The Minister of State for Tourism, Martin Mugarra has continued To Engage Sector players in the tourism and hospitality industry.
In a stakeholder meeting held at Igongo Cultural Centre in Mbarara on the Explore Western Region domestic tourism promotional trail, Minister Mugarra underscored the need to provide quality services to both domestic and foreign tourists since it’s the only way Uganda can sustain the competitive industry.
Mugarra also appreciated the private sector, media, celebrity influencers, and leaders among others for the great job done as far as promoting the tourism industry.
He further noted that Uganda is the most hospitable country he knows and therefore appreciated all Ugandans for treating tourists in a hospitable way both local and international visitors encouraging them to recommend more of their friends and family.
“We met some two Europeans at Lake Mburo National Park and asked them about their experience, they failed to answer because they didn’t know where to start after being treated well and enjoyed too much,” the minister added.
The Explore Western Region domestic tourism promotional trail comes a few months after the successful Explore Elgon domestic tourism campaign that witnessed hundreds of Ugandans participate as they visited Mbale city, Wanale Hill, and Sipi Falls in December last year.
This initiative by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, “ExploreWest,” is aimed at creating awareness of the various potentially untapped prized tourism sites and attractions strewn across the western countryside and neighbouring places as part of the synergies to encourage domestic tourism in Uganda and also as a strategy for tourism recovery post-Covid-19 and the Ebola epidemic, among other catastrophes that affected the Country’s tourism industry.
The engagement was attended by the Mbarara district deputy RDC, Mbarara city RCC, tourism board members among other officials.
The discussion came in after the minister had just completed the first day of the domestic tourism campaign dubbed “Explore Western Region” during which the group stopped at the equator mark in Kayabwe, visited Lake Mburo National Park and an Ankole long-horned cattle farm.
According to Raymond Odongo a game guide, Lake Mburo is the most convenient and human friendly National Park in Uganda due to the fact that tourists can even move freely without any fear of being attacked by wild animals.
“It is seated on 370 square km and we don’t accommodate dangerous animals like Lions, leopards, tiger among others that’s why many tourists even carry out bike ride inside making it the most human friendly national park,” he added.
