Reality Tourism and Travel: Slum Tours in Africa

Where can the wealthy world traveler go when she's tired of the ski slopes, beaches, spas, wildlife watching or eco travel? Where can you ride around in air-conditioned comfort, press your nose against the glass while sipping your bottled water, and see how the financially destitute live? Did you know that the very worst slums of Africa are becoming a tourist destination for those who've done it all?

James Asudi, general manager of Kenyan-based Victoria Safaris has come up with a reality tour for the super rich with an itch to see the other side of life. "People are getting tired of the Maasai Mara and wildlife," he told the Sydney Morning Herald. "No one is enlightening us about other issues. So I've come up with a new thing--slum tours."

Actually, the Victoria Safaris website puts it a little more nicely. The tour company calls the opportunity to take a walkabout tour among the filth, misery and abject poverty of African slum dwellers "Pro Poor Tourism in Africa".

The travel website enthuses-

This tourism is set up in developing countries as a means to improve the local economy for local poor people. It enhances the linkages between tourism businesses and poor people; so that poverty is reduced and poor people are able to participate more effectively in tourism development. The aims of pro-poor ranges from increasing local employment to involving local people in the decision making process. Victoria Safaris, being a tour Operator based in third world country - Kenya is determined to improve the lives of the poor both in urban and rural Kenya. The most important factor is not the type of company or the type of tourism, but that poor people receive an increase in the net benefits from tourism.

Reality tourists to the slums of Kibera have an opportunity to satisfy their voyeuristic needs by tramping about amongst people whose average income is less than a dollar a day and who do without the necessary amenities such as adequate housing, adequate food and clean drinking water.