This archive report was first published on 8 June 2020.
Uganda's tourism sector, which has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, is now looking to local and regional markets to recover from the losses.
According to the Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO), the sector's recovery plan involves targeting local and regional visitors, who were not as heavily impacted by the pandemic as international tourists.
Jonathan Benaiah, AUTO's spokesperson, stated that despite the perception that their products are mainly for international visitors, they aim to attract more local tourists. He emphasized the need for further promotion of domestic tourism, given the expected cash-strapped average traveler and low visitor numbers from international source markets.
“For domestic tourism to make sense, we are going to need to partner with the government,” Benaiah added.
The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), a government body responsible for promoting the country's tourism sector, has pledged to support the private sector's plan. UTB's CEO, Lilly Ajarova, revealed that they are currently in talks with tour operators and other service providers to draft a plan for the local market.
Uganda's tourist arrivals grew by 7.4% from 1.402 million in 2017 to 1.505 million. However, President Yoweri Museveni recently warned about the loss of tourist revenues due to the pandemic.
“Already Ugandans will lose $1.6 billion per annum from the tourism sector,” he said, highlighting the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.
As the country looks inwards and to its neighbors to fill the gap in its sector recovery plan, it is expected to spend millions of dollars less on advertising its destinations in North America, Gulf States, European Union, and Asia.
