Uganda’s tourism cannot be treated as business as usual

A lot has already been written about the unfortunate killing of two tourists and their guide/driver in Queen Elizabeth National Park mid this month of October, 2023. I have read in some sections of the media including digital platforms people wondering, “Why couldn’t they fly to Mweya? Their death could have been avoided.”

Now, that is from persons who think tourism is about a particular destination. Tourism is about experiences. For the uninitiated, let’s say an international tourist arrives at Entebbe Airport and is headed for what we famously regard as the Western Loop. Allow me take you through what you would have missed if you arrived say at10am and immediately took a local flight to Mweya Airstrip with a brief stop-over in Kanungu, which flight takes about 1.5 hours. 

By the time the tourist reaches their destination for accommodation as the wonderfully crated Mweya peninsula, they are truly getting soaked into Uganda’s beauty in just six hours.

From my sources, the couple were on the 18th meant to have a morning game drive and on the 19th, have a date with the Ishasha tree climbing lions before they get into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for a night or two at one of the magnificent lodges in Buhoma. And on the 20th, they were to come face to face with the endangered mountain gorillas. Now, for a week that this couple was to stay in Uganda, on average, their daily expenditure would be about $2,000! 

I am aware that by that murder, lodges and travel companies are averaging 70 percent cancellations for this high season. Lodges are already reducing staff by about 50 percent for the months of November, 2023-2024! It cannot therefore, be business as usual.

Managers and owners have just spruced up their lodges ready to host both local and international visitors. With travel advisories for inbound travellers, the unfortunate killing is nothing but a tragedy. It cannot be business as usual. A reported tourist death in Queen Elizabeth sends shivers in all the nine national park across the country. Remember, seven of those parks are fixed in just one area; south west and west of Uganda and that is where the rebels are lurking.

It is not enough to send words of comfort. There are security assurances that need to be seen than said and I have no doubt about that. My only challenge is how do we as a country communicate in such moments ? But also, our branding, especially when we think of influencers, we cannot be thinking of ‘faded’ Hollywood conmen to assure the world that indeed Uganda is so secure.

If it were for me, I would look to the nature movie producers world over and offer freewill entry and other sponsorships to ensure that the next movie is shot on location in Queen Elizabeth National Park on the picturesque Lake Nyamunuuka, among other areas. I would as a matter of urgency get in touch with the managers of Elbar, Morgan Freeman, Trevor Noah and other notable influencers to be Uganda as soon as yesterday. 

We are talking about million-dollar investment here not ‘touch here pool there’ business as usual gimmicks. These are unusual times, we cannot be doing things the usual way.

Tourism is too important to be handled casually. The chain and sustainability to our economy are too long to be handled with mindsets of business as usual.  

A sector that has over 12 percent economic influence and power? In local parlance, we would say: “Muveewo namwe!” We have peer examples like Morocco, Algeria that have faced similar challenges.

We know how they handled it; not casually. They stepped up their gears in showcasing to the world, what if they ignored, there is so much to miss.

Today’s traveller has so many options to choose. Let’s not handle this industry casually. It speaks volumes about how we handle things; laisez fare. 

Mr Aggrey Nshekanabo is a retired journalist taking baby steps in tourism business. [email protected]