tourism products in uganda

Tourism in Uganda offers new paths to economic transformation and job creation

Qursum qasim.

Uganda is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet with millennia of history and thriving cultural traditions. But it remains an underrated tourist destination. From the royal trails across the kingdoms – Buganda, Tooro, Bunyoro-Kitara, and Busoga – to the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Kasubi Tombs, the art galleries in Kampala, and the Nyege Nyege music festival near Itanda Falls on the Nile, there is a world of activities that offer unique and memorable experiences. Developing these products and others could broaden Uganda’s appeal beyond gorilla trekking in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, which is currently the most popular attraction. Broadening the menu of tourism attractions and experiences in Uganda is critical to bringing in more tourists and increasing the potential earnings for Ugandan businesses and the private sector.

Similarly, for the hundreds of thousands of new job seekers in Uganda, tourism offers gainful employment and entrepreneurship  for guides, tour operators, hospitality workers, and marketing professionals, among many others. Tourism is also opening up new opportunities for women and youth and before the pandemic employed about 600,000 people in Uganda. While a significant proportion of tourism jobs were lost due to COVID-19, signs of recovery offer hope.

Violet Komuhendo of Afrika Panthera Safaris leads a group of women guides who come from the communities living near the Kibale National Park, the famed home of chimpanzees in Uganda. She told me that guiding in Uganda is still mostly done by men, but she is committed to supporting training for women guides in a male-dominated sector and wants to provide employment opportunities for them. For Violet to realize her ambitions, she needs help in accessing capacity building, financial support, and marketing opportunities.

Tourism in Uganda holds the key to increased job creation, increased foreign exchange earnings, enhanced domestic revenue mobilization, and a services-led economic transformation.  To realize its full potential, a multidimensional approach is needed to bring together stakeholders and offer targeted support.

Growing Uganda’s global brand by leveraging digital platforms is essential. For many tourists, it is word-of-mouth through digital platforms like TripAdvisor and Viator which introduces them to new destinations, but few Ugandan firms are using these platforms to their full advantage.

Milca Akandinda, who leads a tour company in the Bigodi community near Kibale, is seeking to borrow money from a local bank to set up a permanent office. She owns land she has inherited from her father, which she offered as collateral. But the bank has not accepted it. She was told she would need a formal agreement from her father confirming that he had transferred the land to her. She then offered to sign that agreement with her father right then, but the bank told her doing that right before applying for the loan would be deemed “suspicious” by them. Milca’s proposal is in no way contrary to the law and required documentation of land ownership can be completed at any time prior to a loan application. Dynamic entrepreneurs like Milca are held back by the lack of widespread information about how people can formalize claims to their land.

What is clear to me from the experiences of these two women entrepreneurs, is that a lot more work is needed to improve tourism management to target support where it is likely to yield highest economic benefits for the tourism sector, including in product diversification, skills development, and access to finance, all in close collaboration with the private sector. Coordination between the center (Kampala) where decisions are made and the districts where most tourism activities take place is limited and uneven. The private sector is similarly organized across many associations. Some smaller and newer tourism enterprises report high barriers to joining such groups. At the policy level, there is no framework for managing crises emerging from pandemics, natural disasters or other global and domestic situations that have the potential to interrupt and slow down tourism in the country. The combined impact of COVID-19 and the Ebola outbreak demonstrates the urgency of developing such a framework and its relevance to broader areas of conservation and climate change adaptation and mitigation. Cross-sectoral issues, including land administration, need to be better addressed as well.

Better data collection, for example, on tourist profiles and emerging areas of growth in tourism, would address a lot of these challenges and allow for evidence-based policymaking. We are supporting the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities in the development of a Tourism Information Management System (TIMS) which would form the backbone of evidence-based policymaking in the sector under the ongoing Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project (CEDP).

