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Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
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Once a lifetime dreams at any price, global recession or not
By Ed Stoddard and Jessica Rinaldi |
February 1, 2009, Sunday
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Print Edition
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BRITON Pete Lemon is not letting a recession or a US$60,000 price tag get in the way of his dream to ski to the South Pole.
"It's a lot of money, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go to Antarctica," Lemon said in Punta Arenas in southern Chile, where he and a half a dozen other people were readying for a trip that will include an attempt on the highest peak in Antarctica, Mount Vinson.
From arduous trips to the end of the world to bids to reach its highest summit to elephant hunting safaris in Africa, the upper echelons of the outdoor adventure industry seem to rise above the global financial crisis and recession.
Mountaineering and safari operators say this is partly explained by the income levels of their clients, but also because such trips are often once-in-a-lifetime goals that determined individuals have striven for years to achieve.
Further down the income ladder, demand is seen falling for less costly options such as antelope hunts in Africa or climbs that are less taxing than Mount Everest, the world's highest peak.
Seattle-based Alpine Ascents International will take seven to 12 climbers on US$65,000 expeditions up Everest this year, the same as in previous years, said program director Gordon Janow.
Misconception
But Janow said he expected to see a decline in less-demanding and less-expensive expeditions.
Eric Simonson of International Mountain Guides, which offers Everest trips from US$43,000 to US$70,000, also said his company, based in Ashford, Washington, would be fully booked this year for Everest packages.
But he said it was not so much a question of wealth as of sheer determination.
"There is a misconception that the people who do these trips are super-wealthy and can write a check without thinking about it," he said. "They are professionals, engineers - normal people who aspire to goals."
For some, stalking and shooting an elephant or rhino in the African bush is the hunting equivalent of climbing Everest, with a similar or even higher price tag.
Safari operators and guides promoting their services at the Dallas Safari Club's annual convention this month said they had seen little slackening in demand for top hunts.
"We do about 40 hunts a year and we've had one cancellation based on the recession this year. The client said that (the recession) was the cause of it," said Alistair Pole of Zambezi Hunters, which sells elephant and rhino hunts in Zimbabwe costing tens of thousands of dollars.
"I would say 80 percent of our clients are in the wealthy bracket," he said. Permits to shoot species such as rhino and elephant are limited and such hunts can cost up to US$100,000.
"It's a lot of money, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go to Antarctica," Lemon said in Punta Arenas in southern Chile, where he and a half a dozen other people were readying for a trip that will include an attempt on the highest peak in Antarctica, Mount Vinson.
From arduous trips to the end of the world to bids to reach its highest summit to elephant hunting safaris in Africa, the upper echelons of the outdoor adventure industry seem to rise above the global financial crisis and recession.
Mountaineering and safari operators say this is partly explained by the income levels of their clients, but also because such trips are often once-in-a-lifetime goals that determined individuals have striven for years to achieve.
Further down the income ladder, demand is seen falling for less costly options such as antelope hunts in Africa or climbs that are less taxing than Mount Everest, the world's highest peak.
Seattle-based Alpine Ascents International will take seven to 12 climbers on US$65,000 expeditions up Everest this year, the same as in previous years, said program director Gordon Janow.
Misconception
But Janow said he expected to see a decline in less-demanding and less-expensive expeditions.
Eric Simonson of International Mountain Guides, which offers Everest trips from US$43,000 to US$70,000, also said his company, based in Ashford, Washington, would be fully booked this year for Everest packages.
But he said it was not so much a question of wealth as of sheer determination.
"There is a misconception that the people who do these trips are super-wealthy and can write a check without thinking about it," he said. "They are professionals, engineers - normal people who aspire to goals."
For some, stalking and shooting an elephant or rhino in the African bush is the hunting equivalent of climbing Everest, with a similar or even higher price tag.
Safari operators and guides promoting their services at the Dallas Safari Club's annual convention this month said they had seen little slackening in demand for top hunts.
"We do about 40 hunts a year and we've had one cancellation based on the recession this year. The client said that (the recession) was the cause of it," said Alistair Pole of Zambezi Hunters, which sells elephant and rhino hunts in Zimbabwe costing tens of thousands of dollars.
"I would say 80 percent of our clients are in the wealthy bracket," he said. Permits to shoot species such as rhino and elephant are limited and such hunts can cost up to US$100,000.
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