicole Robinson. “However, what became blatantly obvious during the peak of the pandemic is the resilience of conservation is compromised when we rely on a single activity, such as tourism, to drive economic benefits for communities and governments.”

“As an organisation deeply rooted in Africa, we feel that it is our responsibility to draw awareness to these five wildlife-based economic activities,” explains Robinson. “With international travellers growing increasingly concerned about sustainable travel and the economic development of the destinations that they travel to, we felt the time was right to create an itinerary that would explore the broader context of how wildlife can contribute just as much as other resources, such as human capital, oil and gas, to Africa’s economy and, by consequence, to the protection and conservation of its natural assets. In this way, we hope to get our guests, many of whom are influential in their respective fields, to start understanding, educating others about and advocating for the potential of Africa’s wildlife economy.”

The WILDeconomy Masterclass is a unique and innovative program that offers participants the opportunity to learn about the wildlife economy of Africa from leading experts in the field. The masterclass is also a chance to experience some of Africa’s most iconic wildlife destinations, such as the Serengeti National Park and the Masai Mara National Reserve.