Uganda ready for international tourists - stakeholders

TOURISM   HEALTH   VIRUS

Following President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni's lifting of the ban on air travels, stakeholders in the tourism industry have expressed their readiness to welcome international tourists. 

The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) CEO, Lilly Ajarova, said tourists are now welcome to track gorillas, watch birds and have an adventure in Jinja, but under very strict measures. 

"We have Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) that was put in place by the Ministry of Health. For instance, tourists need a COVID-19 test within 72 hours before arrival in Uganda," she said.  

She said the SOPs also require that when commuting to any destination, tourists have to occupy 50% of the carrying capacity of the boats, vehicles and aeroplanes to enable social distancing. 

Regarding hotels, tourists will be required to sanitize, take a temperature reading and wash hands as regularly as possible. 

The opening of the airport for international flights on October 1, coincides with the World Tourism Day in Fort Portal, a destination also known as the primate city among travellers. It boasts of more than ten types of monkeys. 

When COVID-19 struck, the Tourism sector became the first casualty. Recently, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) predicted that Uganda is bound to lose $5m in revenue during this COVID-19 period. 

Ajarova concurred with the prediction, noting that the sector will not remain the same again. 

"Good enough UTB and the entire tourism fraternity are not sitting on their laurels as the old adage has it," she said.  

The Great Lakes Safaris director, Amos Wekesa, said despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, Uganda still remains a must-go destination for gorilla trackers. 

"Tourism was the first COVID-19 causality and is likely to be the last to recover from this global threat but Uganda still has its niche in gorilla tracking, bird watching, scaling Mountains and lots more," he observed. 

The Association of Uganda Tourist Association Organization (AUTO) chairman, Everest Kayondo said the opening up of passenger flights is good for the industry but barring the drivers, guides and rangers from getting close to the guest is unworkable. 

"The guides spend more hours with the guests telling them about what appeals in; Fort Portal, Kidepo Valley National Park, Jinja or Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. There are person to person contacts in the trade that are inevitable, much as most of the communication is digital," he noted. 

On a happy note, the senior spokesperson of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), Bashir Hangi said the gorillas have reproduced during the lockdown as they have never before. 

"Uganda boasts of more than five babies since the Lockdown in March. This is record reproduction since Gorilla Tracking got global acclaim is evidence the habitat is conducive for humanities' closest relative," he said.