Kenya: Masai Mara Reserve to Discourage Budget Travelers

No Comments | January 24th, 2007 | Trackback

The popular Masai Mara wildlife park may soon be off limits to budget travelers because the reserve gets more visitors than it can handle. The Kenya Tourist Board is implementing plans to discourage low-spending travelers from visiting the park, hoping to reduce the numbers of tourists without reducing the revenue the park produces. Daily park fees are set to increase 135 percent, hotel rates will be standardized with a tax added to produce more revenue per guest, and that levy will be used for park improvements. The plan is to take an elite rather than mass market approach to save the park from degradation. According to rangers, roads are totally degraded in places, animals are being harassed, and off-road driving is damaging grasslands. During heavy rains in December the roads became impassable and many tourists were stuck for eight hours in bogged-down vans. Officials hope to have the full plans in place by March.