Experts have said Uganda can ably tap into cultural tourism in a bid to grow numbers for travelers to the East African country, nicknamed the Pearl of Africa.
Speaking during the second annual tourism development program review conference at Hotel Africana in Kampala, Pearl Hoareau Kakooza the person of the UTB board said Uganda being a multicultural country, with each culture comprising unique features is a comparative advantage that can be used to draw more numbers for travelers.
"Let us promote our culture. Kenyans or Tanzanians don't have this. Uganda can promote its culture as aa unique tourism product where we have a comparative advantage than many other countries. Our culture is something wonderful we can offer to visitors," Kakooza said.
The UTB board chairperson mentioned Kasubi tombs, the burial grounds for Buganda Kings and Namugongo as some of the products around culture that the country can ably tap into by promoting them widely to attract a big number of travelers to the country.
"The Kasubi tombs have stood a test of time having been built in 1800. This is a unique story that one would be interested in listening to, by visiting the place. Many people would be willing to know how the tombs which are a living monument have come alive."
The numbers
Uganda's tourism industry last year exhibited significant recovery at 82% compared to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
To this, Uganda recorded 1.27 million tourists, a 56.4% increase from 2022 and contributing 3.2% of all the tourist arrivals in Sub Saharan Africa's total arrivals of 8.85 million.
Uganda's key source markets in 2023 were India, USA and Kenya, with a majority of these coming for business, visiting friends and relatives as well as leisure.
Tourism contributed USD 2.8 billion which is 5.5% of Uganda's GDP and support over 610,000 jobs.
Marketing
Richard Kawere, the principal of the Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute in Jinja said government should not stop marketing the country's unique tourism features to both the citizens and outside world.
"If Coca Cola and Pepsi are still marketing, we should also continue marketing. Consistency is key in everything. Uganda should be consistent while carrying out its marketing. This year we are in this market, the other year in another market. That is a lack of consistency. Let us be resilient and consistent. Even when the results at the time may not be very fruitful, we need to consistent," Kawere said.
"We should be identifying our strong tourism products and using them as our strongest links and work around these to market the other products."
Speaking during the function, the Minister for Finance, Matia Kasaija said government has prioritized tourism as one of the sectors to drive the economy.
He said the budget for the financial year 2025/ 26 will provide for tourism development agenda which emphasizes unlocking constraints to tourism development.
"This will require improving the roads, ICT and other infrastructure in all tourism sites but also ensuring security and countering negative publicity and negative travel advisories," Kasaija.
"Government will also promote the un-tapped domestic tourism market to help sustain tourist facilities in very low seasons but also promote and market Uganda by hiring international specialized consultants and bodies."
The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Permanent Secretary Doreen Katusiime said Uganda's tourism industry continues to grow on an upward trajectory.
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She noted that this substantial growth underscores not only the resilience of the country's tourism sector but also its vital contribution to the country's economy.
"The remarkable recovery of our tourism industry is a testament to the collaborative efforts of the Ugandan government, private sector, development partners, and civil society organizations. Together, we are successfully promoting Uganda as a premier travel destination. The performance review conference is a crucial platform for us to highlight the progress we have made over the past year," Katusiime said.
Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Tom Butime said government is committed to supporting the tourism sector.
"We have made significant progress in improving our infrastructure and connectivity. This includes the construction of tourism roads, the introduction of new flight routes facilitated by Uganda Airlines, and the expansion of Entebbe International Airport," Butime said.
