Rwanda Hikes Gorilla Trekking Permit Fees to US$750
Rwanda has hiked the price of mountain gorilla trekking permits. Both Rwanda and Uganda foreign tourists visiting the mountain gorillas were paying $500 dollars, however, Rwanda gorilla permits will now cost $750, 50% up from the current gorilla trekking fees.
However, the increment has raised a lot of concern among the private sector stakeholders in the hospitality and tourism industry in Rwanda. They say that the gorilla tour permits will adversely affect their businesses.
Mountain gorilla safaris in the top foreign exchange earner for Rwanda’s tourism industry, accounting for 90% of all the park fees.
In a drastic move the Rwanda Development Board – RDB said that the increment will take place with effect on 1st June 2012. However, the increment will not affect gorilla permit bookings made prior to that date so as not to affect gorilla safaris to Rwanda that were booked earlier.
This increment cuts across board with foreign residents paying $375, up from the initial $250 while the locals paying $50 dollars, instead of the $30 that they paid previously.
The private stakeholders in the tourism industry in Rwanda in a statement signed by the chairman of the Rwanda tourism chamber of Private Sector Federation – PSF that the “immediate and draconian enforcement of this decision’ will have lasting repercussions on their industry and the image of the country”
“The implementation of this increase was done without due consultation and we regret the manner in which this was done despite our attempts to consult on this process.
We have already seen strong reactions from our partners, and we are very sure that this is going to have a negative impact on our businesses and the industry at large”
The tourism foreign exchange earnings of Rwanda has seen significant increase. The sector saw an increase of 14 percent from the 2009 earnings and recorded $200 million in 2010. While in 2011, there was more than a 25% increase in earning with the Country getting $251 million.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Development Board – RDB, John Gara “This increase comes at a time when there is significant growth of the gorilla population as well as an increasing demand for gorilla tourism. We are very committed to sustain our efforts in conservation in order to protect their environment as well as the rich biodiversity that exist in our national parks”.
There has been such a significant increase in the number of mountain gorillas in Rwanda and the whole Virunga Massif as a whole. The Virunga Massif includes the border region of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. There has been an annual growth rate of 3.7% in the population of mountain gorillas which has seen a 26.3 percent increase in the number of mountain gorillas in Rwanda over the last seven years since 2005