More than 500 tour operators offering safaris in Africa have been questioned about the effect of the current Ebola outbreak on bookings, with more than two-thirds stating that numbers were down anywhere between 20 and 70 per cent.

The survey, carried out by SafariBookings.com, saw significant decline across the sector in bookings since the Ebola outbreak, even in places nowhere near the affected area of Africa.

According to tour operators, many tourists see Africa as a single country when it comes to risk assessment, not realising that the east or south of the continent – where the vast majority of safari tours are conducted – are just as far from the outbreak area as Europe or South America.

At present, major safari countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Zambia have had no confirmed Ebola cases, with a very low risk of exposure. All have strict precautionary measures in place, comparable to those of countries in Europe and North America.

Of those surveyed, 69.7 per cent of the 506 companies surveyed reported a decrease in bookings since the outbreak, with 54 of those (10.7 per cent) reporting more than a 70 per cent decrease in bookings.

In addition, 80.4 per cent of safari operators reported that customers booking or on safari raised concerns over the Ebola virus in relation to the tour.

The Foreign Office currently advises against all but essential travel to just three African nations in relation to Ebola – Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea – except for people involved in the response to the Ebola outbreak. It also stresses that the risk of infection to the general public remains “very low”.