**TL;DR Safaris exist as institutionalised neo-colonial mechanisms.** Safaris and safari holidays have long assisted in the reproduction of Western imaginaries of Sub-Saharan Africa, deriving from original imaginations of European exploration and colonization. Neo-colonial discourses highlight the structural inequalities between the Western World and Africa and the constructed imaginaries of animals such as big cats, elephants, zebras and giraffes work to reproduce colonial views. The wild-life conservation within Africa and safaris alike work to promote a mode of global capitalist production and illustrate unequal global power dynamics. The Safari industry emerged as a bi-product of colonial exploration, and the coinciding of modern transportation technology meant that a global safari economy could be constructed under Western imperial rule. Thus, the continuation of safari holidays, and growing popularity, works to continue neo-colonial influence and ensure the West maintains these power imbalances. Selling the African Wilds: a history of the safari tourism industry in East Africa, 1900-1939. https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/63902 The Elephant in the Room: Confronting the Colonial Character of Wildlife Conservation in Africa. Elizabeth Garland. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27667379?seq=5#metadata_info_tab_contents

I agree that safaris are a strong representation of neo-colonialism as they reproduce colonialist representations and notions of African land. Additionally, safaris and surrounding practices provide space for Westerners to continue to control African land and resources while largely erasing and deprioritising the needs of African peoples. To begin with, the main allure of Safaris, as represented by advertisements and the hospitality industry at large, is the notion that Safaris are untouched , wild stretches of land waiting to be enjoyed by Western tourists. Such representations erase the rich histories and cultures that exist on these lands and consequently reproduce the colonial notion that Africa remains untouched, undeveloped and ripe for exploration by Western tourists thus playing into the Western gaze. Furthermore, safaris prioritise animals, landscapes, horizons as the main allure and draw of Africa while simultaneously erasing the African peoples that live within these environments. Indeed, when we consider the online outrage raised over the 'Cecil the Lion' poaching scandal and the relative silence about the wellbeing of the Zimbabweans living on these wildlife reserves this is clear to see. This is neo-colonialist as it once more allows Westerns to focus on the African resources while caring little for the African people who live on these lands. Additionally, the continued prevalence of poaching across the African continent underscores the fact that safaris continue to a means by which Westerners dominate and exploit African resources thus aligning with Kwame Nkrumah's definition of neo-colonialism. Similarly, the contestation of land rights, the armed protection of African land reserves by Western actors or through Western funding for instance in Kruger National Park again feeds into neo-colonial practices.