In Summary
You come at a time when the marketing style is a bit distorted. Have you done some auditing?
We
are known for wildlife. The great apes, mountain gorillas, the
chimpanzees are our flagship species that sell us out there. We are at a
point where we need to diversify our tourism products and the basics in
terms of being known. We have three core markets that we are already
known in such as United Kingdom, North America and Germany. But we need
to build on the foundation that has already been set.
Uganda’s tourism is understood as national parks and game reserves. But is there more potential elsewhere?
Yes,
there is a lot more we have to offer as Uganda. We already have
faith-based tourism products such as Uganda Martyrs – a major product we
should capitalise on. What is left is organising ourselves and
penetrating the right markets such that we see tourists coming every day
instead of waiting for June 3 – our major celebration day in a year. We
should see more pilgrims coming.
The Bahai Temple in Kampala is the
biggest in Africa. We are seeing a trend of people from different parts
of the world coming to wed there; meaning there is something unique
there.
We also have agro-tourism where we are engaging with
different farmers. We launched coffee tourism in Kasese recently where
there is a coffee house.
In sports, we launched golf tourism last
year. Right now, we have leagues going on around the country in Mbale,
Fort Portal among others. This is exposing every participant to the
different tourist attractions. In each destination they visit, we are
marking out the tourist attractions along the road for them to visit.
Culture
is another product we need to package well. We have the Kasubi Tombs
and other cultural sites that can be developed better. Some products are
still in the process of being developed but can be used.
The night
life in Kampala is another huge attraction. People fly from different
cities such as Lagos and Nairobi to experience the night life over the
weekend in Kampala. So, there is a lot more we have to offer in
packaging and marketing it well.
In marketing
destination Uganda, what brand name are you using? We have heard of Peal
of Africa, Gifted by nature, but which is which?
Much as we have Pearl of Africa now, we did not go through the proper process.
We
plan to have a big launch once we have a brand identification and items
all defined so that every Ugandan, or anybody hoping to promote Uganda
has one identity with a slogan presenting Uganda as a tourism
destination.
I hope by the end of this year, we shall have that out of the way.
More than ever, tourism is receiving more funding. In your assessment, is the money going where it should go?
Yes, the budget has grown a little bit but it is still little compared to what we need to market the country.
We need money for product development. We need quality services that will attract both for domestic and international markets.
Trying
to maintain standards is something we urgently need to address. But
with the budget we have, we can’t cover all these areas.
We need to
train people to professionally speak to tourists. A tourist has a choice
to decide their destination. We need to wake up to the call to know
that we are competing with the rest of the world if we want tourism to
work for us. What we have is a drop in the ocean.
We need a lot more
money to develop the products, get them to the standards that are
required if we want to make money especially from international
tourists.
You say you need more money. How much?
We
have a budget of about Shs17 billion for each financial year. But what
we need is 10 or 20 times more than that to do it right.
We would
like tourism to be every Ugandan’s business. The tourism development
master plan has divided the country into different regions. We are
trying to use these regions to develop iconic products so that people
visit Uganda with a package that allows them to travel the whole
country. That way, they stay longer and pay more money.
The Source
of the Nile, for instance, is one unique feature we haven’t developed.
Look at the sign post where people enjoy taking photos just reading:
‘The Source of River Nile the longest river in the world.’ This is just a
small sign. With the kind of facilities that we have around that place,
it can be improved. But that requires a lot of investment in terms of
building a bridge across the actual Source of the Nile in a manner that
is actually secure. We need a range of restaurants, cultural shops and
other services.
The Equator line across Uganda is another feature but
it will take money to do it really well. We’ve just finished a study
where we’ve marked the Equator points across the country, crossing 12
districts. If we are going to build monuments in 12 different districts,
that will require a lot of investment which we can not leave to the
private sector alone. It will require some kind of public private
partnership.
If you have an Equator line crossing 12 districts, each of them can benefit from this.
Besides
the monument itself, it can be packaged with whatever each district
has. If well done, it calls for investment in hotels and other
facilities that can provide experiences that tourists are looking for.
We
are setting up ourselves right now to go online because digital
marketing has also become the trend. We can’t just use the conventional
way of marketing. But this requires huge investment in terms of having
creative content that will keep the audience engaged with what we are
saying.
One of our neighbouring countries is spending up to $5
million on their digital marketing. They have a team of 10 staff for a
Tourism Board.
In terms of investment, more money is put in arcades and other investments. Where is the problem?
Lack of information. Ugandans need to be directed on where the investment opportunities are.
Market UGANDA
Wherever Uganda Airlines flies will promote Uganda. We are working with Uganda Airlines’ management to
South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria are our core markets in Africa.
Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug
