Uganda Gorillas and Conservation.

Well planned tourism in Uganda offers key benefits to local communities. Ever wondered where that dollar, pound or euro goes when you visit  Uganda for a Gorilla Safari? Used wisely, the money you spend during your trip to Uganda can have a huge impact on local communities and the future of the country’s natural heritage. For communities in and around Uganda’s protected areas, well planned tourism in Uganda can result in employment and improved livelihoods, as well as encouraging local people to become destination stewards who defend and protect important ecosystems from overdevelopment or degradation. This encourages positive growth while protecting the natural resources on which the destination and its communities depend. By hiring local guides, buying locally made crafts or participating in a community tourism experience, you contribute directly to the well-being of that community and help to encourage its support of conservation. A programme supporting sustainable tourism in Uganda’s Albertine Rift (STAR), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and is helping to build the capacity and standards of community tourism experiences and the tourism services within the parks. Support includes training for guides and community tourism enterprises; assistance with development of tourism facilities and services; Supporting these connections is not always an easy task. There are many factors at play, including conflicts between communities and parks leading to poaching and other illegal activities. Communities need to benefit from the parks that border them. By visiting these areas and paying for local services, activities and crafts you can help to support communities and conservation.
How your holiday can contribute to communities

• Take a Batwa forest walk in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and support 24 Batwa households.
• Enter one of Uganda’s national parks and 20 percent of your entrance fee goes to the communities around the park.
• Spend time learning how to weave a basket with the Kikorongo Women’s Group. With just five visitors the community makes enough money to sustain the average household for two months.

Responsible Travel Tips

• Ask for permission before photographing or filming local residents.
• Support businesses that follow environmentally and socially responsible tourism practices
• Use companies that hire local tour guides and use local services for truly authentic experience
• Buy crafts made by local artisans and your money will go directly to the communities
• Avoid products made from threatened animal species or natural resources
• Keep to designated walking and driving trails leave only footprints and or tyre marks and take only pictures and memories