The Ministry of Tourism has revealed that Uganda’s Tourism Sector is on track to recovery from the post-Covid-19 pandemic.
The tourism sector across the globe was largely affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic, however, according to a 2022 ministerial performance report by the Tourism Ministry, in 2022, the country registered 814,508 international visitor arrivals, which represented an increase of 59 percent from the -47.8 percent registered in 2021.
In 2021, the number of international visitors declined to 473,085 in 2021 compared to close to 1.5 million pre-Covid-19.
The report reveals that Tourism in 2022, generated close to Shs2.7 trillion, representing 12.2 percent of total exports and 41.4 percent of service exports.
According to Basil Ajer, the Ministry of Tourism director tourism, accommodation, food and beverages, passenger transport and shopping, took the largest share of inbound expenditure, which stood at a combined 68.8 percent share.
The report further indicates that international tourists stayed for an average of 7.6 nights in the country resulting in a total of 6.5 million bed nights.
Of the 783,188 tourists, 96.7 percent were tourists while 3.8 percent were visitors or excursionists.
The report also indicates that Africa remained the largest source of Uganda’s tourists, contributing at least 87.8 percent of international arrivals.
Speaking at the same function, Doreen Katusiime the Permanent Secretary of the Tourism Ministry, said the industry continued to be a pillar of the country’s economy.
“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019, Tourism was the country’s leading foreign exchange earner with 5 trillion shillings generated in that year, but we are on track,” she said.
She noted that the sector contributed 1 in every 10 jobs in the country and 3.4% of Uganda’s GDP directly.
“Even though these numbers were hit hard by the pandemic in 2020, we have witnessed a rebound, especially in 2022. International tourists are coming back to Uganda, we are receiving more visitors in the National Parks and other tourist attractions, and more international conferences are being held in Uganda,” she said:
Katusiime added that with the top international experts on tourism like the UN World Tourism Organisation and the World Travel and Tourism Council, Tourism in Uganda and around the world will fully recover to the pre-pandemic levels and beyond by 2025.
She said the country continues to receive most visitors from African countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, and South Sudan as well as overseas visitors from the United States, India, and the United Kingdom.
Following a collaboration with UBOS the Ministry launched the first-ever Tourism Satellite Account for Uganda which established the direct contribution of Tourism to the economy for the reference year, 2019.
The Minister of Tourism, Tom Butiime, said the government will continue to support the sector as it is one of the biggest foreign earners for the country.
