Uganda Tour operators gain control over Gorilla permits

The long awaited moment by Uganda's tour operators finally came last week when the minister of Tourism.Maria Mutagamba announced that its only the registered Tour companies allowed to view and sell the gorilla tracking permits.This followed a misunderstanding between Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the Association of Uganda Tourism organization (AUTO).

Gorilla Tracking in Uganda

UWA had initiated a programme of putting the gorilla permits online so that tourists intending t enjoy the activity on their Uganda Safari can access them online.This was not supported by the tour operators who sited that it was going to deny them business since tourists will no longer need their services when it comes to obtaining the permits.They therefore urged the government to come out and help them because their businesses were in danger in the project proposed by UWA was implemented.

The government through the minister of tourism put up a committee to find out why AUTO and UWA officials were not agreeing with the new project.When the operators were met,they aired various issues which they think can affect the country once the project is put into action and one of them was the Uganda as a country could loose out on the marketing efforts which it had gained.To them,other countries were going to get a competitive advantage over Uganda once this project is implemented because tour operators from other countries like Rwanda would get clients intending to visit Uganda easily because of the easiness of acquiring the permit.Another issue raise was that putting the permits online will market only gorilla tracking leaving out other key attractions like;Chimpanzee trekking,Cultural tours,bird watching,game viewing,hiking,nature walks, village visits,and many more.

With all the above view,the committee was convinced and it seconded a motion of stopping the project.This opted the minister to write to Uganda Wildlife Authority members stopping them from implementing the project stating that; "all rights concerning viewing and selling of gorilla permits belong to only registered tour operators". This brought back happiness in the hearts of the operators whose hope in business had reduced.

Gorilla tracking is one of the leading tourism activity in Uganda that attracts many visitors from different corners of the world.These rare primates are found in Bwindi Impenetrable forest and Mgahinga National Park.Gorilla tracking can also be done in Rwanda in Mont Virunga National Park.
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