Mountain Gorilla Safaris in Uganda

Mountain gorilla trekking can make Uganda's tourism better

By Uganda safaris
Though the estimated 10,000 residents occupying land belonging to Entebbe International Airport may not agree, the Civil Aviation Authority plan to expand the facility is good news for many players in the Ugandan economy.

To the tourism industry, the plan to build an airport city signals government’s determination to support their sector by increasing the number of visitors because that is the only way the project could pay for itself. Without these additional tourists the project would be a white elephant.

The benefits of increased tourist arrivals and departures would trickle down the value chain right from airlines, taxis, Uganda tour operators,Uganda hotels and everyone who grows or produces goods and services consumed by the visitors. This would include the country’s wildlife services like National parks and eco-tourism sites in Uganda

In time, the tourism industry could become the country’s top foreign exchange earner surpassing both traditional and non-traditional exports.

Indeed, the important role the Uganda Safaris sector could play can be gauged from the fact that industrialized countries in Europe and America, go out of their way to lure tourists into their cities and countryside. This has made the sector one of the most competitive in the world.

The industry’s high competitiveness also means that now, more than ever before, Uganda has to be serious about cashing in on its comparative advantages. This means the people and institutions charged with the responsibility of marketing the country have to burn the midnight oil to come up with winning strategies. It also means that despite its many financial challenges, the finance ministry has to find the money needed to implement these strategies.

But, perhaps, the biggest challenge facing the tourism ministry is to sell itself to the finance ministry and other government organs which may not be convinced that the money spent marketing the country would bring in much, much more in the short and longer-term. In that case, the tourism ministry should arrange for top finance ministry officials to visit other countries that are reaping huge dividends from investing in tourism.

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These visits need not cost an arm and a leg because they could be done on a reciprocal and regional basis. But, whatever the cost, the bottom line is that Uganda should get on the band wagon or tapping into the world’s fastest growing industry. To be left behind now would only increase the price of getting in later.

The importance of tourism when it is well integrated into the rest of the economy means that though painful, the estimated 10,000 residents of the airport land have to be moved. There are no two ways about it. The best they can hope for, assuming they settled on the land illegally, is compensation for their houses. Beyond that, they would be whistling in the dark!

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