There is room to do much more to facilitate a robust, sustainable dialogue between the public and private sectors. This is essential to better target scarce public resources. Sector management, in the public and private spheres, needs to be professionalized. There is scope for scaling up public-private partnerships to maintain and build sites and attractions. Encouraging innovative new products −like heritage and cultural tourism, culinary tourism, agro-tourism in coffee and tea estates, and development of community tourism featuring Uganda’s diversity− offer viable avenues for growth and a brighter future for Uganda.

Private Sector Specialist

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Understanding Tourism Products

• August 24, 2019
• Business Management , Financial Management , Training , Travel Info

Understanding Tourism products is key and very vital to every tour operator in Uganda and entirely to the whole world. Tourism products are the basis for a destination’s tourism sector operation: unless the tourism product meets the needs and expectations of tourists, the destination cannot realize its full potential. To a tour consultant and director understanding tourism products is so essential in creating a lasting and memorable experience for guests. 

The concept of understanding tourism products is so complex and wide. Finding a tourism consultant to walk you through different products in a particular destination would be from tourism product development, packaging, selling, and creating customers’ experiences.

Understanding what tourists’ interests are is very critical, where they want to go, what they want to see, and for how long and the right way to experience a destination tells about the knowledge of the tour consultant in understanding a set of tourism products to offer. Take an example, guests that wish to do Gorilla trekking in Uganda , a consultant must be able to interpret the most preferred destination to organize this, which property they are looking forward to staying at, they planned budget, mode of transfers and the choice of other interest they would love to encounter to meet their holiday expectations

Understanding tourism products runs down to effective relations with other industry suppliers including flight operators, hotels and safari lodges, and car rental companies name it. This equips the tour consultant with resourceful knowledge and information about any product

E&J Tourism Consultants illustrates the power of sharing and equipping all industry players with skills to understand tourism products from attractions, places to go to, when to go to these places, travel regulations and recommendations of a given destination, updates on industry trends and effective management and running of day to day tour operations

Having a skilled team that understands tourism products so well will save you a heap of rubbish at your workplace thus effectively creating more business and leading to company steady growth

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Adventure Tourism Uganda

#AdventureTourismUG

Adventure Tourism Uganda is a project wherein Dutch-Ugandan companies join hands to develop new products for the Ugandan adventure and cultural tourism sector.

About the Project

Spectacular landscapes, a great variety of cultures and the most welcoming people: Uganda has so much to offer to tourists. But the potential of the adventure and cultural tourism sector remains largely untapped. In close collaboration with the Dutch government, a group of Dutch-Ugandan companies join hands to boost the adventure and cultural tourism sector. The goal is to develop new activities in the field of cycling, motorcycling, running, hiking and cultural tourism as well as to improve the skills of professionals working in the sector.

https://ug-motobike.com/

http://reddirtuganda.com

https://www.noorderpoort.nl/

http://www.matoketours.com

Kara-Tunga, Karamoja Tours

https://www.transatlasbike.com/

https://eyeopenerworks.org/

http://bergwandelen.com

https://www.homeoffriends.com/

Motorcycle Tourism

Motorcycling is a great way to reach even the most remote hidden gems.

Motorcycling is a great way to reach remote regions and have a wonderful off-the-beaten experience. With its variety in landscapes, its safety and welcoming people, Uganda has much to offer to the motorcycle tourist. While boda-boda’s are present all over Uganda, motorcycle tourism is still in its infancy. However, a developed motorcycle tourism sector will help to spread out the business opportunities that come with the increase in tourists, more evenly across the country.

This pillar serves to further develop the motorcycle tourism industry. It includes a market research on the potential for motorcycle tourism, as well as training for motorcycle guides and mechanics. The initiator of the pillar is  UG-Motobike , a Dutch-Ugandan motorcycle company based in Kampala. It offers motorcycle activities and rents out motorcycles that are more powerful than boda-boda’s but small enough to go off-road.  Feel free to get in touch if you see possibilities for collaboration.

Cycling Tourism

Adventurous & healthy: Cycling is a great way to experience Uganda.

