TOURISM | DET | TUGATA

KAMPALA - A delegation from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) is in the country to train local travel agents under their umbrella body, ‘The Uganda Association of Travel Agents’ (TUGATA) on how to improve their business.

The DET Assistant Manager, International Operations (Africa), Tareq Binbrek, said Uganda is a big market source for Dubai tourism.

During a meeting with over 60 TUGATA members at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala on (Tuesday), he said before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an impressive and steady growth in tourism numbers from Uganda.

“We are confident that we can achieve this again shortly and this event is our kick-off for further events to strengthen our partnership with Uganda,” he added.

The DET Regional Director of International Operations, Stella Obinwa said with about 400 travel agents and tour operators in Uganda, show a big potential to support the development of the tourism sector for both countries if they (agents) get the required support, training, and knowledge.

“That is why this partnership is key, especially after the COVID-19 disruption for nearly two years,” she said.

She said the training focuses on what Dubai has to offer.

“We are showing them what Dubai has to offer, walking them through our icons, our safety, how to get to and from Dubai, and what our hotels have to offer. We want wanted to give them in-depth knowledge about Dubai to help them in their business as they procure outbound travels for Ugandans,” she added.

The TUGATA chairperson, Pearl Hoareau Kakooza said TUGATA members have been trained about the new things in Dubai and have the required knowledge to easily run their businesses and promote local tourism in Uganda.

“We have heard this partnership for the past five years with an MoU but was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. But we have always kept in touch. This partnership was forged when I was in Kenya and as a leader in the travel industry, it is a duty of each committee member to try and loom for advantages and new businesses for our members to benefit,” she noted.

She said among the benefits of the partnership is the ongoing training of the local agents on how to conduct business. 

“As we speak, Uganda is number one in Dubai statistics for Dubai tourism to bring visitors from the South of Sahara. So we want to try to replicate Dubai into Uganda,” Kakooza noted.