Rwanda is expecting to earn more revenues from gorilla visits this year as opposed to last year, according to the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).

Although RDB is not giving this year’s projected revenues, $9.6 million was earned in 2011 from 20,000 visitors every year.

According to Rica Rwigamba, head of tourism chamber in RDB, Rwanda collects $10 million from all national parks and over 90 per cent of this comes from Virunga National Park, home to the mountain gorillas.

From the 2010 census, there are over 480 gorillas left in the volcano Virunga Mountains shared by Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

However, this optimism comes amid grumblings from international tour operators about the rise in permit prices.

In February this year, RDB increased the price of gorilla permits, which takes effect this month.

The new arrangement will see non-resident foreigners pay $750 as opposed to the current $500 to visit the gorillas; foreigners residing in Rwanda will pay $375 instead of $250, and Rwanda nationals $50, up from $33.

RDB decided to hike permit prices because there is a growing demand for gorilla tourism as well as growth in their population.

“We are carrying out a study to see the effect of the increased permit price since it became operational this month; tour operators are not happy,” said Edwin Sabuhoro, the head of tourism chamber in the Private Sector Federation.

In 2008, there were almost 20,000 visitors to Volcanoes National Park, gorilla trekkers accounting for roughly 85 per cent of those.

As the allure of the mountain gorillas continues to grow, the demand for permits will eventually exceed the supply available, which is now the case during peak trekking seasons.

Increasing the already high price for a permit is an option but will only be advantageous to a certain point, after which clients will simply choose to trek elsewhere—trekking is also available in the Ugandan and the DRC sections of the park.

Revenue from gorillas will reach a point of saturation, where the exponential rise in profit, that has marked the last decade, will ultimately mature.

The decision to increase the price was done without due consultation with stakeholders, according to the PSF.

Mr Sabuhoro said, foreign tourists find Rwanda an expensive destination, which is a potential factor in holding back tourists.

“Compared with East African countries, Rwanda is very expensive for tourists because of lack of competition in hospitality facilities,” added Sabuhoro.

Rwanda’s tourism receipts leaped to $200 million in 2010, up 14 per cent from 2009. In 2011, the sector generated $251 million.

The population of mountain gorillas has increased by 26.3 per cent over the past seven years with a 3.7 per cent annual growth.