Telesafaris, WildEarth Television, and the Future of Tourism

Authors

  • Ian Glenn University of the Free State University of Cape Town

Keywords:

Arthur Clarke, online community, e-tourism, WildEarth, Safari Live, safari guides, Graham Wallington, actor-network theory, wildlife documentary, China in Africa, post-COVID-19 tourism, telepresence, parasocial interactions

Abstract

This article analyzes WildEarth television, a live safari program based primarily in South Africa and Kenya, but broadcast worldwide through a variety of channels, including a major Chinese television network at times. It considers Arthur Clarke's 1976 prediction of telesafaris and the growth of an online community to support this form of tourism, and it looks at some of the historical antecedents for WildEarth and the economic model and sustainability of the program, particularly after the COVID pandemic. It uses actor-network theory to explain what factors enabled an apparently marginal media location to achieve Clarke’s vision. This program raises questions about Clarke’s role in predicting e-tourism and online communities and his optimistic prediction that telesafaris would not supplant the live experience. It also considers issues that Clarke did not consider: the parasocial relationship of viewers with the guides and animals, and the role of a guiding culture in Africa.

Author Biography

Ian Glenn, University of the Free State University of Cape Town

Research Fellow in Communications Sciences at the University of the Free State and Emeritus Professor of Media Studies, University of Cape Town. His PhD is from Penn. His First Safari, Searching for Francois Levaillant, was published in 2018 and he is currently working on a history of wildlife documentary in Southern Africa.

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Published

2021-05-29

Issue

Vol. 15 (2021)

Section

Features

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