Tourism In Uganda And East Africa

TOUR operators have been warned against pricing outside the global market as the financial crisis hits. Geoffrey Baluku, a member of the Uganda Tourist Association, indicated that because of competition from neighbouring countries like Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda, and affordability levels, the operators should avoid at all cost the urge to charge fees that are higher than the global market price.

“With the deepening of the global financial crisis and economic slowdown, there is a rise of new challenges ranging from safari cancellations to soaring inflation,” Baluku said.

A total of 843,864 foreigners visited Uganda in 2008, representing a 32% increase over 2007.

“As a key contributor to Uganda’s GDP (gross domestic product), tourism accounted for 3.7% of the total GDP in 2008. Despite this increase, it is clear that Uganda’s tourism industry is facing difficult times as a result of the financial meltdown,” Baluku stressed.

He said the tourism industry was vulnerable to financial slowdowns with consumers spending less on travel products in the short-and-medium terms.

Baluku added that expenditure on accommodation and Gorilla permits had decreased drastically as visitors chose more affordable safari options.

“There was growing optimism that Uganda would soon achieve the million foreign visitor-mark by 2012.

“However, with the current global economic meltdown characterised by the upcoming tense elections in 2011, the effect on Uganda’s tourism industry is likely to be worse,” said Baluku, who is also the public relations officer of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators.

Baluku said the unstable fuel costs and fluctuating dollar rate meant that long-haul tourism was on the decline, particularly for middle income tourists, adding that this had already had an effect on Uganda’s tourism industry.

“As long-haul travel becomes increasingly unaffordable, the integration of the East African region is now paramount for the region to achieve its tourism targets.

“However, reasonable controls such as some degree of protection for the Ugandan tour operators should be taken into consideration as we go into the final stages of the re-integration.”

He noted that there was a drop in visitors from all major markets including the UK and the US.
For your Kenya safari | Uganda Safari | Tanzania Safari
ref