Uganda and Kenya will from 16th to 20th November 2022 hold the Uganda – Kenya coast tourism conference, exhibition and trip in Mombasa and the Kenya Coast.
The tourism conference is organized by the Ugandan Consulate in Mombasa, the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), the Uganda Airlines, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), the Uganda Tourism Association (UTA), the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), the Kenya Coast Tourism Association (KCTA), the Counties of Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi.
The conference will be followed by a familiarization trip to Uganda.
According to Ambassador Paul Mukumbya, the Consul General of Uganda in Mombasa, the conference’s objective is to create synergies and complementarity between the Uganda and Kenya Coast tourism players; create more awareness about the two destinations and the tourism products they offer; enhance the synergies between key tourism players from Uganda and the Kenya coastal region; explore the opportunities in joint marketing of the tourism products of the coastal region and Uganda; equip the key tourism players from Uganda and the Kenya coastal region with first-hand experience of the key tourism attractions so that they are in better position to market these attractions; and to promote and popularize the Entebbe – Mombasa route operated by the Uganda Airlines.
“The Tourism Conference, Exhibition and Fam Trip between the Kenya Coastal region and Uganda is intended to create synergies and complimentarily explore tourism opportunities through a joint marketing strategy, partnerships, and linkages, and tap into the employment opportunities within the travel and tourism trade,” said Ambassador Mukumbya.
“These interventions will strengthen networks, synergies, and diversity to maximize the tourism potential between Uganda and the Kenya Coast, hence development of domestic and regional connectivity, attracting large numbers of tourists for domestic markets,” he added.
Tourism is one of the key sectors in all the economies of the East African Community (EAC) region.
The sector contributes an average of 17% to export earnings and its contribution to GDP is substantial, averaging at around 10%.
It generates about 7% of employment in the region. More so, tourism has important linkages with other sectors of the economy including agriculture, manufacturing, and the services sector among others.
Uganda is endowed with unique safaris, rich cultural and historical heritage, a variety of attractions of flora and fauna, including the mountain gorillas, tree climbing lions and 1063 bird species in national parks and protected areas spread across the country.
The country also boasts of the snow-capped Ruwenzori Mountain ranges, Lake Victoria, Lake Bunyonyi and the River Nile among several attractions.
Other unique attractions include; chimpanzees and golden monkeys.
The Coastal region is the tourism hub of Kenya and has several tourism attractions from the historical Fort Jesus, Beautiful Beaches and Resorts, Marine National Parks, Elephant sanctuary, the Dolphins, Wildlife Parks, slave caves and sacred forests, Vasco Da Gama Fort in Malindi, White sands, the Coral Reefs, diving and snorkeling among others.
The Coastal region offers travelers with an exotic taste of the African tropics steeped in centuries of seafaring history.
Tourism arrivals in Uganda in 2021 stood at 512,945. Out these, 326,387 were from Kenya, which translates to 63.63% of all arrivals in Uganda.
Between January and March 2022, close to 95,000 Kenyans visited Uganda for various reasons.
There is increasing demand for Kenyan visitors to Uganda due to various events that have taken place in Kampala such as Golf and Rugby tournaments, festivals, music concerts among others.
Ambassador Mukumbya said, “these numbers can even go higher if the tourism players in the two countries work together and build networks and synergies.”
“Therefore, there is need to market each other’s unique tourism offerings through collaborative/complimentary arrangements. Such bilateral tourism B2B engagements and networks will enable travel trade partners to curate attractive excursion packages which will make tourists visit Kenya Coast and extend their trips to Uganda, in order to enjoy the unique diversity of flora and fauna including sceneries,” he noted.
Establishing a tourism marketing network that promotes cooperation and synergies amidst diversity of tourism products in Uganda and the Kenya Coast region, Ambassador Mukumbya said, would go a long way in improving the tourism industry in Uganda, Kenya and the wider EAC member States.
