Mountain Gorilla Tourism - Past & Present

Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) Tracking Tourism is one of the most lucrative form of tourism in a few African Countries ie Uganda, Rwanda, Congo. It not only generates important revenue for conservation efforts but also benefits the local communities surrounding the mountain gorilla parks of Uganda, Rwanda and Congo. However mountain gorilla tourism not only yields positive impacts. Analysts and scholars have established that it brings with it the threat of disease transmission into the mountain gorilla population. Human to Gorilla encounters that exist between gorillas and tourists in different mountain gorilla tracking destinations such as Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga National Park and Parc Nationale des Volcans (Rwanda) are likely to contribute to the risk of disease transmission. Therefore the future of gorilla conservation together with mountain gorilla tourism, the backbone of Uganda and Rwanda's tourism industry need to be well planned for in order to attain sustainable tourism development. From this blog we discuss the role of mountain gorilla tourism, Benefits to the Local communities, Threats to Mountain Gorilla Tourism Development and Policies that should be taken to enhance both Conservation and Tourism Development in Africa.