AI-generated safari images showing close human-wildlife interaction is drawing sharp criticism from Africa’s tourism sector. Leaders warn that such content misleads tourists, promotes dangerous behaviour and undermines longstanding conservation education.
A recent Tourism Update poll revealed that 75% of respondents believe the use of AI-generated images in tourism destination marketing collateral is unethical. The findings follow a heated industry debate sparked by AI-generated images posted by a safari operator. These images depicted close human interactions with wildlife – scenes that operators say could create dangerous misconceptions about acceptable behaviour in real safari environments.
For many in the industry, the primary concern is the behaviour such imagery encourages such as attempts at close-up interactions with lions and elephants. They warn that this content risks normalising unsafe and unethical interactions, potentially endangering people and wildlife.
“Our primary concern lies in the type of interaction portrayed,” says Evelyn Poole, CMO and Conservation Fund Director at Wild Wonderful World. “Imagery that promotes physical contact or interactions beyond viewing gives people the idea that this is acceptable behaviour, leading them to seek similar experiences. This is not only dangerous but unethical. It undermines the hard work that Africa’s tourism sector is doing to promote responsible game viewing and creates false expectations, leading travellers to think close encounters are standard practice on safari. Many guests even ask to touch them.”
Malawi-based safari specialist and wildlife photographer Lotte Varndell-van Rooij says many people mistake AI images for reality. “They normalise interactions we’ve spent decades educating against,” she says. “Many followers don’t realise the images are fake and respond with comments like ‘I want this’ inadvertently driving demand for exploitative experiences that ethical operators have worked hard to eliminate.”
In unfenced bush environments, such misconceptions can have serious consequences. Poole recounts an incident shared by a colleague: a guest climbed out of a safari vehicle during a lion sighting, believing the animal could be approached. “The situation became dangerous very quickly,” she says, noting how ideas absorbed from petting zoos, social media and online imagery can merge into a distorted understanding of wildlife encounters.
Varndell-van Rooij says AI-generated content depicting calm interactions with predators undermines the many years of work spent educating travellers to view wildlife from a respectful distance.
“It reinforces demand for experiences that are not ethical or responsible and, in some cases, not possible without harm,” says Melissa Foley, Collaboration Champion at All About Africa.
Foley notes the strong industry reaction is not simply about AI but about misalignment with core industry values. “When the stakes are this high, particularly for conservation-driven tourism, the reaction is inevitable,” she says.
Where to draw the line
AI-created imagery can also erode trust in tourism marketing.
“Trust is the foundation of tourism,” says Foley. “If AI imagery is not clearly disclosed, or if it misrepresents reality, it creates doubt. Travellers begin to question what is real and that damages the credibility of brands genuinely committed to ethical practices.”
Varndell-van Rooij warns that AI-generated imagery showing impossible interactions creates harmful expectations and threatens the credibility and livelihoods of operators, guides and wildlife photographers committed to ethical practices and authentic storytelling.
The abundance of authentic African wildlife imagery makes the use of AI imagery unnecessary, Poole adds. “Africa’s wilderness is a real, living story. Replacing it with fabricated content risks losing the essence of what makes this destination unique – our authenticity and the conservation values our industry is built on. Conservation ethics must come before marketing creativity whether an image is real, AI-generated or labelled fictional.”
Need for industry guidelines
The debate has prompted calls for clearer standards. Foley says this is increasingly important amid global regulatory shifts around transparency and misleading claims.
She says there is a clear need for operators, marketers, platforms and industry bodies to work together to align standards. “The principle is simple: any content used in tourism marketing must be truthful, clearly represented and aligned with responsible practices that protect people and places.”
