Why Rwanda Increased The Price Of A Gorilla Permit?

Gorilla Trekking is one of the most popular tourist activities in Rwanda and Africa at large. The gorilla trek gives tourists a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the gorillas in their natural environment.

Rwanda is among the most popular destinations for gorilla tours in Africa. In Rwanda, gorilla trekking is done in Volcanoes National Park, Other destinations for mountain gorilla trekking include Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda and Virunga national park and Kahuzi – Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  You can only find mountain gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Among the three countries, Uganda Gorilla permit costs US$700, the Democratic Republic of Congo gorilla permits cost US$400 and Rwanda gorilla permit costs US$1500 (one thousand five hundred US dollars or fifteen hundred dollars). Tourists are always surprised by the expensive permit and the next question asked is why the permit costs so much?

There was a need to make Rwanda a high-end tourist destination – in addition to the expensive gorilla permit, Rwanda has many high-end accommodations like Bisate Lodge, Virunga Lodge, Sabyinyo Silver Back Lodge among others.  By making Rwanda a luxury tourist destination, the government speculates more revenue from the tourism sector.

There is a need to make Rwanda Gorilla trekking a more exclusive experience – Rwanda’s government wanted to restrict gorilla trekking. In other words, to reduce the number of gorilla trekkers to conserve gorillas and their natural habitat.  One of the ways of conserving gorillas is by reducing the number of trekkers to control the destruction of gorilla habitats and disease control.

There is a need to raise funds for community development – part of the profits from Gorilla tourism is given to local communities in terms of clean water, security, better education, better health, and better roads among others.  The more expensive the gorilla permit is the more revenue for community development and the country at large.

There is a need to solicit more funds for Gorilla conservation activities like planting more trees, fighting against illegal hunting, and resettling people from forest reserves among others.

More funds for gorilla conservation activities – The high cost of the gorilla permit means more funds are being generated for conservation activities toward the protection of the gorillas and their habitat. A few decades ago, mountain gorillas were critically endangered and were on the verge of extinction. By then less than 800 gorillas were left. But with the introduction of gorilla tourism which raised awareness about the mountain gorillas and generated funds the trend was reversed and currently there are more than 1000 mountain gorillas.

With the gorilla population on a steady increase, the gorillas will need more space. Rwanda is therefore taking a very ambitious project to expand the boundaries of the park to accommodate more gorillas. Therefore, the high cost of gorilla tracking in Rwanda will help expand the home of the gorillas.

The fact that mountain Gorillas are highly endangered species, and there is a need to conserve them and their natural habitat for the coming generations.