The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Busoga Kingdom Tourism Minister, Hellen Namutamba, has challenged the Basoga in the diaspora to invest in the development of tourism sites across the Busoga sub-region.
Namutamba says that the development will increase their revenue income.
While speaking in an interview with URN on Wednesday, Namutamba said that key tourism sites like Kagulu Rock possess key historical insights about the roots of the Basoga, and if a private developer invests in a museum, it will attract many tourists from both Uganda and the diaspora.
Namutamba says that the Busoga sub-region boasts of tourist sites like Source of the River Nile, Kagulu rock, Bishop Hannington site, and Itanda Falls, among others, however, the tourism earnings remain low due to under development.
She notes that the tourism sites lack standard facilities like accommodation, restaurants, and other adventure activities, making tourists spend less time and in the long run funds at the facilities, which over time limits their hospitality experience.
Namutamba argues that, much as the government has contributed towards the facelift of the Kagulu Rock and Bishop Hannington sites, the region still falls short of extensively expediting revenue earnings from the tourism sector due to a lack of standard facilities at the sites.
She revealed that Busoga Kingdom drafted a five-year tourism development plan aimed at popularizing the tourism sites and rallying responsible government agencies like Uganda Tourism Board-UTB and the entire tourism ministry fraternity, to focus more in analyzing Busoga’s tourism potential.
Namutamba adds that, as part of their development plan, the Kingdom is partnering with UTB and Uganda Wildlife Authority-UWA to organize annual Kagulu rock climbing expeditions this month where they estimate 30,000 revelers from different parts of the world to participate.
Peter Kasolo, the Mayor of Jinja City says that they have since partnered with UTB and Busoga Kingdom to draft the source of the Nile Development Master Plan, comprising floating hotels, a museum, and a conference center, among others, which will improve on the tourists’ experience across river Nile.
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