Uganda Wildlife Authority clarifies on gorilla tracking fees

UGANDA’S GORILLA TRACKING FEES TO REMAIN STABLE

(Posted 16th June 2017)

image120

image122

The Uganda Wildlife Authority has nipped rumours in the bud that Uganda’s gorilla tracking permit fees would be raised and in a letter to the Association of Uganda Tour Operators said as much.
The current level of fees will therefore remain in place for the next two years allowing Uganda to take full advantage of the doubled fees in neighbouring Rwanda, where the cost for a single permit, Rwandan citizens included, now stands at a whopping 1.500 US Dollars. This translates into a couple now paying 3.000 US Dollars for which money five people can have the same experience when doing this activity in ‘The Pearl of Africa‘.
‘I think Uganda is conscious that there is serious price sensitivity in this particular market and not want to give the country a bad reputation as overpriced or exploitative. UWA must be congratulated for standing firm. From what I know there is now hardly any Ugandan booking for gorilla permits across the border unlike before and we are now concentrating to sell our own as much as we can‘ volunteered a regular source, previously bringing in his own words ‘a lot of business to Rwanda‘ on condition of anonymity.
Sources close to UWA have also confirmed a significant increase in advance sales for gorilla permits, which are now open up to mid 2019 already, giving rise to hope for the country’s tourism industry that visitor numbers will rise in the future as foreign tourists take advantage of Uganda’s price stability.
UWA’s letter is shown in full below.