The Kenya Wildlife Service has increased fees for
tourists visiting national parks, game reserves and other wildlife
sanctuaries, sparking an outcry from key players in the tourism sector.
In an advertisement published on January 13th 2014, KWS said that nature lovers will pay more starting January for visits to the national parks, game reserves and sanctuaries that it manages.
The
new fees arise from a 16 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) imposed on
tourism activities following the implementation of the VAT Act 2013 in
September last year.
In an advertisement published on January 13th 2014, KWS said that nature lovers will pay more starting January for visits to the national parks, game reserves and sanctuaries that it manages.
“KWS would like to inform our esteemed clients
that all conservation fees for national parks, reserves and sanctuaries
under KWS management will be adjusted to include 16 per cent VAT from
January 2014,” said the notice published in Monday’s Daily Nation.
This came in as a huge blow to Tourism industry in Kenya. Players
in the tourism industry at the Coast expressed outrage at the increase.
The said the region was already losing potential tourists to Tanzania
where game parks charge relatively lower fees compared to Kenya. Kenya has a total of 54 national parks and reserves with the largest of these parks being Tsavo East and West national parks.
No comments:
Post a Comment