Uganda steals the spotlight in Moscow with culture, coffee, and colour

The air at Moscow’s Vystavka Dostizheniy Narodnogo Khozyaystva (VDNH) Exhibition Park carried the scent of fresh-roasted coffee and the rhythm of drums. At the Let’s Travel Expo, visitors kept drifting back to one place, Uganda’s pavilion.

Tour operators, dressed in vibrant kikoi, kanzus, and barkcloth, weren't just selling trips.

They were inviting Russians to step into Uganda to track mountain gorillas through the misty Bwindi forests, to feel the pulse of savannah wildlife, and to taste coffee grown on Ugandan soil.

Traditional music and dance performances by the Ndere Troupe turned the booth into a stage. The drums pulled crowds in, the dancers held them there, and suddenly Uganda was no longer just a pin on a map, it was an experience.

For five days, 28 operators from 22 Ugandan companies filled the space with stories of culture, adventure, and wildlife. Gorilla trekking talks drew long queues, but it was Ugandan coffee that truly won hearts. “Very nice,” said attendee Elizabeth Bondarenko after her first sip. By Sunday, when the expo closed, Uganda walked away with the International Best Exhibitor Award.

This was only Uganda’s second time at Let’s Travel!, the summer tourism forum launched by President Vladimir Putin to put Russia and its friendly nations on the global travel map. Now the largest summer travel event in Russia, the expo saw Uganda share the African spotlight with distinction.

For Uganda’s Ambassador to Russia, H.E. Moses Kizige, the award meant more than a trophy.

“Russia is a key player in Eurasia. When the Russian government recognises you, the whole country talks about you for weeks. People get curious about what Uganda has to offer,” he said. He noted that Uganda-Russia ties are shifting from politics into economic and commercial diplomacy.

Festy Mbabazi, an operator with Avents Tours, saw the recognition as proof of what Uganda already knows.

“We have raised the flag so high and we shall continue to love our country. The world is getting to know about us,” she said.

For her, Moscow was less about competition and more about building connections, partnerships with Russian agents who can bring travellers home.

Beyond the pavilions, the expo pulsed with live jazz and Russian cuisine. But for many visitors, the lasting impression was Uganda: the colour of the dress, the warmth of the welcome, the taste of the coffee, and the promise of gorillas waiting in the forest.