Uganda tour operators harvest over sh3.6b in Netherlands expo

TOURISM

Tour packages close to over $997,734 (sh3.6b) were sold by tour operators at Uganda's stand, as reported by tour operators who participated.

Not even could the biting cold of the European winter dampen the Ugandan warmth and charm that has seen tour operators sign business deals of over sh3.6b at the just concluded Vakantiebeurs Travel Expo.

The Benelux countries' largest travel expo held in the city of Utrecht attracted nine Ugandan tour operators to the Dutch city of Utrecht.

The Vakantiebeurs is a major tourism and leisure/holiday fair attracting visitors from the Benelux that is Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. This year, it brought in at least 232,000 tourism business and visitors from around the world.

From Uganda, came Cheetah Safaris, Pearl Afric Safaris, Alpha Rent a Car, Kagera Safaris, Sun Africa Expeditions, Kara-Tunga Arts & Tours, East African Trek Safari, Kigezi Biota Tours and Crystal Safaris Ltd.

"Between them, the Uganda operators signed deals worth over $997,734 USD at Uganda's stand," said UTB Chief Executive Officer Stephen Asiimwe. "We were able to track this through the monitoring and evaluation forms the tour operators filled in," Asiimwe said in a statement sent from UTB.

Ugandan's participation in the expo was a fulfillment of a promise by the Netherlands Ambassador  Henk Jan Bakker at the 2017 World Tourism Day in Kalangala. The Dutch government promised to promote and support Uganda tourism by sponsoring stand space of 64sqms at the Vakantier Fair.

In addition, they accommodated the Uganda tour operators and UTB team for the period of the tourism expo 9th-14th January 2018. 

On the sidelines of the expo, team Uganda held four lectures on Uganda tourism presented by Theo Vos of Kara Tunga Art & Safaris, and Edmond Vos Muller of Matooke Tours.