Tourisma ministry to revamp the sector
Sep 14, 2011
The tourism, wildlife and antiquities ministry is re-positioning itself and promoting the country as a top tourist destination. “We want to improve roads going to game parks and other tourist attractions to make them easily accessible to visitors. Power and lodges in those places need also to be improved.
By Agnes Nantambi
The tourism, wildlife and antiquities ministry is re-positioning itself and promoting the country as a top tourist destination. “We want to improve roads going to game parks and other tourist attractions to make them easily accessible to visitors. Power and lodges in those places need also to be improved.
“These will help position the country as an attractive destination to foreigners, which will boost foreign exchange earnings,†Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, the tourism minister, said.
He also noted that the ministry would promote domestic tourism to ensure Ugandans feel that the tourist attractions are part of our inheritance.
He said this would attract more foreign tourists and, hence, more foreign exchange receipts.
He was addressing the tourism sector second review conference at Hotel African in Kampala recently. The conference brought together stakeholders in the tourism sector, and aimed at drawing a strategy to enhance tourism contribution to GDP growth, employment and foreign exchange.
It also seeks to make Uganda a top tourism destination in the region.
Kamuntu revealed that the ministry would establish tourism clubs in schools to instill a sense of love towards wildlife tourism and heritage among the young generation.
He, however, noted that the country’s poor infrastructure was presently affecting the development of the sector.
Wasswa Balunywa, the principal of Makerere University Business School, said there was a need to repackage the sector if it is to compete favourably worldwide.
He cited poor work ethics and lack of confidence among Ugandans as major challenges failing the sector to compete favourably. Balunywa was presenting a paper titled Transforming Uganda’s tourism industry to compete on the world stage at the conference.
Meanwhile, Prof. Kamuntu has urged the Government to allocate funds to ministries depending on their contribution to country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Kamuntu argued that this would ensure better returns to the development of each sector.
He wondered why the tourism sector, which contributes 9.2% to GDP gets only 0.14% of the national budget allocation.
“If the Government wants a better return, it should invest where that return comes from,†he said.
The tourism, wildlife and antiquities ministry is re-positioning itself and promoting the country as a top tourist destination. “We want to improve roads going to game parks and other tourist attractions to make them easily accessible to visitors. Power and lodges in those places need also to be improved.
“These will help position the country as an attractive destination to foreigners, which will boost foreign exchange earnings,†Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, the tourism minister, said.
He also noted that the ministry would promote domestic tourism to ensure Ugandans feel that the tourist attractions are part of our inheritance.
He said this would attract more foreign tourists and, hence, more foreign exchange receipts.
He was addressing the tourism sector second review conference at Hotel African in Kampala recently. The conference brought together stakeholders in the tourism sector, and aimed at drawing a strategy to enhance tourism contribution to GDP growth, employment and foreign exchange.
It also seeks to make Uganda a top tourism destination in the region.
Kamuntu revealed that the ministry would establish tourism clubs in schools to instill a sense of love towards wildlife tourism and heritage among the young generation.
He, however, noted that the country’s poor infrastructure was presently affecting the development of the sector.
Wasswa Balunywa, the principal of Makerere University Business School, said there was a need to repackage the sector if it is to compete favourably worldwide.
He cited poor work ethics and lack of confidence among Ugandans as major challenges failing the sector to compete favourably. Balunywa was presenting a paper titled Transforming Uganda’s tourism industry to compete on the world stage at the conference.
Meanwhile, Prof. Kamuntu has urged the Government to allocate funds to ministries depending on their contribution to country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Kamuntu argued that this would ensure better returns to the development of each sector.
He wondered why the tourism sector, which contributes 9.2% to GDP gets only 0.14% of the national budget allocation.
“If the Government wants a better return, it should invest where that return comes from,†he said.