Uganda — Beginning January 2009, nationals of the East African Community are to pay the same amount as their Ugandan counterparts to gain access to utilities and services of Uganda’s national parks and game reserves.
With effect from January 2009, Kenyans, Tanzanians, Rwandans and people from Burundi will pay UShs5,000 for adults and UShs2,500 for the children or the equivalents of those sums of money to visit any wildlife gazetted area in Uganda. The money will, however, not cover other additional activities like mountaineering, gorilla tracking and chimpanzee habituation experiences amongst other services that may be provided by national parks.
In Uganda, wild life protected areas include Murchison Falls National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Mgahinga National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kibale National Park amongst others.
Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), the body charged with managing the country's protected areas, undertakes a biennial review of the entry and tourism tariffs with the aim of determining whether the tariffs correspond to the market forces and are in line with those charged by neighbouring countries.
Under the new tariff regime, the differences between Ugandans and the other East Africans has been removed and replaced by the category of East Africans under which Ugandans fall.
Children under the age of five years, students from Ugandan schools and honorary wardens will always receive free admissions to the protected areas. Students on educational trips must however carry valid identity cards and a letter from their schools.
In addition to harmonising the fees charged on East Africans, UWA has offered a 50% discount from the 15th of December 2008 to the 15th of January 2009.
The Executive Director of UWA, Moses Mapesa said they had decided to offer the discount at this time of the year because it falls under school holiday time.
"We have decided to offer this discount because this is when most people are on holiday. We would like it if Ugandans and the East Africans took this opportunity because entry into the national parks is going to be UShs2500 (below $2) for all those people who have residence in the East Africa region," he said.
Mapesa also said UWA provides annual entry permits to all protected areas for foreign residents and East African residents. An annual permit costs $50 for an individual, $75 for a couple, $100 for a family of four people with children not exceeding 15 years of age and $400 for corporate organisations providing entry for 10 people.
Foreigners resident in Uganda will now pay $20 for adults and the children below 15 years of age will pay $10. The foreign non-residents will, however, pay $30 for adults and $15 for children below 15 years.
"The need to harmonise tourism tariffs in the East African region is what has compelled us to act in this way. We under took the measure after extensive consultations with other stakeholders in the region," Mapesa said.
It is still unclear whether the other East African countries are also going to charge uniform fees to their nationals and the nationals from the other East African states.
The UWA has also increased the tariffs for chimpanzee tracking in Kibale National Park from $70 to $90 for foreign non-residents and from $50 to $70 for foreign residents. Citizens of East African countries will pay UShs60,000.
A single day for the chimpanzee habituation experience which involves spending 12 hours watching the chimpanzees feed, play, care for their young and construct nests will cost foreign non-residents $220, foreign residents $150 while the citizens of East Africa will pay $70.
Foreign non-resident persons are the people who come into East Africa exclusively as tourists and do not have any sort of residences while the foreign residents are the people currently residing in East African as expatriates or otherwise.
Gorilla tracking fees have also increased: tracking permits in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are now at $500 for the foreign non-residents, $475 for the foreign residents and UShs250,000 for East Africans. Ugandans too will pay Ushs250,000 up from the previous Ushs150,000.
In an attempt to attract more locals into the tourism sector, the UWA is encouraging people by reducing entrance fees this festive season, harmonising tariffs for East Africans and expanding points of accommodation at most of the major tourist attractions.
"there has been an extensions to Kyobe and Pakuba lodges, we have also received requests to reconstruct Katurumu lodge at Kidepo Valley National Park and Kyambura in Queen Elizabeth is being expanded,blogcatalog" content="9BC9161900"
