New Tourism: A charter flight to Rwanda to party with Mountain Gorillas

New Tourism: A charter flight to Rwanda to party with Mountain Gorillas
gorilla in rwanda

Rwanda has opened its tourism after few months of closure, targeting mountain gorilla tracking tourists with a cut in the price of permits for tracking endangered mountain gorillas.

Economic desperation or a justified or mistaken sense of safety could be behind this initiative, but the healthyย  truth hopefully won’t show until at least 2 weeks into the program.

Along with ground tourist travels, the Central African state had resumed international charter flights resuming since mid-last week, Rwandan media reported.

โ€œRwandaโ€™s tourism industry is adapting to create a safe environment for travelers and operators to thrive in these unprecedented times,โ€ said Chief Tourism Officer of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Belise Kariza.

โ€œWe encourage all travel enthusiasts and nature explorers to take advantage of this unique opportunity to venture out and experience the beauty and adventure that our country has to offerโ€, Kariza was quoted saying.

Together with the private sector, the RDB is offering attractive all-inclusive tourism packages for Rwandans, foreign residents and international travelers.

These packages have been designed to showcase Rwandaโ€™s leisure and recreational experiences.

There are also promotional offers available for domestic, regional and international tourists until December 31 at Rwandaโ€™s national parks, Rwandan media had quoted officials saying.

Gorilla trekking permits are now available for US$200 for Rwandans and East African Community nationals residing in Rwanda, US$500 for foreign residents, and US$1,500 for international tourists.

Tour operators and hotel rates offer a 15 percent discount on each permit purchased, which includes one nightโ€™s accommodation and tourism activity.

Earlier this month, the RDB published guidelines for reopening tourism activities during COVID-19. Under the guidelines, domestic tourists visiting Nyungwe Forest and Volcanoes national parks are required to test negative for COVID-19 within 48 hours prior to visiting.

All visitors travelling onย charter flightsย must test negativeย for the virusย within 72 hours prior to arrival and will have to take a second COVID-19 test prior to visiting any tourist attraction.ย The cost of the test will be included in tour packages.

It also said special packages are available for groups, families and corporations on other products in Volcanoes National Park, home to mountain gorillas, and Nyungwe National Park that hosts one of the oldest rainforests in Africa.

Following months of tourism activities’ suspension due to COVID-19, Rwanda’s tourism sector has been negatively affected and efforts are underway to revive through various special tourism packages for tourists.ย Rwanda had generated 498 million dollars in tourism revenues last year.

New Tourism: A charter flight to Rwanda to party with Mountain Gorillas

gorilla trekking

Rwanda’s three primate-dominated national parks, namely, Volcanoes, Mukura-Gishwati and Nyungwe had been closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are over 1,000 mountain gorillas living in the world, of which a bit more than half live in the Virunga Mountains in Congo, where Volcanoes National Park lies, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

They contribute about 90 percent of tourism revenues from Rwanda national parks, the RDB said in February last year. In 2018 Rwanda sold 15,132 mountain gorilla tour permits.

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Avatar of Apolinari Tairo - eTN Tanzania

Apolinari Tairo - eTN Tanzania

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