Hotel owners elect new executive

Among the historical achievements Uganda's tourism will remember Monday day for— is the election of a new executive council for Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA) at Hotel Africana, Kampala.

UHOA is a trade and lobbying organization that includes almost all of the nation's hotels, lodges, motels, B&Bs, inns and camps among its members. It has over 450 members (hotels).

Having been voted unanimously or contested unopposed, all members who comprise the core team (known as executive council) bounced back into positions they held in 2015/16.

These include Susan Muhwezi of Agip Motel who was retained as chairperson, Byamukama Boniface of Lake Tandara (Safari Company) as vice chairperson, Cephas Birungyi of Cephas Inn (Kabale) as general secretary, Twaha Lukwanzi of Tal Cottages (Kampala) treasurer. By the same token, Jean Byamugisha too retained her position as executive director.

Asked why he voted in favour of the above, Josh Muhereza one of the 75 participants who graced the event observed that in the one year they have been in office, they have achieved over 70% of their targets.

Key among these was the advocacy for Government to reduce visa fees to Uganda from $100 to $50. Since it was effected in July, the start of the new financial year, the move is accelerating the growth of the sector. Tourist numbers are on the rise.

"Unsurprisingly, most of us found it worth entrusting them with the leadership of the association in 2015-2016.We trust they'll take things a notch higher" said the owner of Theresa Guesthouse in Fort Portal.

In her acceptance Speech, Susan Muhwezi promised her team will start off the new chapter by going back to the drawing board. Why? To address concerns they didn't achieve in the last financial year.

One such is lobbying for Government to rehabilitate infrastructure leading to tourism attractions like Ssese Islands and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The poor state of roads leading to such has led to increased costs in operation for Tour Operators.

"This in turn is frustrating the pursuit for Uganda to become a less expensive destination; a limitation that is driving its potential tourists into the arms of regional competitors like Kenya and Tanzania.

Adding her voice to Muhwezi's at the annual general meeting that preceded the election, Jean Byamugisha pledged that the recent classification of their hotels will be looked into. Her pledge follows the cry of many UHOA members that their Hotels were given unbefitting grades by Uganda Tourism Board.

Given that there is no better way to solve a problem than by looking into its root cause first, the new board executive will be given positions in the respective boards of organizations whose decisions directly affect the fate of Uganda's Tourism. Such include Uganda Revenue Authority, Uganda Wildlife Authority, Civil Aviation Authority and Uganda Investments Authority.

The offer to facilitate this realization was made by William Byaruhanga, the Guest of Honour, also Attorney General of Uganda.

"By partaking in the decision making processes of these bodies, I trust that your efforts will help Uganda in achieving its goal—of becoming a middle income country and of eliminating poverty all its citizens."