Refunds for gorilla trekking due to Covid-19
Question
Hi! We were supposed to come to Uganda in September but found out our flights are now cancelled due to Corona virus. Since the gorilla trekking authorities have strict refund policies, do you know if they have any other rules during these Corona-times?
Seems like it would be very unfair that they don’t offer a refund if flights are cancelled. Does anyone know anything? So hard to get information! Thank you!
Answer ( 1 )
The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has updated the advisory on gorilla trekking in Uganda’s national parks extending validity of different permits till 2022.
In a 13 May 2020 statement to tour operators and businesses, the conservation and national parks agency has said it is extending the validity of reservations and bookings for a variety of tourism products.
This is good news especially tourists who travel to Uganda for the most popular activities of gorilla and chimp tracking. All permits booked for tracking can now be rescheduled to a later date that is convenient to visitor up to end of December 2022.
The statement comes in the wake of cancellation of tours, and all activities in Uganda’s national parks due to the COVID19 pandemic. As at the time of writing Uganda has 160 covid19 infections, 63 recovered and zero deaths. A large number of infections is from international truck drivers.
Because the great apes are susceptible to human infections, the Uganda Wildlife Authority has suspended all tracking activities in Uganda. The Authority will be issuing credit statements to those who paid for the permits to allow them make new reservations. Your tour manager in Uganda can reschedule up to a maximum of two times.
In the meantime, we shall all have to #stayhome and #staysafe due to the lockdowns and travel restriction caused by the #covid19 pandemic. Reservations and tracking will open once the wildlife authority lifts the current suspension on visits to Uganda’s national parks.