The launch of Uganda’s annual Tourism Sector Performance Report for the Financial Year 2015/16 was presided over by the Rt. Honorable Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, and hosted by the Minister of Tourism Wildlife and Antiquities, Professor Ephraim Kamuntu. It was held at Hotel Africana at the end of last week.
The event brought together ministries, departments, agencies, and private sector associations involved in governance and regulation of the sector, including the Uganda Tourist Association (UTA) the apex body for trade associations, as well as the Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO), Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA), Hotel Catering Association (HCAU) ,Uganda Community Tourism Association (UCOTA), Uganda Safari Guides Association (USAGA), The Uganda Travel Agents Association (TUGATA), and related civil society organizations involved in influencing policy and providing technical and financial support.
Held under the theme “Unlocking the tourism potential as an engine for attaining middle income status,” the report left the tourism sector counting blessings from the “Holy See” [Catholic Pope], for it revealed that the sector budget increased by an unprecedented 68% from 13.9 billion in 2012/13 to 31.5 billion in 2013/14, up 99.6 billion Uganda shillings for 2015/16. This budget increase was the biggest proportion the sector has ever registered as a result of the one-off fund allocated to the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities (MTWA) to rehabilitate the Uganda Martyrs Shrine. This was in preparation for the Papal visit in commemoration of 50 years since the canonization of the Uganda Martyrs in 1964.
This is perhaps what has boosted the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) in promoting faith-based tourism by registering to participate at the 12th AKWAABA African Travel Market 2016 exhibition in Nigeria from October 30 to November 1, 2016 at the prestigious Eko Hotel and suites, Victoria Island Lagos.
The Uganda delegation, led by UTB’s Safia Ali, in charge of promoting faith-based tourism, shall tell the story of the Uganda martyrs who were executed on the orders of the kabaka (king) of Buganda for practicing their faith on June 3, 1886. The shrine has since become a magnet for pilgrims every June 3 with pilgrims who attend service, many of them making the trek from as far away as Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), as well as others from mainly Nigeria in West Africa, Europe, the USA, and Canada. Last year, Pope Francis visited the Protestant and Catholic shrines on his Africa visit from November 27-29, 2015. This was the third papal visit since Pope Paul VI’s visit and Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1993.
Other areas covered included arrival trends, hotel and tour operators, and performance of the sector in general.
Arrival trends saw 1.7 million tourists in 2015. There was a decline in leisure, recreation, and holiday travel by 5.6% (from 220,000 to 208,000). This was offset by VFRs (Visiting Friends and Relatives) which garnered an increase of 2.8%. Tourism topped foreign exchange earnings at US$1.35 billion (23% of total exports followed by remittances from abroad at US$1.1 billion with Uganda’s long-time traditional export, coffee, a distant third at US$400 million.
Hotel occupancy rates for the financial year 2015/16 stood at 47.6% bed and 46.2% room respectively with the months of July to September having the highest occupancy and the third quarter the lowest. The western region had the highest occupancy rate at 53.5% followed by the northern, eastern, and central regions trailing.
Tour operator business grew by 23% between 2015/16 with foreign clients taking 98.87% and 1.13 domestic tourists.
The report also reviewed the performance of the agencies including the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC), Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (UHTTI), and Uganda Wildlife Research and Training Institute (UWRTI), all with attendant problems and challenges ranging from invasive species in the national parks with the HTTI scoring low with dogging operational financial constraints leaving it inadequate to fulfill its mandate.
UTB made progress with harmonizing the Pearl of Africa “brand,” through the hiring of PR firms to promote the country, support for clusters, joint East African marketing, and a single East African visa, as well as promotion of the Meetings Incentives Conferences and Events (MICE) industry, not forgetting the Papal visit, from which more blessings are expected to follow.
