UWA woos investors into wildlife protected areas
Uganda’s diverse wildlife and beautiful scenery due to its unique geographical location has led to an increase in the number of tourists coming into the region. It is because of this that the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is inviting stakeholders and investors to help build the tourism industry by investing in the protected areas.
The government of Uganda hopes that by inviting people to invest in the tourism which is seeing an increasing number of tourists flocking to this relatively small country with an abundant species of flora and fauna with unique landscapes and vegetation, the country will once again see itself gain its number one position as a leading tourism destination in Africa like it did in the 1960’s and 1970’s .
The past couple of years has seen a significant leap in the number of tourists visiting the country with an average of over 600,000 foreign tourists per year with about 1/6th of them visiting the protected areas. This fetches Uganda a good amount of foreign exchange accounting for a huge percentage of the national budget. The tourism sector is fostering development creation of development, development of infrastructure like hotels and lodges and the revenue for households and communities around these protected areas.
The Executive Director of UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority) Mr. Mpesa Moses, emphasizes the need to recapture the 1960’s and 1970’s glory in which a high number of tourists visited this beautiful country that Sir Winston Churchill once described as “The pearl of Africa”. This was at breakfast meeting designed to discuss the investment opportunities that exist in the tourism sector as well to find the best investment climate for those wishing to invest in the industry.
During this meeting Murchison falls national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Mount Elgon, Lake Mburo and Kidepo valley were some of the protected areas singled out as having great investment opportunities. However, to sustain an increased growth there needs to be an investment in the tourism infrastructure according to the Executive Director.
There is not enough accommodation facilities in the protected areas at the moment and more so in the countryside in which most of these protected areas are found with a total number of only 700 beds in Uganda’s hotels and lodges found in the game parks. With over 1,000,000 tourists expected this year these are very few accommodation facilities, providing an opportunity for investors to capitalize on the need for accommodation for both budget and luxury accommodation. This will not only mean increased comfort for the tourists but also increased periods of stay by the tourists in these regions benefiting the local communities around these areas.
According to the minister for Tourism, Trade and Industry, incentives are being considered so as to enable investors put up more investments in these upcountry regions.
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