Safaris in Tanzania

Safari Club have been advised by the Tanzania National Parks Board that entry fees for Selous Game Reserve are to be increased by twently US Dollars per day with immediate effect and that a twenty five dollar conservation fee is also being introduced effectively more than doubling the daily cost of visiting the reserve.
Meanwhile safari operators in Ruaha National Park are now having to pay a concession fee of thirty to fifty US dollars a day on top of the park fees also significantly increasing the daily cost of visiting this magnificent park.

Ruaha and Selous are the principal parks in Southern Tanzania and these magnificent wilderness areas have become increasingly popular as an alternative to the better known parks further North which can be crowded and expensive to visit in peak season.

It is only natural that the Tanzanian Government should wish to maximise revenue from tourism from this unique resource for the benefit of local people. If local people can see the benefit in terms of employment, training, healthcare and education that the presence of this wildlife can bring to them they will have a vested interest in ensuring that Ruaha and The Selous remain as unspoilt Wilderness areas for future generations to enjoy.
Safari Club hope that the additional income will be wisely spent.

Meanwhile a debate has been raging in Tanzania over Government plans to build an International Airport in the Serengeti and a number of large new hotels and improved roads in an attempt to dramically increase the number of tourists visiting the Serengeti.

Both those for and against cite the Maasai Mara just across the border with those in favour pointing out the huge tourist revenue generated in Kenya. The environmental lobby point to the damage to the infrastructure of the Mara caused by too many safari vehicles and that the number of tourists seriously influences wildlife behaviour and spoils the enjoyment of the Maasai Mara.

The Maasai Mara has acommodation for five times the number of Safari visitors in an area only one sixth of the size of the Serengeti so some expansion is inevitable. It is to be hoped that the the Tanzanian Government maintains its commitment to low density high quality tourism and does not over develop the finest wildlife sanctuary on our planet

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