Uganda complimentary Gorilla and Chimp permits for travel agents

Uganda complimentary Gorilla and Chimp permits for travel agents – Gorilla trekking safaris for International travel agents and media personnel –  Budget to Luxury Gorilla, Chimp and wildlife safaris

Uganda complimentary Gorilla and Chimp permits for travel agents – Uganda wildlife authority offers complimentary gorilla permits to come and see habituated mountain gorillas in Uganda’s Bwindi impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park and also chimpanzee permits to come and see habituated chimps in Uganda’s Kibale Forest National Park. This happens on a rare occasion, the reason why many bloggers and travel writers have not paid attention to it. It is true that gorilla trekking and chimpanzee tracking are among the most sought-after tourist activities in the whole world and only takes place in African countries of Uganda and Rwanda. For one to be able to visit any of the habituated mountain gorilla families in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a gorilla permit is required, and it comes at a cost. It is this same gorilla permit that allows one to spend one hour with these great apes in Uganda, Rwanda or DRC. And same applies to the chimpanzee tracking permits in Uganda and Rwanda.

Following the allocation of 200 gorilla and chimpanzee tracking permits to UTB to support the marketing effort for private tourism stakeholders.

Management has revised the set criteria for issuing these permits to ensure proper use, allocation and management to all qualifying licensed tourism stake holders.

This communication serves to share the revised set criteria for complimentary gorilla and chimpanzee tracking permits as attached.

GUIDELINES FOR ISSUING UGANDA COMPLIMENTARY GORILLA AND CHIMP PERMITS TO PRIVATE SECTOR FOR DESTINATION PROMOTION.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has been allocating 200 complimentary gorilla and chimpanzee trekking permits to tourism partners primarily through Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO). These complimentary permits have been allocated to Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) effective 24th August 2024 to ensure harmonized use and management to all the tourism stakeholders for destination promotion.

These permits will be issued to all the qualifying licensed tourism stakeholders as per the UTB revised criteria for issuing complimentary permits. This revised criteria has been developed to ensure proper use, allocation and management of these complimentary permits to the private sector.

The following criteria shall guide the issuance and use of the 200 allocated permits for private sector promotional activities.

REQUESTS FROM TOUR OPERATORS FOR COMPLIMENTARY PERMITS FOR TRAVEL AGENTS AND MEDIA.

• Tour operators requesting complimentary permits shall submit a formal request letter to UTB through the CEO at least three months in advance. The request shall be accompanied by the following documents or information.
• Profiles of the proposed Agents/ travel media.
• Passport copies of the proposed agents / travel media
• Brief itinerary for the proposed FAM trip.
• A copy of tour operator’s UTB license
• A copy of a tour operator’s tax compliance certificate
• A copy of request from the proposed agent company / travel media to the local tour operator requesting for a FAM trip to Uganda.
• DUE DILIGENCE CONDUCTED BY UTB

Upon receipt of the request from the tour operators, UTB shall conduct due diligence to verify the information submitted on the proposed travel companies and travel media to ascertain their credibility.

During the due diligence process, if it’s discovered that false information was provided with one of the proposed travel company, Agent or media, UTB will automatically decline the entire request. No further due diligence will be conducted on the remaining Agents or companies or travel media. The tour operator shall be notified of the decision and will be blacklisted for a period of two years.

RECOMMENDATION AND APPROVAL FOR ISSUANCE OF COMPLIMENTARY PERMITS

• UTB has established a committee to coordinate the use and management of these permits.
• The committee shall receive all the requests submitted to UTB, carry out due diligence and make recommendations to UTB management for approval.
• Upon Management’s approval, UTB shall make a recommendation to UWA to issue permits where the company has met the set criteria, and the Company shall be informed
• UWA shall officially inform UTB on the decision to allocate the permits to the recommended company based on the availability. Upon receipt, the original letter shall be given to the tour company for onward follow-up with UWA reservations office.
• The company shall submit a post FAM trip report with pictorial evidence within a period of one month after the trip and failure to comply, the company shall be blacklisted for two years
• Where travel media has been hosted, UTB shall be given a report and content within a period of one month after the trip and failure to comply, the company shall be blacklisted. Additionally, UTB shall be given ownership and usage rights for the content created for various promotional purposes.
• Given the increased demand from stakeholders, a maximum of four (4) gorilla and four (4) chimpanzee permits shall be allocated to each Tour company per financial year. However, management in exceptional circumstances may recommend more permits.
• The stakeholders are encouraged to apply for these permits at least 3 months in advance and consider requests during the low seasons.

CRITERIA FOR BLACKLISTING COMPANIES THAT MISUSE ISSUED PERMITS / DON’T COMPLY WITH SET CRITERIA.

• When the permit holder is convicted of a tourism-related offense, such as involvement in illegal activities.
• Providing UTB with false or misleading information regarding the proposed agents/ travel media following a thorough verification process.
• Failure to adhere to the permit’s terms and conditions, including unauthorized selling, transfer, or misuse of the permit.
• Engaging in activities harmful to the environment or exploiting primates in their natural habitat.
• When the permit holders are issued permits, and they don’t utilize them.
• Failure to submit a Post FAM trip report to UTB within one month after the trip.
• Periodic review and updating of UTB’s blacklisting guidelines to align with industry changes.
• The blacklisted companies shall be informed officially.
• If the company has violated the set criteria and in the above scenarios, it shall be blacklisted for two (2) years.

WHY BOOK WITH GREAT ADVENTURE SAFARIS.

Our record and experience speak for itself. We have been around for quite some time, and we mastered the two gorilla tracking destinations that we offer. The journey has taken through ups and downs, and we have always raised to the occasion. We have a group of young and motivated staff guided by mature and experienced directors who run our day-to-day activities of the office. We are passionate about what we do, and above all, we are local Ugandans selling our experience to the rest of the world. For more information about Great Adventure Safaris please feel free to contact us.