BUSINESS IN THE BUSH

Why private safari buyouts are a game changer, not just for travel but also for business, with the 'work in wilderness' trend catching on.

- DEVANSHI MODY

Head hunting corporate style, but in the middle of the African Bush is the new modus operandi, where a suave safari is the new boardroom. Business in the Bush is the savagely slick new trend, where private safari retreats are being snapped up not just by families and friends for whom they were conceived but by corporates. According to Vinay Sapra of Lifestyle Safaris, a ground-handler for luxury international tour operators, corporates are now inviting business partners on safari as Christmas gifts to "massage the relationship." Sapra who just launched a premium segment Lifestyle Signature Experiences (www. lifestylesignature.​com) to meet inflected demand for private safaris.

Interestingly, Sapra organised a private safari for a high profile "merger & acquisition" where both the concerned parties came equipped with lawyers et al and sealed a deal over a fortnight, which might have taken months in the city.

Following the success of this enterprise, Sapra devised "work-in-the wilderness" retreats for diverse corporate clients. He claims that "all his high-profile clients actually demand NDAs," to safeguard privacy and confidentiality. Another trend that's gaining a lot of traction is "Trophy Travel," where corporates award top performers performance/partners with safari holidays as part of their performance incentives.

As team-building programmes in the jungle proliferate as the hot new choice for corporate offsites, corporate charters too are big business now. Deepesh Gupta of Auric Air (www.auricair.​com), Tanzania's premier charter operator, corroborates this trend since Auric has been chartering everyone from Emirati "businessmen" sheikhs to Indian industrialists.