Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has new tourism tariff for tourists visiting the National Parks which will take effect on 1st July 2011.
According to the new tariff, tourists will pay US$35 per day for foreign non-residents, US$ 25 per day for foreign residents and Ush 10,000 per day for East Africans to enter category A National Parks. Entry fees for children aged between 5 & 15 years have increased to $20 for foreign non residents and $10 for residents and 5,000/- for children.
Tariffs for some tourism activities such as gorilla tracking remained unchanged at US$500 for foreign non residents and Ush 250,000/- for East Africans. Foreign residents include people living and working in Uganda especially diplomats and expatriates.
Tracking chimpanzees is one of the tourism activities in Uganda that have increasingly become popular over the years. Fees for tracking chimpanzees in Kibale National Park have increased from US$90 to US$150 for foreign non-residents and residents, while East Africans will now pay Ushs 100,000/- up from the previous Ush60,000.
A variety of tourism activities are offered in Uganda’s National Parks and these include game drives, boat rides, nature walks, gorilla tracking, chimpanzee tracking, golden monkey tracking, mountain climbing and chimpanzee habituation experience.
Category A national parks include Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo, Bwindi Impenetrable, Mgahinga Gorilla, Kibale, Kidepo Valley and Rwenzori Mountains National Parks while category B National Parks include Semuliki National Park, Mt Elgon National Park and Toro Semuliki Wildlife Reserve. Category B National Parks attract an entry fee of US$25 per day for adult foreign non residents, $15 per day for foreign residents and Ush 5,000/- per day for East Africans.
Foreign residents wishing to purchase the annual Special passes to the National Parks will now pay US$250 in the individual Category, US$350 for the Couples Category, US$600 for family Category and US$1,500 for the Corporate organizations.
East Africans wishing to purchase the annual special passes to the National Parks will now pay US$ 150 in the Individual Category, US$200 for the Couples Category, US$400 for the Family Category and US$1,000 for individuals, US$75 for couples, US$100 for families and US$400 for corporate organizations.
Fees for vehicle and boat entry into the Park remained unchanged for Ugandan registered vehicles at Ush 30,000 for minibuses, pickups and tour company vehicles.
The new tariff will be implemented in the midst of the introduction of products including the recently launched Batwa Trail in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, walking safaris in Murchison Falls National Park and bird watching in Semuliki National Park and experiential tourism. Tourists wishing to participate in various wildlife management programs such as carrying out animal censuses, health interventions or establishing birding sites, will be allowed to approach UWA and negotiate for a fee and join UWA staff in handling these programs. This is what is called Experiential Tourism.
The new tariff also contains fines for offences committed within the national parks such as off-track driving (US$150 per vehicle), over speeding (Ush 100,000 per vehicle), accidents resulting in animal kills (US$500) and illegal entry into the National Parks (US$50).
The new tariff will boost tourism revenue which will facilitate more effective and efficient management of the challenges involved in managing wildlife and the protected areas; such challenges include high fuel prices, poaching in the Parks, human wildlife conflicts and develop and manage new tourism products.
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