Policy issues effecting entrance and lodging fees at National parks: options for Zimbabwe The Southern African Experiment

The National Park System of Zimbabwe is a main attraction for foreign tourists and an important contributor to the economic well being of the country. It contains large numbers of elephants, lions and other types of magnificent African wildlife. The entrance and lodging fees currently charged of foreign visitors to Zimbabwe parks should be significantly altered. They are too low to serve as an effective restraint on the demands made by humans on ecological systems. They forego large potential revenues that could be achieved with a higher fee structure. The current charge at Victoria Falls of US $10 per foreign visitor per day, for example, could be increased to US $25 without much effect on total levels of visitation. Significant increases in entrance fees, as well as lodging rates, could also be made at other Zimbabwe parks. The higher revenues could be employed to provide better park visitor services and greater protection of park resources. Other desirable changes in policies for entrance fees and lodging rates for foreign visitors include: (1) wider variability in fees from one park to another; (2) smaller discounts for longer stays in a park; (3) half-price discounts for children up to age 18; (4) increased charges for noncommercial vehicles; (5) significantly higher rates for lodging facilities in Zimbabwe parks; and (6) major improvements in booking arrangements for park lodging. It is estimated that revised park entrance fee and lodging rate policies along these lines could roughly double the total revenues earned by the National Park System of Zimbabwe to a new level of perhaps US $10 million per year or more.