Saving the safari industry

The tourism industry is one of the most vulnerable to the economic impacts of HIV/AIDS.  Employees who are mobile and away from their families for long periods of time, and who are usually uninformed or misinformed about HIV/AIDS, can have a direct effect on the bottom lines of tour operators.  Tanzania, home to some of the world's best Safari locations, is no exception to this.  The Tanzanian Association of Tour Operators (TATO), in partnership with the AIDS Business Coalition Tanzania (ABCT) and the World Bank Institute, recently mobilized local tour companies to help protect their employees.  In addition, the companies are considering to use their jeeps, which travel into the remotest parts of the country, as vehicles to spread accurate information about HIV/AIDS in the communities where they operate.