Tourism budget allocation a drop in the ocean - Sector players

TOURISM | BUDGET | ALLOCATION 

“By November 2020, we already knew that we would have a good year and by February, 2021, we were already overwhelmed by bookings from our clients,” that is what Amos Wekesa, the executive director of Great Lakes Safaris, one of Uganda’s leading tourist agencies said then. 

Six months later, things changed, the COVID-19 outbreak was announced in Uganda, bookings were cancelled, travel banned and the impact of COVID started being felt in the tourism sector. 

In response, to drive recovery government developed a stimulus package and a grant from the EU was expected to prop up the sector. 

Tuesday (June 15), as the Minister of Finance, Matia Kasaija stepped to the podium to present the 2022/23 national budget, the hope was that the tourism sector that was posting huge returns before the COVID pandemic would receive a big allocation. 

Shs194.7b was allocated to the sector to drive it back to pre-pandemic levels and beyond by prioritizing the facilitation of the Uganda Tourism Board brand, sustaining and upscaling investment in tourism infrastructure like roads, electricity, and internet, security, among others. 

Speaking to The New Vision, Boniface Byamukama, the chairman Exclusive Sustainable Tourism Uganda, noted that allocations did not go to areas of immediate impact.

“When government recently re-launched the Explore Uganda Pearl of Africa Campaign, we imagined we were on track to revamp the sector which was hit harder by Covid, now look at how much we have. 

The tourism sector thrives on marketing, if you have nice roses and you don’t go out telling people, who will buy them,” Byamukama wondered. 

Jean Byamugisha Executive Director Uganda Hotel Owners Association said: “Before Covid-19 broke out, we were contributing $1.6b in revenue. This has dropped and we needed a bigger uplift. We currently pay 25% taxes annually which hurts our businesses and we did not receive any stimulus package during Covid. 

What will this money do to revamp the sector? Clearly, we are headed nowhere and the sector will struggle for a while as private players take the lead.”

In 2016, the government appointed international firms to market Uganda abroad. 

Although this yielded some results, sector players insisted that it was only fair that marketing is handed to them as they best understand Uganda’s tourism.