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Park fee increase won`t affect tourism - Meghji
2005-06-12 07:43:49
By Emmanuel Chacha
The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Zakia Meghji, has said that the increase by more than 100 per cent of entrance park fees for Serengeti and Kilimanjaro national parks will not affect the tourism industry in the country.
The minister told the Sunday Observer in a telephone interview that before adjusting the park entrance fees, her ministry, Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) and Tanzania Tour Operators Association (TATO) held extensive consultations and that they were satisfied with the new park fees.
``We had consultations with all stakeholders in the country, Europe and America. We were told that the new park fees for Serengeti and Kilimanjaro national parks would not discourage tourists visiting our country. It is a reasonable and affordable fee, ``she said.
Meghji explained that with effect from January next year, the entrance fee to the world’s heritage, Serengeti National Park, would initially be 50 US dollars per adult person per day (24 hrs) while for Kilimanjaro National Park, the fee would be 60 US dollars per person. The current entry fees for Kilimanjaro and Serengeti national parks are 30 US dollars per person per day.
The minister added the park fee for the remaining national parks would remain the same 30 US dollars per person per day.
``Another reason is that Serengeti and Kilimanjaro are peculiar parks in the world. Their inquisitive attractions cannot be found everywhere in the world.
So we don`t think the number of tourists visiting the two parks will drop, but hope, instead, that it will rise to one million by the year 2010,`` she confidently said.
She admitted that the fees were higher than those charged in other countries, particularly the neighboring Kenya, but she was optimistic that the new fees would not lead to the decrease of tourist flow into the country.
Kenya charges less than 30 US dollars per adult person per day for her major parks such as Masai Mara, Amboseli, Samburu and Aderdare while it charges below 20 US dollars per person per day in other small parks.
Earlier, it was said that the Tanapa board of trustees proposed the increase up to 100 US dollars per person per day, for the two legendary parks but TATO strongly rejected the proposal on grounds that a big hike on park entry fees would drastically decrease the number of tourists visiting the country.
This compelled the minister to convene a meeting with TATO, Tanapa and after the comprehensive discussions and consultations, they revised the fees and lowered it to 60 US dollars for Kilimanjaro and 50 US dollars for Serengeti effective January next year.
The Tanapa Board explained that a hike in the fees was necessary to cushion the impact of rising operational costs.
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