I was in Zim hunting this past May and my PH told me he thought inflation was running at 10-15%. I have noticed while shopping around for a 2015 hunt that prices have risen significantly. It is what it is and I know the Zim operators have to raise their prices to stay solvent, but it seems to me that if the official US inflation is less that 2% (questionable I know) and the average wage growth in the US is 0% (after already falling) that these two forces going in opposite directions will steadily make it impossible for US residents to hunt there?
I know trends can change, but if this continues I think it has the potential to be more destructive to the Safari industry and wildlife than anything we have seen so far.

Am I being reasonable or should I just take a happy pill and forget about it?

No point in even trying to figure out all of the dynamics involved. Just watch for a hunt that interests you and then decide if on that day at that time you can afford it. It really is that simple!

quote:

Originally posted by JCS271:
No point in even trying to figure out all of the dynamics involved. Just watch for a hunt that interests you and then decide if on that day at that time you can afford it. It really is that simple!

GunsCore,

I think JSCS271 has said it in a nutshell. 20 years ago I went on a 14 day buffalo/PG hunt and was offered a leopard once on the ground for a trophy fee plus a lion for a $3,500 add-on. Today that same hunt is just about twice as expensive and I would not expect to be offered any extra cats for trophy fees.

Believe me I wish hunts were cheaper as I could sell them easier but there just not and we really can't do much about it.

Mark

It is really quite simple.

Zimbabwe inflation has nothing to do with weather you book a hunt or not.

What you need to determine is:

A Business provided a price for their daily fees and trophy fees. Now if you shop around, most safari business will charge a little different. It is your responsibility to figure out what you can and cannot afford. Some of the very best are booked out for a year or two for the prime dates.

As a shopper you have the ability to say yes and no.

I'm with you GunsCore!

Worst part is that back in the day of the Zim dollar, they appreciated the US cash dollar, zip lock bags, candy and whatever. Now, $200 US EACH for tracker, skinner, scout is expected. Not to mention tips for the water boy, cook, waitress, gardener. $1,000 to the PH is accepted but with no enthusiasm. No warm "thank you". IMO, it has gotten way out of f***ng hand. I own/work a small contracting business. I have never accepted a tip for a job well done. It's part of my service. Just saying.

Finally, a thread of substance, while I agree with multiple posts here on what determines whether you can afford a particular safari, perhaps this could act as a prelude to a real conversation about the value of the US dollar. I would be interested in what your "PH" used to determine his 10-15% inflation estimation. Apparently he does not buy into our 1.5% CPI estimation. Perhaps some of our resident PH's could chime in on what they see going on in their everyday US dollar expenditures? I have a feeling it will differ from what we are experiencing on this side of the pond.

Yes Gentleman that is all good advice, but what I was getting at is that since Zimbabwe's official currency is the US dollar and with their inflation rate in the 10-15% range (on the US dollar just in Zimbabwe) is that we can expect price increases of 10-15% a year so the operators can just stay even. They wouldn't being making more money in real terms, but just holding steady. What it means for us is that the value of our dollar is shrinking by 10-15% a year when trying to purchase a hunt in Zimbabwe. Just the dollar inflation alone would make hunting in Zim more and more expensive. If the average buffalo hunt costs $ 17,500 today then it would be nearly $ 30,000 in five years. Real incomes in the USA are nowhere near to keeping up with the Zimbabwe inflation rate.

I think I will have a talk with Bob and tell him to bring back the Zim dollar. We (USA hunters) were all off better back in the good old days when Zim only inflated their own currency, not ours.

BUT maybe I am way off on the Zim inflation rate and as 505 gibbs suggests it would be nice if some local Zim members could give us their opinion.

I can tell you that in 1993 the US$ was = 6 Zim dollars.

Work it out that way.

Zim and other Commie countries including China manipulate their currencies because they are greedy
As simple as that

The US Gov't is working pretty hard to devalue the US dollar for several reasons. Probably the most significant is the several year effort by the Federal Reserve Bank to hold nominal interest rates artificially low in a prolonged (and almost futile) effort to jump start the Us economy. The second most significant reason is that the easiest way to pay foreign debt holders the massive amount the US owes them is to pay in devalued currency which has substantially lower purchasing power than when the debt was issued (but we keep racking up more foreign debt.)

JPK

Just looking at the interest rates offered at the local credit union the other day. I can see I'll have a lot more fun just spending it now than trying to gain % with CD's or savings of anykind. Damn: .1% on $5000/3yrs? They're nuts!
George

quote:

We (USA hunters) were all off better back in the good old days when Zim only inflated their own currency, not ours.

Only the issuer of the currency can inflate it, what you see in other countries are the effects of our domestic monetary policy. We are exporting our inflation, that is a fact.

quote:

Originally posted by DoubleDon:
I'm with you GunsCore!
$1,000 to the PH is accepted but with no enthusiasm. No warm "thank you".

You must be hunting with some weird people Don !

Indeed Jan, I've thought the same at times. My theory is that they are getting a bit (or more) spoiled.

Can you bring me an iPhone 6S please?

Yeah right! I don't even have an iPhone 6S. Do they think Obama just hands out iPhones to everybody in the US?

Simple solution. STOP spoiling them! I commented on this not long ago and from the responses I'm not betting the spoiling stops anytime soon.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
I can tell you that in 1993 the US$ was = 6 Zim dollars.

Work it out that way.

In 1989 the Zim dollar was .40 US. Trophy fee on a sable was $1000 US

When we were there in 2003 the exchange was Zim $2300 to $1 US. We paid $65,000 for a bottle of wine!

quote:

Originally posted by 505 gibbs:

quote:

We (USA hunters) were all off better back in the good old days when Zim only inflated their own currency, not ours.

Only the issuer of the currency can inflate it, what you see in other countries are the effects of our domestic monetary policy. We are exporting our inflation, that is a fact.

The above is not correct. Local conditions can cause more or less inflation. The inflation rate is not even across the USA, but varies by state and region. In a few more months California oil refineries will start passing on to the consumer the greenhouse gas carbon taxes they have to pay. We could easily see $ 5 a gallon her in California while Texas might have $ 2.50 a gallon prices. Local conditions and policies can contribute to both inflation and deflation. Or in the most likely case for California....stagflation. The same thing is true for Zimbabwe.

No offense, you are confusing cause and effect.