Uganda Bikers Association set for European tour to promote tourism, culture

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The Uganda Bikers Association (UBA) is set to use a motorcycle tour across six European countries to promote Uganda’s tourism, culture and road safety.

The bikers, in partnership with the Uganda Tourism Board, launched the international motorcycle tour dubbed Pearl on Wheels, a campaign aimed at showcasing Uganda to international audiences through motorcycle tourism.

The campaign will see a team of about 50 Ugandan bikers travel across six European countries beginning June 23, 2026.

UBA president Angela Ssemukuttu said the riders intend to use the tour to showcase Uganda’s heritage, landscapes, hospitality and culture. She noted that the participants had raised personal funds to support the trip and had already secured the visas required for the journey.

“We are very passionate about road safety, about cancer prevention, we love the environment, we protect the environment. We carry the message of UTB and of Explorer Uganda, we are carrying the message of road safety, we are ambassadors of road safety here and outside of Uganda,” Ssemukuttu explained.

The trip will begin on June 22 when the team departs from Entebbe and arrives in Milan, Italy, on June 23, where they will hire BMW motorcycles before starting the journey across Europe.

Ssemukuttu (Left) and Kagwa (Right) during the launch of the motorcycle tour in Europe dubbed ‘Pearl on Wheels’ at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel. (Photo by John Odyek)

The bikers will travel through Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Germany. Ssemukuttu said the first leg from Milan to Chamonix in France will cover about 220 kilometres, giving riders time to adapt to the terrain and weather conditions.

“We want to market our heritage, our culture, the people and the food. Let everybody out there in Europe who has heard about Uganda learn more about Uganda on two wheels,” Ssemukuttu said.

Uganda Tourism Board chief executive officer Juliana Kagwa, during the tour launch on May 14, 2026, at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, described the campaign as a pioneering effort to market Uganda through purposeful travel and citizen-driven tourism promotion.

“So, this is a group of passionate Ugandans who came together, firstly for the love of their biking, but then they realised they can actually bike with a purpose,” Kagwa said.

“And what better or bigger purpose than exporting a brand called Uganda, inviting international travellers who will be on the route, inviting international travellers to come home and experience the Pearl of Africa,” she noted.

Kagwa said the bikers would carry tourism promotional materials and digital content highlighting Uganda’s attractions, wildlife, landscapes, food and people.

“They will be showcasing the best of what Uganda has to offer, because we are going to provide them and facilitate them with content, messaging that drives Explore Uganda.”

She said the campaign would attract attention across the cities the riders pass through, especially because the group is led by women riders representing Uganda abroad.

“And what is more disruptive? What is more attention-grabbing than a group of hot-blooded Ugandans running through your city, led by women? So, we are going to disrupt the European space.

“We are going to grab their attention. And in the most basic means of marketing, we are going to create consideration. Consideration before conversion.”

Kagwa noted that social media and digital platforms would amplify the campaign beyond the physical journey across Europe.

“Because nowadays, everything you do can be amplified to millions and millions of people. And if you are creating purposeful, meaningful content, like demonstrating to all these countries you're going through, that you love your motherland, I'm telling you, we're going further.”

She said the initiative presents Uganda with a rare opportunity to tell its story directly to international audiences through adventure tourism.

“I don't know any other country that has sent bikers, led by a woman, to another nation, another group of nations, to tell the story of their destination, to tell people that there is a reason why we are the pride of Africa, to tell people about our wildlife, about our landscape, about our culture, to tell about our food, about our people. I can't imagine how exciting it's going to be for you guys,” Kagwa said.