Tourism

In Uganda, gorilla tourism started with Walter Baumgärtel, who operated the Travellers Rest Hotel in Kisoro from 1955 to 1969. In 1978, the Mountain Gorilla Project in Rwanda started to habituate gorillas for tourists. The rationale for tourist visits is to assist gorilla conservation by generating revenue from them.

From 1973 to 1989, the results of censuses of the Virunga gorillas increased from 261 to 324 individuals. Some people think that tourism is the reason for this positive development.

Currently, several areas offer the opportunity to visit eastern and western gorillas. In order to avoid stress for the apes, the number of tourists visiting a gorilla group is usually restricted to 8 and the time the tourists are allowed to spend with the gorillas is limited to one hour in order to avoid a negative impact on the animals.

Many people make a profit in this business and there is the risk that for them their profit is more important than the protection of the gorillas. Only very strict control at a state level can stop individuals from disregarding the rules. Approaching closer to the gorillas than is permitted by the regulations dramatically increases the risk of disease transmission. Every single tourist has to be aware that his or her behaviour determines whether tourism is useful or harmful for the gorillas.