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Tourism in Rwanda: $1,500 for an hour with the gorillas
Tourism in Rwanda: $1,500 for an hour with the gorillas
(SPECIAL SUBJECT / FRANCE 2)
Thirty years after the genocide, here is the new face of Rwanda. “Special Envoy” was able to film an extraordinary encounter in the Volcanoes National Park, where Loïc de La Mornais accompanied a group of tourists. This is the last sanctuary of mountain gorillas…
In Rwanda, a small group of privileged people are about to experience an adventure that they will remember for the rest of their lives. For “Special Envoy”, Loïc de La Mornais accompanied them to the Volcanoes National Park, located in a cross-border region of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These tourists are going to meet the mountain gorillas, whose trackers have spotted a family thirty minutes walk away. Ban on drinking and eating, mask obligatory to avoid transmitting diseases to them, because gorillas share 98% of their DNA with us.
It’s a “incredible moment” who awaits them, and a “great emotion”. The group comes across a whole clan of gorillas: several females with their babies on their backs, a few young ones… all under the protection of the patriarch, an imposing silverback. The monkeys pass quietly among the tourists, very close, almost touching them. Impressive…
Elite tourism assumed by the Rwandan government
Only a few dozen tourists per day are allowed in the park, and this encounter comes at a high price: 1,500 dollars (nearly 1,400 euros) for an hour with the gorillas. “The money we collect from tourism allows us to finance the entire conservation of these great apesexplains the park guide, Constantin Twagiriezu. Thirty years ago, there were only 200 mountain gorillas left. There are now more than 1,000. It was a critically endangered species; today it is an endangered species. Even though they are still under threat, this is huge progress.”
The guide was still a child during the genocide in 1994, but he remembers that “everything was destroyed, including tourism”. The return of tourists and the increase in gorilla populations are therefore very good news: “It’s beautiful, it’s full of hope.”
Excerpt from “Thirty years later: the new face of Rwanda”, a report to watch in “Special Envoy” on March 28, 2024.
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