KWS moots new products amid park fees hike
Business
By
Graham Kajilwa
| Jul 23, 2025
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) plans new products, among them a wildlife translocation experience, in its latest review of access fees for parks and conservancies under its management.
The review, if approved, will improve KWS’ revenue to Sh12 billion annually from Sh7.6 billion as recorded in 2024.
KWS has also introduced a new category of visitors, seeking to tap into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the recent scrapping of visa requirements for all African and most Caribbean nations.
The new fees are contained in the Wildlife Conservation and Management (Access and Conservation Fees) Regulations, 2025, which are currently being subjected to public participation.
These fees were gazetted on July 9, 2025 by Cabinet Secretary Tourism and Wildlife Rebecca Miano.
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Some of the new products will be offered through partnerships with the private sector.
Under the animal translocation packages, tourists will have first-hand experience in the relocation of wildlife.
Other products include helicopter tours, balloon safaris, water sports and night game drives, which are already being piloted at the Nairobi National Park.
The review of park entry fees, KWS says, has been necessitated by increased cost of doing business, such as price of fuel and emerging issues, among them climate change.
KWS Director General Prof Erastus Kanga said the last time the fees were reviewed was in 2007.
He said compared to neighbouring markets such as Rwanda and Tanzania, Kenya’s charges “are not equivalent to the superior product it sells.”
“Why are we so cheap, and we are the best in terms of product? We are not an expensive destination the way our competitors want to portray us,” he said.
The new fees will see East African Community (EAC) citizens pay Sh1,500 from the current Sh860 to gain access into Amboseli National Park and Lake Nakuru National Park.
Non-residents will pay $90 (Sh11,700) from $60 (Sh7,800), while visitors from around the continent will pay $50 (Sh6,500). A visit to Tsavo East National Park and Tsavo West National Park will cost EAC citizens Sh1,000, up from Sh300 and non-residents Sh10,400 from Sh6,760 previously. This is an increase of over 200 per cent for EAC citizens and 53 per cent for non-residents.
The entry to Nairobi Orphanage, Nairobi Safari Walk and Kisumu Impala will be Sh300 from Sh215 for EAC citizens and Sh3,250 from Sh2,860 for non-residents.