KWS Raises Park Fees To Invest In Conservation
From January 1st 2012 visitors to any of Kenya’s premium National Parks will pay more than ever in entrance fees. KWS, the Game Parks’ custodian, published a notice on the revision of conservation fees with effect from January 1. The fees are set to rise from $60US to $80US in the aid to contribute more money to conservation efforts in the country. Debates have been on-going on how to raise enough capital to cover the costs of new conservation efforts with Forestry and Wildlife minister Noah Wekesa removing the fluctuating low and high season costs in favour of a standard increased flat rate.
If you are heading out to Africa on a Kenya safari from January then you can expect to encounter this price increase if you are travelling to some of the nation’s most popular parks including Amboseli and Lake Nakuru. The review comes a year after park fees had already been increased giving the KWS an increased turnover of Sh2.8 billion which is a 47% increase on the previous year. Whilst the KWS’s turnover almost doubled, expenditure also increased from Sh3.7 billion to Sh4.6 billion. All revenue earned from National Park fees, currently 96.4% is being used to fund conservation efforts in a time when poachers are upping their game.
With this year on year increase in park fees, Kenya is soon likely to become the continent’s most expensive safari destination. Currently National park fees for people on a Zambia safari are substantially lower than the new 2012 prices issued by the KWS. However the KWS are only increasing park entrance fees due to the predicted increase in tourism for 2012. Visitors increased in the countries National Parks to 549,083 from 483,468 2010 in the months leading up to June.
If you are planning an African safari to Kenya and aren’t planning on visiting the 6 premium parks where the price increase is taking place then its business as usual and you will continue to pay the standard price. Domestic visitors to Kenya’s National parks will continue paying a reduced rate of Sh500 and Sh1000 respectively, whereas tourists from the East African region will pay the inflated rate of Sh750 instead of Sh250.