Uganda urged to build on Indaba tourism award

Private tour companies have asked the government not to bask in the glory of the recent tourism accolades at the just concluded Africa travel meeting in South Africa but to build on it.

Uganda won the gold award at the annual Africa Travel Indaba held in Durban, South Africa earlier this month. It is the third time Uganda has taken home the gold award, having won it in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Travel Indaba brings together international buyers, media and business personnel. Led by Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), Uganda beat Namibia and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to this year's crown.

Uganda's stand at the world's third biggest tourism event, showcased the Mountain Gorillas and an array of cultures, a portrayal that operators say Uganda should build on.

"Winning gold at Indaba shows that Uganda is largely ripe to embrace the travelling world," Alice Akite, operations manager at Fahari Uganda Safaris, a Ugandan tour operator said.

"If we can portray and capture the world's attention in just a stand, we should now do more to lure actual visitors into the country."

Uganda has now set very ambitious targets of attracting four million tourists by 2021- just two years away. Currently, the country is attracting about 1.6 million tourists.

Akite says realizing these targets requires a concerted effort but with a heavy hand of government investment and focus.

"We are trying to follow the trends and diversify our offerings with a major focus on not only wildlife but cultural tours as well, our country is not short of what to offer the world and we can clearly stand out from the crowd as we did," said Akite.

During the festival, Professor Ephraim Kamuntu, minister of tourism, wildlife and antiquities was quoted by local media saying:

"Uganda has been recognized and given an award in the very competitive Indaba Travel show. This has come as a result of harmonized and sustained effort from the Ugandan team to promote and market Uganda as a preferred tourist destination. Uganda has a lot to offer on the international market. It is ranked by international platforms, from CNN, BBC, Lonely Planet, Rough Guides or National Geographic."

UTB's chief executive officer, Lilly Ajarova said the country put a lot of work into its exhibition stall to ensure that it captures all elements of tourism in our country; that is wildlife and cultural heritage, whilst also ensuring that the spacing would enable close interaction with our visitors.

"We are elated to have won gold as the best exhibitor at this year's Indaba fair. This is a true testament to Uganda's immense natural endowment and also shows that the world is appreciating our tourism potential. This, therefore, calls for concerted efforts to market our country to the world because we offer the most complete tourist experience," Ajarova said.