Uganda to focus on German tourists

TOURISM

Government is set to intensify its efforts to attract visitors from Germany for conservation tourism, Godfrey Kiwanda, the State Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities revealed during a press conference at the sidelines of the ITB Berlin Tourism Expo.

"You are contributing to conservation when you visit Uganda," said Kiwanda. "You've come to conserve with us. Conservation is expensive, and we can only do it in partnership with you.

We want to make tourism everybody's business," said Kiwanda, adding that Uganda would pursue more tourism partnerships and embark on more aggressive marketing through digital marketing campaigns.

Germany is Uganda's third-largest source market, and its growing interest in Uganda's nature and cultural offerings has made the local tourism authorities intensify their efforts to grow this market according to a statement from the Ministry of Tourism.

Uganda prepared and served-'rolex' to the world during the ITB Berlin Tourism Expo 2019 (Courtesy Photo)

The country already has a very strong focus on the conservation of its natural habitats and wildlife, and highlighted in the press conference was the dual benefits to Germans of visiting the country through ‘travel with a purpose'.

"The pearl of Africa (Uganda) is currently not packaged in a way that is easy for the German market to understand," noted Lilly Ajarova, the CEO of Uganda Tourism Board (UTB). "The country needs to improve on its marketing, and look to the younger market (millennials and Generation Z) and their high level of activity on social media. By the end of the year we will increase our digital activations," she added.

According to Hana Kleber, the CEO of KPRN, a destination marketing firm, Germans love to mix and mingle with locals.

"Millennials especially like to mix with the locals and understand their culture and Germans also like to see developments in conservation," She said.

Uganda is known for its gorilla and chimpanzee interactions, but is looking at further developing its cultural experiences. Uganda has also dedicated substantial resources towards conservation of its flora and fauna.

Sam Mwandha, the Executive Director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), said 10% of Uganda's 260 000 square kilometers is made up of national parks, "so we need conservation. We also need people to be able to live [alongside wildlife] - so 20% of fees charged to enter national parks goes to those communities."

Tourism is currently Uganda's leading foreign exchange earner, bringing in in excess of $1.45b annually.