By Aaron Ainomugisha. The Pearl of Africa continues to earn a lot of income from her booming tourism industry, though key stakeholders are still concerned over some gaps that should be addressed, for increased profits generated from the country’s extensive variety of tourist attractions.
On December 28, 2023, Mr. Maurice Mugisha, a high-profile Ugandan posted on his Twitter /X account; “8.00AM. Full house in Kibale National Park this morning. Glad to see hundreds of tourists in the park despite the advisories.”
Kibale forest national park is located in Kamwenge district, western Uganda.
Mugisha’s post sparked mixed reactions, with tourism enthusiasts calling for more media coverage and publicity of Uganda’s booming tourism, streamlining the communication and information systems by national communicators, enabling effective and efficient communication between tourists and other stakeholders, tight security for tourists’ safety, consistence, and other reactions.
Amos Wekesa (a tourism expert and investor) – This is beautiful @MauriceMugisha , it’s just been tough but now we need consistence. National communicators need to engage embassies as the army deals with the problem.
Sir Philemon Bwarenga – This is the true congestion I would love to see all year round in Bwindi, Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, Murchison, Mburo, Kidepo & all conservation areas of the land & I can’t say it’s possible but it’s beyond possible with proper communication from our reporters.
Grace Musiimenta – Thank you @MauriceMugisha . Uganda is still the best tourism destination across the world. #VisitUganda.
Monica Rubombora – This is a beautiful site to see, Maurice! It was noticeably more quiet on the FP side this festive season, marked by several cancellations. I’m glad Kibale has defied all the negativity & has triumphed against all expectations!” “A rising tide lifts all boats!” We all win!
Shuaa Safaris Limited – We’ve said before on this platform that when one sector of the economy thrives, the benefits are directly or indirectly felt by other sectors of the economy. If we had this traffic in all the national parks, we all laugh all the way to the bank.
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According to Uganda Wildlife Authority-UWA records, a government agency responsible for the management and protection of Wildlife in and outside protected areas, supervised by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, it manages 10 national parks, 12 wildlife reserves, 5 community wildlife management areas, and 13 wildlife sanctuaries.
All these display the best wildlife, landscapes, tropical forests and extensive variety of flora and fauna.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNER. September 2023 records indicate that tourism is among Uganda’s three leading foreign exchange earner, competing gold and coffee. The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) also confirms that a total of 1,542,620 foreign tourists visited Uganda in 2019, and Uganda earned about $1.6 billion (Ugx5.93 trillion) from these visitors.
The sector is steadily recovering from the COVID-19 shock, and $736 million was earned from 814,509 tourists in 2022. Uganda now targets $5.2b earnings from tourism annually by 2028.
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