Uganda and Kenya are seeking to deepen tourism cooperation by addressing high travel costs, policy barriers and gaps in regional connectivity as stakeholders prepare for the 5th Uganda–Kenya Coast Tourism and Innovation Summit.
The media launch of the summit was held on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at Wapakhabulo Hall at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kampala under the theme: “Unlocking Tourism Opportunities: Resolving Policy Bottlenecks Through Technology, Youth and Seamless Mobility Across East Africa.”
The actual summit is scheduled for October 26–27, 2026, in Mombasa.
State Minister for Tourism, Hon. Suzan Nakawuki Nsambu, who officially launched the summit, urged tourism stakeholders to move beyond registering for conferences and actively use the platform to find business partners, explore investments, showcase innovations and develop cross-border tourism itineraries.
She said the cost and difficulty of travelling within East Africa remained a major obstacle to the growth of regional tourism. “Travelling to a neighbouring country can be more difficult than travelling overseas,” Nakawuki said, calling for affordable transport, improved connectivity and innovative solutions to ease movement.
The Minister also questioned why borders continue to restrict movement when East Africans are increasingly interacting across national boundaries. “I sit down and wonder why we still have borders when East Africans have gone ahead of us,” she said.
She urged governments to make regional movement “easier, smarter, and more rewarding” while addressing non-tariff barriers that continue to hinder trade and tourism.
Nakawuki said Uganda and Kenya should view their tourism products as complementary rather than competing. “Kenya Coast and Uganda are two destinations but one opportunity,” she said.
She also called for greater use of digital platforms, applications, content creation and smart tourism technologies to give young people a bigger role in promoting East Africa.
Private Sector Foundation Uganda CEO Stephen Asiimwe said young people were central to the future of tourism because they are “dynamic, digitally connected” and well positioned to explore, market and promote destinations.
But he identified the high cost of air travel as one of the biggest obstacles to increasing tourism between Uganda and Kenya.
Asiimwe cited the cost of flights between Entebbe and Nairobi, saying a journey of about 50 minutes could cost around US$800, while flights to the Kenyan coast could cost about US$700.
He argued that reducing airfares would encourage more frequent travel, longer stays and higher tourist spending, ultimately contributing to better tourism performance.
He also pointed to ongoing railway development as an opportunity to expand affordable regional travel, particularly for young people. “Tourism is one of the biggest employers of young people and communities,” Asiimwe said, while stressing that the cost of travelling across the region remains a major hindrance to tourism growth.
Speaking on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Leonard Mugerwa said tourism was a key pillar of Uganda’s tenfold growth strategy.
He said Uganda aims to increase annual tourism earnings from more than US$2 billion to US$20 billion by 2040 as part of a broader ambition to grow the economy towards US$500 billion.
Mugerwa said more than 460,000 Kenyans visited Uganda last year, while about 235,000 Ugandans travelled to Kenya, representing nearly 700,000 movements between the two countries. “We have significant room to grow,” Mugerwa said, calling for easier travel, stronger marketing and the removal of barriers that limit movement.
He said cooperation could help both Uganda and Kenya move towards a target of five million tourists each, with technology and innovation playing a central role.
David Kabata, Minister Counsellor at the Kenyan High Commission in Kampala, said the conversation should move beyond simply marketing individual destinations to examining the systems, policies and partnerships needed to create seamless mobility.
He said technology could improve tourism marketing, trip planning, bookings, payments and customer engagement while reducing friction for regional and international travellers.
Kabata stressed that Uganda and Kenya should not approach tourism as competitors. “Uganda does not compete with the coast. Uganda complements the coast,” he said.
He said Kenya’s beaches, marine attractions and coastal culture could be combined with Uganda’s Source of the Nile, mountains, wildlife and adventure tourism to create broader East African travel experiences.
Uganda’s Consul General in Mombasa, Ambassador Herbert Kiguli, called for tourism cooperation between the two countries to move beyond annual conferences and produce tangible economic benefits.
He said the engagement should translate into investment, jobs, cultural exchange and stronger people-to-people relations. “Tourism doesn’t just move people; it moves relationships,” Kiguli said.
He said people were already crossing borders and increasingly feeling at home across East Africa, but systems governing mobility, connectivity and tourism services had not moved at the same pace.
Kiguli called for a shift “from discussion to implementation”, urging governments and the private sector to translate commitments into action. “The mission is to get out there, build it, and make it happen,” he said.
He said Uganda’s wildlife, mountain gorillas, mountains and adventure tourism could complement Kenya’s beaches, marine attractions and coastal heritage.
Kiguli also urged young people, innovators and the media to take a bigger role in promoting tourism, saying technology and media could help showcase East African culture and destinations while complementing the work of public institutions.
Kenyan tour operator Ann Kendi, Director of Unique Preen Safaris, urged Ugandan tourism operators to embrace collaboration by developing and promoting group travel packages.
She said collective efforts could make travel more accessible while opening new markets and opportunities for tourism businesses across East Africa.
Eddy Kirya, Executive Director of Eyalama Adventures, also identified the high cost of accommodation as a challenge affecting cross-border tourism in Uganda.
The stakeholders called for stronger private-sector cooperation, business-to-business engagements, innovation showcases and familiarisation trips as part of efforts to turn the summit into a platform for practical tourism partnerships.
A Kenyan delegation is also expected to visit Uganda from November 5–8, 2026, as part of efforts to deepen tourism collaboration.
