“We need more Government support”, Uganda Tourism Industry asks the government

Tour operators have requested the government to increase its funding budget to tourism marketing. Uganda’s tourism is less funded compared to other sectors and this has greatly affected the growth of the industry in terms of Safaris per year. The Tourism industry  is not yet prioritized by the government and it is given little attention. The tour operators have requested the government to increase the funding to at least US$5 million.

Both the World Bank and the government  recently signed a credit financing facility of US$25 million to tourism. Of this money, US$12 million were allotted to the revamping of Jinja Tourism Training Institute (JTTI) and US$3 million was allotted to building capacity in the Uganda Tourism ministry and Uganda Tourism Board.

According to the Tourism Minister (Maria Mutagamba), the remaining USD$10 million has not been used yet. This is the money that the tour operators are asking the government to avail to tourism marketing this year.

Uganda’s funding towards the Tourism sector is still very low compared to that of other countries and this is why the nation takes a small portion of the total African safaris recorded every year. Rwanda provides US$5 million to tourism marketing, Kenya provides USD$34 million, Tanzania provides US$12 million, Burundi provides US$1.5 million and Uganda only US$90,000.

According to the tour operators, the sector needs a minimum of $5 million if the government is serious with tourism as a business. This money will be used to advertise the various tourism attractions that this “Pearl of Africa” has.

Currently, Uganda’s tourism industry is confined with less attention given to it yet it’s a multi-billion sector. The executive director of Uganda Tourism Board, Mr. Cuthbert Baguma said that the government should act immediately if it’s to continue receiving money from the Tourism Industry. He mentioned this during a breakfast meeting in Kampala where the Uganda Investment Authority presented the findings of the constraints to Uganda’s fast tracking tourism development.

Various authorities in the country have been trying to find out the possible cause of the slow development of the tourism industry and one of them is Rebecca Wamono, of the Uganda Investment Authority. She found out that the lack of brand/identity at the international level, negative media publicity that discourages international tourists, inadequate value addition of tourism services and products, and poor infrastructure and utilities like energy, roads and air travel have made it difficult to attract high end international investors and joint ventures in Tourism.

She added that due to the lack of a national carrier and having very few domestic carriers, marketing of Uganda’s tourism sector has been affected because of the reduced number of flights and visitors to Uganda.

“The effect of the 180MW Isimba Hydro Power Projects’ construction on water rafting site of Victoria Nile is huge as well as the lack of national awareness programme for young people and the general public about nature conservation and tourism” Rebecca Wonomo further noted in her findings.

Though the Tour operators are insisting on increasing the marketing funds by the government, the minister of Tourism, Maria Mutagamba advised them to first get united and always compile and present right figures for proper planning. Uganda’s tourism sector is currently disjointed and this has greatly led to the slow development of the sector. However, the minister advised the operators to build competition in the sector by promptly providing the correct tourism statistics and figures.

The chairman of the Uganda Tourism Board, James Tumusiime warned the different grumbling associations in tourism not to make his body a rival of other agency organizations.

The president of Uganda Tourism Association (UTA), Herbert Byaruhanga said that the government should create an enabling environment for local tourism investors through provision of tax holidays and waivers.