The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has launched the second Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism Conference, Excursions & Fam Trip 2023 in Kampala.
The consulate and stakeholders in Uganda and Kenya Coast are organising the Second conference in November 2023 at Diani Reef Hotel, Kwale County.
Consul General Ambassador Paul Mukumbya, in his welcoming speech and keynote address, encouraged tourism stakeholders at the Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism Conference to unite, collaborate, and elevate both nations as premier tourism hotspots in the region.
He said that they have prioritized tourism promotion between Uganda and Kenya and that Uganda is the biggest source market for tourists after the United States.
“Ugandans are always flocking the Kenyan coasts because of the beautiful beaches and the coastal scenery and features. Ugandans go to these coasts to have their weddings or spend their honeymoon at some of the coastal hotels,” he stated.
According to Amb Mukumbya, there is a lot more to visit in Uganda and Kenyans can always come around because Uganda has some unique attractions like Mountain Gorillas.
Tourism between Uganda and Kenya growing
In his speech, Hon John Mulimba, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in charge of Regional Affairs, urged Uganda missions abroad to market tourist sites.
“The Ministry has also encouraged Missions abroad to incorporate tourism within their strategic plans and Annual Work-plans,” he stated.
He said tourism between Uganda and Kenya is also growing because of the available national carrier, Uganda Airlines, which has several flights to Kenya and also travel by road using National Identities has made tourism between the countries easier.
“The increasing number of tourists between Uganda and Kenya Coast has been aided by the improved air connection between Entebbe and Mombasa. Currently, Uganda Airlines operates three (03) weekly direct flights between Entebbe and Mombasa. This is complemented by daily flights by Kenya Airways through Nairobi,” he noted.
He added: “Moreover, it is also possible to travel between both countries by road, using national identity cards. Thus, it is possible to leverage on the improved connection to grow the tourism between Uganda and Kenya Coast.”
He said tourism forms a very significant part of Uganda’s economy.
“It contributes more than 7 percent of our National GDP and it employs a significant number of people directly or indirectly ranging from government, private sector, education tourism, leisure events promoters, professional associations, individuals to training institutions. Therefore, if we get more tourists into our country, we shall be able to increase household income and enable our economy to grow.”
He said the ministry, through Economic and Commercial Diplomacy, has prioritized tourism promotion within its five-year strategic plan.
He said Uganda possesses some unique tourism products that can be used to make it one of the world’s leading tourist destinations.
“We possess some of the rarest primates in the world, Namugongo Martyrs Shrines, Source of River Nile, rich culture, among others. Therefore, our Missions abroad need to rigorously market these products. I would like to commend our Consulate in Mombasa for realizing this potential, by partnering with stakeholders in Uganda and at the Kenya Coast to promote the complementarity among these unique tourism products from the two countries.”
According to Mulimba, Kenya is Uganda’s leading source market and last year alone, over 370,000 Kenyans visited Uganda for various reasons.
He said Uganda is also Kenya’s second leading source market after the USA. Just last year, over 150,000 Ugandans visited Kenya and out of those 22,000 visited the Kenya Coast.
The Minister of State for Tourism, Hon. Martin Mugarra, in his keynote address, said the collaboration among other objectives aims at developing joint tourism packages between Uganda and Kenya Coast as well as increasing tourist arrivals and investments in the tourism sectors in Uganda and Kenya’s coastal region.
“There are tourist attractions that are unique to Uganda such as the mountain gorillas and those that are unique to Kenya such as the coastal beaches. This collaboration will help the two tourism sectors develop complementary tour packages that tourists can take up for the mutual benefit of the two countries,” he noted.
“In 2022, 150,900 Ugandans visited Kenya and out of these, 22,200 visited Kenya Coast, rising from 10,100 in 2021. Likewise, in 2022, 376,294 Kenyans visited Uganda, indicating an increase of over 40,000 tourists from 2021 where 326,387 Kenyan visitors were recorded in Uganda,” he added.
Stephen Asiimwe, CEO of the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, underscored the pressing importance of robust engagement from the private sector in matters concerning tourism and the advancement of Uganda’s visibility within the East African region.
The Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism Conference 2023 will involve excursions at the Kenya Coast and a fam trip to Uganda. There will also be an opportunity for Business-to-Business Sessions to enable participants from Uganda to meet and interact with their Kenyan Counterparts.
