Safari Real Estate Brief | 4th October, 2025
Tourism Reality
East Africa continues to strengthen its lead as one of the world’s most dynamic safari tourism regions.
Kenya’s tourist arrivals grew 2.3 % in the first five months of 2025, reaching 922,961 (up from 902,076 in the same period in 2024) (Xinhua News).
Uganda is positioning itself as a premium tourism destination, with luxury lodges, cultural safaris, and eco-tourism fuelling record earnings of about UGX 5.8 trillion (≈ USD 1.5 billion) in 2025 (Business Times Uganda).
Tanzania remains a regional powerhouse, recording 794,102 arrivals in January–May 2025, up 3.7 % year-on-year and over 50 % above pre-pandemic levels (Tanzania Invest).
Industry consolidation is accelerating: Egeria Private Equity entered into an agreement to acquire Afrika Invest, the holding company of Tanzania Specialist and Africa Safari Trips, highlighting growing international interest in East Africa’s safari sector (Egeria Group).
Real Estate Reality
New luxury lodges are being announced — such as andBeyond Suyian Lodge (Laikipia, Kenya) and Ubuyu by Banyan Tree (Ruaha, Tanzania) — yet the majority of hotel investment across East Africa continues to flow into urban business hubs like Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, and Kampala.
With Tanzania’s total arrivals now ≈ 49 % above 2019 levels, national-park capacity is tightening, driving higher nightly rates and limited availability during peak months.
Conservation Reality
In August 2025, a Maasai activist filed a lawsuit seeking to block or suspend the opening of the Ritz-Carlton Masai Mara lodge, citing migration-corridor disruption and gaps in environmental review. While the case is ongoing, Kenyan courts have so far not confirmed a suspension of the project (Reuters).
Controversy Around Carbon Projects & Community Impacts: New reports have raised concerns over soil carbon projects in northern Tanzania. Semi-nomadic Maasai communities allege the projects are creating land conflicts and undermining traditional grazing rights (Carbon Pulse).
Carbon Revenue vs Ambition: Tanzania had announced plans to attract USD 20 billion in carbon credit investments, but by mid-2024 had realized only USD 13.4 million — highlighting the gap between ambition and execution in Africa’s carbon markets (DevelopmentAid).
Reality Check
I was at the Magical Kenya Travel Expo this week. The event was full of energy and our Conserve Safari Camps & Lodges booth had a lot of traffic. I heard very different views: one person said the Kenyan market is slowing down, while another in private charter aviation told me he’s never seen so many people in the parks.
Looking at the numbers, the market is still growing and we haven’t seen high season numbers yet. There’s strong interest in safaris that go from Kenya into Tanzania, or directly to Tanzania. Lower park fees are part of it, and it seems everyone in the industry agrees, park fees either need a pause or at least a slower rise.
We’re also looking for ways to drive more international investment into the safari market. In less than a year, we’ve already invested around USD 2 million in developing new camps and infrastructure across Tanzania’s national parks and we’re just getting started.
Further Reading
We are expanding our camp portfolio in Tanzania’s national parks. If you would like to explore investor opportunities or review our deck, please get in touch.
