Increase charges to trek national parks - expert

Kampala. A Ugandan born conservationist, Kaddu Sebunya, has proposed that government increases fares to trek national parks so as to earn more money.
Mr Sebunya, the chief executive officer of African Wildlife Foundation, said in an interview last week in Kampala that airlines and lodge owners are reaping more from tourists than conservationists who are protecting the wildlife.
He said, government is failing to properly remunerate its park rangers.
“A tourist using Emirates is charged £3,000 to come and see mountain gorillas and Emirates makes more money than people next to the gorillas,” Mr Sebunya said.
Uganda charges $600 to trek gorilla per person. Rwanda on the other hand charges $1,500 for all visitors. Majority tourists pay $20 to enter parks, but lodging in some parks cost more than $600 per night.
Tourism is a top foreign exchange earner and Uganda last year raked in $1.4b (Shs5 trillion) from the sector, according to statistics from Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), the agency that markets the country.
Mr Stephen Asiimwe, the outgoing UTB chief executive officer, said the time is now to have a discussion on increasing prices of the gorilla trekking permits since “we have sold out”.
Gorillas make more than Shs40 billion for Uganda a year. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest has 880 of mountain gorillas (half of the world’s gorillas population ).