Pay more attention to the tourism industry

SIR— Ms Els Boerma’s letter of December 17 challenging Joseph Olanyo’s article “ World Travel market says Uganda’s tourism is hurt by negative travel advice” in Business Vision, page 335 of December 13, cannot go un-supported. Declining tourists figures in the country cannot be blamed squarely on Travel Advice. The tourism industry urgently needs overseers with proper agenda of action and tran, an industry with purpose-driven professionalism. The Government must establish the conditions and framework for tourism to develop and prosper . Time has come for navigators, not just seamen keeping the ship afloat, to ensure the full-participation of the industry stakeholders in decision-making, tap the best technical expertise available, put in place, as urgently as possible, a regulatory body and ensure discipline in the industry. Furthermore, President Museveni and his entire cabinet have not been completely convinced of the importance, value and potential of the tourism industry and how small countries like the Seychelles have harnessed the same to their local people’s great economic empowerment. Despite the fact that international organisations such as UNDP, EEC and FAO have assisted Uganda to partly rehabilitate the tourism sector since the NRM came to power, the tourism numbers are still declining continuously and the root causes are a wide range of ills. it is important at this time to get to the real issues, not just symptoms such as Travel Advice. The biggest single source of customer dissatisfaction with the destination is “too much dancing around on poor roads”. Two or three nights at each national park location would be more satisfying and enjoyable than the un-popular and thoughtless “milk-run” itineraries. Nabendeh Wamoto S.P Nyabyeya Forestry College