The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Godfrey Kiwanda, the minister of state for tourism wildlife and antiquities has today launched Uganda’s latest tourism campaign dubbed ‘Christmas Tulambule Campaign’ which is geared towards attracting Ugandan travelers to local tourist attractions during the festive season.
The campaign that started today will end at the end of January next year (2019). It will involve activities like zoo festivals, music concerts and related entertainment, children and family parties held in different tourist areas across the country.
Kiwanda said the campaign is part of the many strategies that his ministry and relevant agencies and partners are implementing to ensure that by the year 2020, Uganda record 4million foreign tourists as directed by Cabinet.
“Attracting these visitors is an aggressive target…but we must work with everybody,” Kiwanda said. He said that other running campaigns to achieve this target are; Twende Uganda, Destination Uganda and Pearl of Africa Tourism – all targeting tourists from East Africa and beyond.
He said that Uganda is a beautiful country and that Ugandans should spend more on local tourism to support those that have invested in the sector.
This, he added, would create new jobs in the sector and boost performance of the economy.
The good news, according to Kiwanda, is that the private sector has put up several new accommodation and other tourist attraction facilities to serve the anticipated growing tourist numbers in the country.
The minister used the same event, held at the Uganda Museum – a few kilometers away from Kampala city centre – to announce that U.S rapper Kanye West and his wife Kim Kadarshian are scheduled to return to Uganda early next year and that the couple would be named Ugandan good will tourism ambassadors. He also announced that in the next few weeks his ministry will be unveiling three other celebrity good will ambassadors, one of them being Zari Hassan, a Ugandan socialite and musician.
Tourism is important to Uganda going by available numbers from the Bank of Uganda. In 2017, tourism sector fetched the country about US$1.4bn (Shs 5.1trillion) up from about US$1.35bn a year before. Officials say close to 1.4million tourists visited Uganda in 2017, higher than 700,000 visitors recorded 11 years ago.
The latest campaign launch was attended by officials from Uganda Tourism Board, Uganda Police Force, Uganda Hotel Owners Association, Uganda Wildlife Authority, and Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre.
