The Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife Rebecca Miano on Thursday defended the proposed hike in national park entry fees across the country.
Speaking after the launch of a new coast tourism circuit in Kilifi on Thursday, Miano said that there was a need for a change in the charges as most of them had been in place for years despite the fluctuating nature of the economy.
“You know with the cost of living going up and management costs and everything escalating, we need to then rationalise the park fees,” Miano stated.
“I have seen for example Nairobi National Park the Kenyan nationals are charged Ksh430 a whole day while the visitors are charged less than 100 dollars for a day these charges have been there for many years. Some of them, 15 years.”
She further stated that she had been working in partnership with industry players and other stakeholders since she resumed the ministry to ensure that the right fees are implemented saying, “There was an issue with park fees. Since I joined this ministry, I have taken time to look at the park fees.”
According to Miano, the proposed park fees are reasonable considering the current standard of living and not as severe as most Kenyans have stated, noting that management fees as well as the cost of maintenance had significantly increased.
“The figures that have been proposed I think are reasonable and this came up as a recommendation by the whole industry.”
Going forward, Miano said that the ministry would perform public participation and even benchmarking activities within the industry to ensure fairness and achieve a win-win situation with everyone involved before the charges are implemented.
“We will continue consulting with the industry so that we have public participation. We have to convince them why we need to review those rates and to even benchmark so that at the end of the day it’s a win-win situation between the country, the travelers, and even the industry players.
In August last year, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) proposed a change in national park fees set to begin this year. The change would see most Kenyans and foreigners pay more to access major national parks in the country including the Nairobi National Park.
Instead of the Ksh430 currently paid at the entrance to Nairobi National Park, Kenyans would now almost five times more at Ksh2000.
International visitors will also suffer a substantial fee hike with their entry charges set to change to Ksh14,330 for adults and Ksh5,015 for children.
