Heritage Safaris of North Vancouver blames Ebola for business woes
North Vancouver's Heritage Safaris says business is down 80 per cent this year over fear of African travel
North Vancouver tour company Heritage Safaris says panic over the Ebola outbreak has caused business to plummet, and the company could shut down as a result.
The company says business has declined by 80 per cent, despite not providing tours to Ebola-affected areas of the continent.
Heritage Safaris offers tours to eastern and South Africa, thousands of kilometres away from the nexus of the Ebola outbreak.
Company owner Thierry Cellier says business has been "a disaster" since the Ebola outbreak started receiving media coverage, and he blames a lack of understanding of African geography.
"Cancelling your trip to east Africa because of problems in West Africa is like not going to Vancouver because there's Ebola in Mexico City," he said.
"If we have no new bookings for the next coming six months, after that, it's going to be critical."
Cellier fears for the future of his business, and others like it, and says a loss of tourism will be disastrous for some African countries.
with files from Farrah Merali