Organisers of the Miss Tourism Uganda pageant have unveiled 36 beauty queens from 12 regions of the country.

The ladies were unveiled on Saturday night at Premier Best Western Hotel on Victoria Mall in Entebbe Municipality.

Dr Reginald Lloyd Freeman, the director of the National Executive Advisory Board, said they travelled to several regions of the country while selecting ladies, before coming up with the 36 contestants for the grand finale.

The finale will be held on September 23 at Kampala Serena Hotel from where the winner will succeed Susan Kahunde who was crowned in October last year.

Until then, all the participants remain in the boot camp at the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC) from where they'll be doing sanctioned tours and media appearances.

According to Dr Freeman, several winners of Miss Tourism pageants have been taken to represent Uganda on several forums and platforms in countries like the USA and Russia among others.

"During such campaigns, we have been able to showcase Uganda's tourism products to the rest of the world," he noted.

Rona Kisakye, who is in charge of communications under Miss Tourism Uganda, said the theme Rethinking Tourism is a suitable one at a time when Uganda is striving to position itself as the best tourism destination in the world.

"The Miss Tourism 2022/23 winner will represent Uganda in the different tourism pageants such as the Miss Tourism International, and Miss Tourism East Africa among others," noted Kisakye.

On behalf of the participating queens, Challa Elma Kapel, the Miss Tourism Uganda 2017, appealed for support and sponsorship from entities, organisations and the general public for the Miss Tourism campaign.