Uganda Wildlife Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with AUTO (Association of Uganda Tour Operators) where for every thirty gorilla permits bought by members of Association of Uganda Tour Operators, one gorilla permit will be rewarded to them. One gorilla permit costs USD600.00 and this money will then help tour operators under their umbrella organization to market Uganda as a gorilla trekking destination domestically and internationally. This MOU between UWA and AUTO is seen as a positive development where Uganda Wildlife Authority will concentrate on its prime duty of conserving wildlife for generations while Tour Operators and Uganda Tourism Board will put their efforts in Marketing and promoting Uganda internally and abroad.

MOU between UWA and AUTO

This memorandum of understanding took effect onn1st Sept 2015 and this commission of one gorilla permit per person will be given every after three months such that three permits are given to representatives of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators who will then sell them to their members at an agreed price. MOU between UWA and AUTO is indeed a good development but individual tour operators are still questioning how this one gorilla permit per thirty gorilla permits booked with Uganda Wildlife Authority will be sold. There asking as to which criteria will be used to make sure that all tour operators benefit. There individual companies that purchase over 30 gorilla permit per month and others that do not purchase any so how will AUTO choose who should benefit and who should not.

This MOU between UWA and AUTO however is seen as another positive move to retore the relationship between the two that had gone wrong when Uganda Wildlife Authority tried to put gorilla permit online for everyone to view and book. Uganda Tour Operators vehemently resisted this and it was suspended. With the coming in of new management at AUTO, negotiations then started and what we see are benefits such as this