The 7th Edition of the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) 2023 has kicked off at the Speke Resort Munyonyo Commonwealth Hotel in Kampala.
The glamorous Expo running from from 26th – 29th April 2023, was officially opened by the Minister of Tourism Wildlife and Antiquities, Tom Butime.
In his remarks, Butiime said the country can do better and attract more visitors, with a number of initiatives put in place to drum up visibility, adding that POATE, is one of the vehicles that create awareness through attracting visitors.
He noted that tourism in Uganda is still growing and hopes earnings from the sector will double more as the economy recovers.
He also cautioned the private sector to improve their game to the acceptable international standards calling for UTB to enforce and ensure compliance with the set standards as this will provide the expected experience or even better.
He said the sector has received the directives by the President on the tourism sector, and says if the directive is implemented, tourists will be able to land at the different parks and areas in private jets.
The President early this week issued five directives meant to promote and develop Uganda’s tourism industry, these include; setting up Uganda Trade Hubs at Airports and aerodromes across the country, tarmacking the four export aero drones, and training staff in the hospitality industry about Uganda’s tourist locations and government institutions to harmonize communications on the matter of tourism.
On setting up Uganda Trade Hubs, the Head of State directed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Ministry of Works to work with the private sector and set up these Hubs starting at Entebbe International Airport. The Hubs will be composed of coffee, chocolate, Uganda leather products, sugar, fruits, vegetables, dairy, beef, poultry, etc., and will be placed for content about Uganda on Tourism and hospitality.
Butiime said the directive by the President, to the (Ministry of Tourism, and Ministry of Works) is a great development that will create business and traffic at the different landing facilities.
“There will be no more gathering at Entebbe but it could also be a game changer, you may see tourism numbers arriving in the country increase,” he said.
The UTB CEO, Lilly Ajarova, said as UTB and stakeholders, they have worked tirelessly to ensure that the EXPO happens.
She noted that the presence of key stakeholders from the region symbolizes the spirit of supporting each other through Intra-regional trade.
Additionally, post-pandemic, the African region continues to contribute almost 70% of the tourists Uganda received from Africa.
She further called for sustainable and responsible tourism, saying it’s the next emerging trend for Tourism development.
She says the trend is not a new idea but an initiative that draws attention to tourism development that minimizes negative social impacts that also generate greater economic benefits for people and host communities.
The United Nations Development Programmes’ Representative, Ms Elsie Attafuah, said countries must create their own wealth and tourism is one of the low-hanging fruits, they can tap into.
She added Africa as a young continent needs to create future developments and jobs for the youthful population, saying, Tourism is one of the key sectors that will conserve but also create enormous potential for the population through employment.
She also called for investment in local, community-driven initiatives, if the country is to create wealth and develop.
POATE
The Expo hosts international buyers and media from key source markets for physical B2B events, among others.
It is East Africa’s tourism signature event that brings together tourism stakeholders to one ideal meeting place to meet and network with exhibitors, buyers, investors and suppliers of services in the tourism sector from all over the world.
Ajarova says events such as POATE 2023 will continue to place the destination at the forefront of tourism promotion in the domestic, regional and international markets.
According to the Uganda Tourism Satellite Account 2023, released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) and the Ministry of Tourism, the sector registered 19.3% arrivals in Uganda for holidays, leisure and recreation, 40.9% for business tourism, 28.2% for VFR (Visiting Friends & Relatives) and 11.6% for other reasons.
Uganda received 1.486,876 travellers in 2019 and a revenue of UGX4.5 trillion. 67.7% of all arrivals originated from Africa; Europe (16.1%), America (9.8%), the Middle East (1.9%) and Asia (2.0%).
It is estimated that each of the delegates spent an average of 8.3 nights ad spent an average of USD$111 (UGX411,200) per day.
She says on the domestic tourism front, the expo will boost the destination’s domestic tourism activities and awareness of the attractions in Uganda.
Travellers in 2019 contributed UGX 2.9 trillion and an average of 23.5 million nights and spent UGX40,239 per day.
