Kampala — Now that the long wait for the much heralded Commonwealth Summit is over and the key activities are already underway, the time has probably come to reflect on the planning and preparations for it over the past two years and what positive developments have been generated for Uganda.

I am saying for 'UGANDA' as our visitors will not take any of our infrastructure with them except for hopefully very pleasant memories from 'Uganda - Gifted by Nature', leaving the benefits the summit generated behind for all of us to enjoy.

I recall the public tit and tat with some opposition politicians, when I came out and applauded the efforts of the President and Uganda's delegation at the Malta summit to bring the Commonwealth family to Uganda.

Some scorn was poured over my contention then, that this would present the best opportunity for the country to upgrade infrastructure and create new facilities, all of which would be of benefit to the country in general and the tourism industry in particular.

Well, two years down the line and with an admittedly frantic last minute rush, from which some contractors surely must have made a small fortune, we are now there. The CHOGM juggernaut has started rolling into town and the first major meetings are underway, starting with the Youth Forum in Entebbe.

Any visitor coming to Uganda today will notice the difference between the 'old' Uganda and the 'new CHOGM Uganda' of today. First impressions are crucial to create a positive attitude by visitors and the showcase we put together will undoubtedly fulfil this expectation.

From the moment of first stepping on Ugandan soil at the 'new' Entebbe International Airport to reaching the Sheraton Kampala Hotel and the newly constructed Commonwealth Resort in Munyonyo, massive changes are visible.

A vastly enlarged and improved arrivals area greets our tourist and business visitors at the airport in Entebbe and the installation of the latest technology has made the airport safer and more user friendly for airlines and passengers.

The VVIP lounge was relocated to the former 'old' airport, but there is nothing 'old' about it any longer as Ugandans travelling on domestic flights will soon after CHOGM realise, when the facility is availed to the local airlines.

The upgrading was all part of a 20 year master plan CAA had developed, but would these changes have taken place in such short a time without CHOGM? I personally doubt it!

The road from the airport towards Kampala has been beautified right from the airport boundaries, and a shining new State House now sits above the Entebbe municipality once again, this only being the first landmark change.

Gardening and landscaping as well as road rehabilitation left yet more positive marks in the arrival experience, and Entebbe's Botanical Garden and the Wildlife Education Centre were given a substantial facelift too, as was incidentally the Marty's Shrine in Namugongo and the Source of the River Nile.

Unsightly shacks along the road to the city were removed from the road reserve and lo and behold, buildings were given a new coat of paint - and if not entirely voluntarily by the owners certainly for the optical benefit of all travelling the road.

Umeme rushed much of the Entebbe - Kampala network rehabilitation and upgrades through in record time, and after weeks of inconvenience with daily shutdowns we can now all enjoy once again uninterrupted electricity supply, hopefully not only until the summits end but even after that.

New hotels and meeting facilities were created with financial incentives from government and the results speak the loudest for themselves. The grand old dame of Uganda's hospitality industry, the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, shines as if new again, and the brand new hotels like Imperial Royale, Golf Course, Protea Kampala, Metropole and many others add more options to travellers coming to the city, something which will likely reflect in their prices coming down after the summit for the benefit of Ugandans and foreign visitors.

In fact the new Imperial Royale is set to become a landmark of its own, dwarfing its neighbourhood and adding to the 'new' Kampala skyline. The Commonwealth Resort in Munyonyo was built from scratch, adding value to the Speke Resort and Conference Centre compared to as it was before CHOGM.

Their new marina will undoubtedly become a magnet for lake tourism activities in years to come and the location will be a sure winner to attract MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions) business into Uganda in coming years.

Roads into and around the city have been upgraded and resealed, traffic bottle necks removed, security measures deployed like the CCTV network now covering much of Kampala and the police seems to have been retrained ahead of the summit as they definitely appear friendlier and neater compared with before.

The summit will make us the focus of the Commonwealth for the remainder of the month and much of the world outside the Commonwealth will also keep an eye on us and see how we perform - I have no doubt we will do well and can use the experience to attract yet more such global meetings to Uganda in coming years to the benefit of the economy and Ugandans.

It is my hope for the future that complacency will not creep back into our daily lives, the new green zones will remain as will the flowers and clean road reserves, that the City Council - God hear our prayers - continue to fix and improve roads (even in the remoter areas of town) and the new infrastructure, including the traffic lights, will be maintained in A-one shape.

Government should in fact re-introduce the financial incentive packages given to the hospitality sector and grant them to the entire tourism industry to make the one million arrivals mark a reality in the not too distant future. It is generally accepted that tourism can create jobs at a faster rate than any other industry.

That however also requires giving the Uganda Tourist Board a good enough budget to promote the country and help fill the many new hotels rooms we now have along the Entebbe - Kampala - Jinja axis.

Otherwise hoteliers might soon knock on government's doors to ask for financial bail-outs, which would be much pricier than simply giving Tourism Uganda a million and a half dollars per year to sell Uganda to the world.

That all said, let's now welcome our visitors to Uganda with the warmest and broadest smiles, a flawless delivery of expected service levels, let's pray for good weather and finally give ourselves - at least those of us who supported the summit all along - a pat on the back when the job is well done.

The writer is the Immediate Past President, Uganda Tourism Association