WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PRIVATE CONSERVANCY AND THE MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE?

Private conservancies are owned and managed by private Maasai landowners and supported by investors in the tourist industry. The Masai Mara National Reserve, on the contrary, is owned and managed by a local government authority called the Narok County Government. In the case of private conservancies, the income coming from tourism goes directly to the landowners, in the case of the National Reserve it goes to the local government. The main difference, though, is that private conservancies allow only a limited number of properties/lodges and vehicles to use them, while this limitation does not exist in the National Reserve. Furthermore, private conservancies allow walking and night driving, even if strictly regulated while the National Reserve does not.