Tourism Promises

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Joint Promotion
Promoting Uganda as a tourism destination is best achieved as a collaborative effort between government and private sector players. My government shall therefore prioritize funding to tourism PR and marketing programs as well as providing support through schemes such as matching funding for promotional activities like trade shows.

Kenya, in comparison to Uganda, has hired 20 PR firms to market their country. Uganda has one PR firm currently. Heavy investment in marketing our country’s tourism potential both within Africa and outside Africa shall be a high priority. This shall also include efforts in image management whenever unseemly events occur
Tourism Product Development
A tourist arriving in Uganda willing and able to spend $1,000 leaves the country with $600. My government will seek to broaden the country’s value offer. In working with the different stakeholders in the tourism sector, we shall invest in identifying, developing, and promoting more avenues for deepening tourist spending. Widening the product offer to expand away from nature tourism. This also includes developing opportunities for a diverse range of visitors. Accommodation facilities need to cater for several levels of affordability.
Diversification of the tourism destinations and activities
Majority of the tourism in Uganda focuses on safaris to the 10 national parks. However, there are many other tourism attractions that should be marketed in tandem with the safaris. These include but are not limited to: sport fishing, mountain climbing, birding, cultural encounters and boating.
Competitiveness
Our overarching goal is to prioritize tourism by channeling funds to development projects that are essential to the sector. The availability of efficient and accessible transportation to all major tourist attractions shall be of utmost importance. This includes improving air transport infrastructure so that access to national parks and other attractions can be timely. For instance, building an International Airport in Kasese to cater for the great tourism potential of the Mountains of the Moon (which can recoup up to $500m a year in a few years), as well as the Queen Elizabeth National Park, the crater lakes of the Kabarole region, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and several other destinations in that region. It would also be valuable for the booming cross-border trade with Congo. Another International Airport in Gulu which would be for tourist arrivals for Kidepo, Murchison falls, marine tourism on the Nile, Karamoja mountaineering and several others. The cost of building these airports would be recouped in a few years through the trade and tourist activity they bring with them.
Collaboration
Working together with private sector players, in supporting their access to financing, development of tourist service infrastructure like sufficient quality accommodation shall be achieved. Work with the private sector to improve the number of services on offer especially in marine and culture tourism, to ensure that each tourist is compelled to spend between $1000 and $2500 per visit. Provide incentives for the private players to increase the number of ratable rooms across the country.
Investment and capacity building
My tourism agenda includes not only attracting more tourists coming into the country but also more local and foreign investment into the sector. My government intends to prioritize training in hospitality and customer care, in order to increase the number of hospitality training institutes and ensure that the curriculum offered is reviewed in order to ensure quality training which will result in world-class quality of services in the hospitality industry. This will also have the effect of increasing the number of Ugandans employed in the sector and deepening the talent pool that is available to an investor. This will be coupled with raising awareness of other careers within the sector. The ability to export well trained tourism sector labor would also increase the job opportunities for Uganda’s population.
A Focus on Domestic Tourism
I believe that the domestic tourism market presents an opportunity for tour operators to earn revenue all year long instead of depending on the seasonality of foreign tourists. Marketing that specifically targets the domestic tourist will be emphasized including developing and promoting products and experiences that may appeal more to the locals than wildlife or nature holidays would.
Environmental Conservation
Enhance protection of gazetted National Parks and Forests in order to conserve wildlife and bird species that are unique to Uganda.