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UTB strengthens marketing and quality of service
Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda Tourism Board is gearing up regulating tourism facilities, travel agents and tourist guides countrywide to support growth of the sector.
In an interview with The Independent on Oct.15 at Protea Hotel during the agency’s quarterly media roundtable, the agency’s Chief Executive Officer Lilly Ajarova said their aim is to see more Ugandans and foreigners visiting tourism sites and create more opportunities for people and the economy.
She said they are also gearing efforts towards product profiling and investment in tourism facilities in addition to more aggressive efforts in both domestic and international marketing.
Over the last quarter (July-September), Ajarova said, the UTB has engaged in a number of domestic, regional and international marketing initiatives aimed at raising the profile of Uganda as a preferred tourist destination.
“We have undertaken a nationwide outdoor campaign aimed to showcase the country to Ugandans so that we can have more local population visiting various parts of their own country,” she said, adding that they want to be able to see Ugandans contribute to tourism by either consuming as well as investing in it.
“Our goal is for tourism to be every Ugandan’s business,” she said.
During the quarter, UTB supported private tourism initiatives such as the Rolex festival, Ekyoto and Uganda Fashion Week.
Ajarova said the industry has embraced MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events) as new product to further Uganda as a tourist destination for not only leisure but also business travelers.
Under this MICE product, Ajarova said that, they supported the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference through development of travel packages and guidelines.
“As expected of many MICE events, Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference had a big trickle-down effect and our hotels can testify to the bed occupancy registered during their stay,” she said.
Overall, she said, they are working with stakeholders on a number of bids to bring some of the biggest events and conferences into the country. She said Africa remains Uganda’s biggest source market.
“We are currently consolidating our efforts to further tap into the African market,” she said.
UTB’s statistics indicates that Kenya remains Uganda’s biggest source market for tourists in the region accounting for 29% of total tourism arrivals registered in 2018.
African markets (regional and neighboring countries) that entered Uganda by road makeup 69% of Uganda’s international arrivals, and grew by 6.1% in 2018.
With these statistics, Ajarova said, Africa shows great opportunity for growing Uganda’s tourism sector.
Internationally, during the quarter, UTB participated in a number of expos and events both at regional and international arenas.
These include; Kili Fair in Tanzania, Uganda – Tanzania Business Forum and the Akwaaba Travel Market in Nigeria.
The agency also took part in Magical Kenya Travel expo where they showcased Adventure, Golf Tourism and Nightlife as well as WTM Africa and Indaba Expos – both hosted in South Africa.
“We see a huge potential here and are looking to further grow these numbers,” she said.
At the same time, the number of specialist tour operators who proactively sell Uganda as a destination in the UK alone increased from 99 to over 160.
The agency has also added two other marketing firms – one in the Gulf States and the other in Japan and China with the aim of promoting destination Uganda in emerging markets. Other firms are selling Uganda in Germany and the USA.
The agency also profiled the Equator, Marine and various clusters starting with the Ankole Cluster.
Uganda has a total of 150 tour and travel companies, 2066 accommodation facilities and 358 tourist guides countrywide which UTB registered during the quarter.
Key facts
- Tourist arrivals grew from 1.42millio in 2017 to 1.505million in 2018
- Foreign exchange earnings grew from $1.45billion in 2017 to $1.6Bn in 2018
- GDP contribution in 2018 stands at Shs8.4trillions (7.7%).
- Tourism contributed 667,600 jobs (6.7% of total employment).
- Hotel Room occupancy for 2018 stands at 50.9% with lodged posting up to 75%.
- Over 1,613 tourism service providers trained in service standards in 2018.
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