Uganda’s Tourism at Boom

Have you ever wondered why some tourist destinations are considered to be better than others or why visitors frequent to some countries for safaris compared to others? Do you wish to pay a visit to one of the most exceptional tourist destinations in Africa? As the year comes to an end, 2019 has been considered as one of the most exceptional years for Uganda’s tourism sector! Uganda has received a good number of tourists compared to the past years. This is due to a number of factors;

Safety on Safaris

Most of Uganda safaris take place in its 10 (ten) wilderness protected areas. These include national parks and game reserves. The most popular national parks are Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kibale Forest National Park. These parks attract a  good number of tourists interested in gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking and widlife safaris.

The Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Mount Elgon National Park, the Rwenzori Mountains National Park and Kidepo Valley National Park are also growing in importance. The less known Lake Mburo National Park and Semuliki National Park do still need promotion given the treasures that they protect,

Uganda also features about 12 wildlife reserves and 5 community wildlife management areas as well as 13 wildlife sanctuaries. Of these proetected areas, Pian Upe Game Reserve in northern Uganda is becoming a competetive destination to visit for wildlife safaris. There are also suggestions to upgrade this game reserve into a national park so that its resources can be better protected.

Transportation

Like any destination, Uganda’s tourism sector can’t stand alone without transportation means which explains the availability of most domestic and international airlines. It has been observed that more international airlines have started daily flights to Entebbe International Airport. There are more entrants into the airline business and Uganda has managed to revamp its own airline. By August, this airline will be flying to atleast 3 locations in East Africa.

In terms of roads, the government of Uganda has tried to upgrade major roads linking different tourism destinations in Uganda. More new road networks have been established to link up to the remotest protected areas where most of tourist attractions and activities are found.  This will further ease travels across the country and less travel times will make journeys shorter.

Accommodation

Besides, about 2 (two) most spectacular 5 star and 6 star hotels have also opened for tourists on safaris in Kampala. More hotels and safari lodges mean more beds are becoming readily available for visitors looking to explore Uganda. The level of hospitality has also improved and hotel rooms are becoming cheaper than never before.

Marketing

The boom in the country’s tourism sector is accredited to the vigorous marketing efforts of Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) as well as other stake holders like the tour operators and many others. For this year, UTB has effectively used some of the most efficient marketing channels that have eventually positioned Uganda on the world tourism map. Besides the fruitful public relations campaigns in European and North American mainstream media, Uganda Tourism Board has also taken the advantage of the current effective marketing medium especially social media. Starting next year, UTB also plans to attract more African visitors basically the middle class in Kenya, South Africa and West Africa by hiring public relation firms to market Uganda to Kenya, South Africa and West Africa. Based on the current survey, UTB was rated the second in Africa in the top tourism boards on twitter, this was after South Africa. Uganda was also rated the fourth best destination in the world to visit in 2017 by the Rough Guides the leading UK travel publisher.

The Volatile Tourism Industry

Growth in Uganda’s tourism started about 10 (ten) years ago following the end of civil wars that for long affected the northern and western sides of Uganda and as a result affected tourism activities at a time especially around the 1990s and early 2000s. Around 1990, Uganda received over 69000 tourists and in 2007, it drastically shot up to 642000 when the civil unrests finally stopped. The tourism sector has kept on rejuvenating year after year unlike in 2009 when the figures dropped from 844000 to 806000.

In conclusion, Uganda’s tourism sector is booming mainly due to its wide range of tourist attractions as well as the aggressive marketing strategies. Tourists come to enjoy various attractions based on their interest. Largely most tourists are attracted to Uganda’s wildlife species in the national parks while others come for culture, faith tourism and adrenaline adventures like white water rafting, bungee jumping, kayaking, quad biking and many more.