Garonga Safari Camp in the Makalali Conservancy in Limpopo, west of the Kruger National Park, will implement a compulsory daily conservancy levy of R160 (€9) per person from June 1.
Bernardo Smith, Owner of Garonga Lodge, said it was the only property in the conservancy that was implementing the levy.
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Garonga Safari Camp said in a statement that the levy was being imposed to help fund additional security costs for rhino protection and would be charged to all guests, whether bookings occurred before or after the announcement of the implementation of the levy.
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Craig van Rooyen, Director at Tour d’Afrique, said the company has no issues with conservation levies and was informing all agents and clients accordingly. However he added that only adults should pay the levy and not children as the levy would affect family travel.
“The Sabi Sand was the first to initiate the levy and it seems that many reserves are now following suit and, although some lodges still say it’s a voluntary contribution, I see it becoming a permanent charge for 2017. Ideally, tour operators would prefer to have the charge included in the STO rates as this would make it simpler to load and distribute rates and information to our clients,” he said.
