Museveni Launches ‘Explore Uganda, The Pearl of Africa’ Campain To Boost Tourism

0

By Uganda Online Media

President Yoweri Museveni has appointed Maj Tom Magambo who has been in the Internal Security Organisations(ISO) as the new police Criminal Investigations Director.

“President Museveni has promoted Private Tom Magambo to the rank of Major and appointed him Director Criminal Investigations of the Uganda Police Force,” the acting UPDF spokesperson, Lt Col Ronald Kakurungu said in a statement.

Kampala: In a bid to revive and boost the tourism sector that has been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni a new campaign dubbed ‘Explore Uganda, The Pearl of Africa thus calling upon the international community to embrace Uganda as a tourist destination again, after two years of low business due to Covid-19 pandemic.

While launching the campaign, Museveni said that while Africa has not suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic as much as the rest of the world in terms of deaths, Uganda has performed even better than most of the African countries.

 “With COVID-19 we have not suffered as much as other people in the world. It would be interesting for foreigners to know how we managed to fight HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and now, COVID-19. This should be emphasized because they will feel safe and come here to tour,” he said, adding that, “Uganda’s culture means a lot of things that is to say Language, Music, food and many others and that what makes it Unique.” Museveni said.

Museveni further noted that Uganda is a unique country and its location right at the equator influences great weather all year round and this makes it the best across the world.

“This weather where we are always outdoors, where we do not need air conditioning, is another aspect that brings in tourists. The weather is because of where we are, along the equator. Whenever I go abroad things are not easy at all. You are not comfortable. You cannot leave the hotels, you need air conditioning, and sometimes it is hot. But here, life is so easy and nice, the terrain of Uganda is unique. It is not by accident that the Nile starts here. The architecture of Africa is such that Uganda is the roof of Africa.” he noted.


According to the records before the outbreak two years ago, Uganda’s tourism sector was earning the country $1.2 billion dollars or about Sh3.7 trillion in 2019, from 1.6 million visitors. Income from foreign tourists accounted for more than 60 percent of these totals.

In the same vein, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) Lilly Ajarova said; “Uganda is and has always been the Pearl of Africa, but there was a lack of clarity and consistency on. There have also been several efforts by different players to create awareness at various levels with various levels of success- but there has been a lack of a single-minded messaging and or interpretation of what constitutes the Pearl of Africa in a manner to makes us stand out and appealing to the various travel segments out there.”

“The launch of this destination brand is bound to benefit the country, provided that after this launch, all of the key stakeholders can consistently work hard which will render our products competitive and attractive,”  Ajarova said.

“The brand is a value proposition; around which we shall mobilize Uganda’s entire tourism ecosystem to deliver to our visitors all the time, at all the touchpoints. It is a lifetime pursuit and not a one-time affair and or a time-limited communications campaign,” she said.

The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities then had predicted that in 2020, the number of visitors would grow to 1.8 million and the earnings to $1.6 billion.


A 2019 Uganda Tourist Expenditure and Motivation Survey (TEMS) done by the Ministry amongst 4,184 foreign visitors to Uganda, found that slightly more than half of the visitors to Uganda were returning visitors. And more than 60 percent of visitors said they were most likely to return shortly, to Uganda.

To return to this position and grow the sector further, the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), decided to launch a new effort by rebranding “Destination Uganda”, and take on the evolving challenges in the market environment.

At the launch of the campaign themed: Rebranding the Pearl of Africa, Museveni also challenged those responsible for planning for the sector to get a new and unique message that will attract the world to Uganda.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Send this to a friend