This archive report was first published on 2 July 2020.
On July 2, 2020, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Najib Balala, announced a significant reduction in park entry fees to boost local tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new fees, which will apply from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, will see local tourists paying Sh150, down from the previous Sh300.
According to Balala, the reduction in fees is aimed at encouraging Kenyans to visit the country's national parks and reserves, which have been severely affected by the pandemic.
“Due to the adverse effects of Covid-19 on the tourism and wildlife sector, we have reduced entry fees to all wildlife game parks and reserves by 50 percent. This will apply to all categories of tourists (local, residents and international), effective 1st July, 2020 for one year,” said Balala.
As part of the initiative, Balala also announced a one-year moratorium on lodge owners in all the parks and reserves, and slashed fees paid by filmmakers shooting documentaries in the parks by half.
He called on Kenyans to take advantage of the affordable park entry fees to see the beauty, flora and fauna available in the national parks, and on lodge owners to use the money from the moratorium to invest in refurbishment and work with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to promote parks and Kenya as a preferred tourism safari destination.