Uganda is a rough diamond when it comes to cycling; mountain biking in particular. With its mix of landscapes, that can be both hilly and flat, Uganda has something to offer for every cyclist. The overall safety, the welcoming, English speaking population and the short distances between villages add to the potential for cycling.

Being environmentally sustainable and healthy, cycling forms a great alternative to the typical car-based tourism itineraries. In addition, it provides plenty of opportunities for shops, activity providers and guesthouses and hotels along the route.

As Uganda boasts such a diversity of landscapes on a relatively small territory, this pillar aims to connect those landscapes through the planning of national cycling route, which would for example link the Southwest to the Northeast of the country: Kisoro to Kidepo. Tourists may want to cycle it in its entirety but may also be interested to explore certain parts of it.

In addition, cycling can be a wonderful way to explore the national parks and other protected areas of Uganda. At this moment, Lake Mburo is the only national park where cycling is allowed, yet many others have great potential for it as well. In collaboration with the Uganda Wildlife Authority, we will explore the potential for cycling in other national parks as well. We will focus on the potential of the trails, what is needed to develop the supporting infrastructure and how safety can be guaranteed.

Finally, the activities will include bicycle guide trainings, which will take place in various parts of the country.

This pillar is initiated by Red Dirt Uganda , a Ugandan-Dutch frontrunner in cycling activities and TransAtlas Bike , a Dutch cycling tour company. Feel free to get in touch if you see possibilities for collaboration.

Running Tourism

High altitudes & spectacular views: Mt. Elgon is becoming a runner’s paradise

A growing niche of tourists, including amateur and (semi-)professional runners is traveling around the world to combine long-distance running with other holiday activities. The Sebei region on the slopes of Mt. Elgon is rapidly becoming a hotspot for long-distance running and in produces some of the best athletes in the world. This offer plenty of business opportunities, including tourism-related activities. The local communities and their businesses are currently working to come up with a collective and coherent strategy to play into the opportunities that arise in running tourism.

The activities under this pillar serve to help develop the running tourism sector in Sebei. It includes a feasibility study, training of local tourism companies and professionals and the execution of a pilot running event. The capacity-building will focus on race and workshop organizers, local tour guides, running and sports coaches and local tourism companies. It will positively impact the region by creating linkages between sports projects and other tourism initiatives, development of the local economy through infrastructure development and through employment creation. In addition, spill-over effects are to be expected in other tourism niches in the region, including coffee tourism and hiking.

This pillar is initiated by Home of Friends Guesthouse , a Ugandan-Dutch guesthouse in Kapchorwa that has been active in sports and tourism development in the region and one of the founding partners of Run Kapchorwa . Feel free to get in touch if you see possibilities for collaboration.

Hiking Tourism

Forget Kilimanjaro: Uganda’s mountains offer high quality adventures for not so high prices

Uganda has plenty of mountains that have a lot of potential for hiking, yet the numbers of tourists exploring them is limited, compared to the number of visitors on, for example, Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya. Mountains in Uganda include the Rwenzori Mountains, the Virungas, Mt. Elgon and the mountains of Karamoja (Mt. Moroto, Mt. Napak and Mt. Kadam). The activities on each of these mountains are in need of further professionalization. The trails are underdeveloped or non-existent and the guides, porters and supporting staff are often underskilled. This is a pity, as these mountains tend to be located in relatively poor regions of the country and a booming hiking business may provide plenty of business and employment opportunities for the local communities.

Led by hiking expert Jan Bakker and in collaboration with the Dutch hiking tour operator Bergwandelen.com , this pillar serves to further professionalize hiking activities offered by local service providers in the Rwenzori Mountains, Mt. Elgon and the mountains of Karamoja. The focus will lie on exploring the potential of new trails on these mountains as well as training the guides. Feel free to get in touch if you see possibilities for collaboration.

Cultural Tourism

Great diversity in cultures, similarities in friendliness.

With all its cultural diversity and the sense of pride that many Ugandans feel in showcasing their customs and traditions, the potential of cultural tourism in Uganda is tremendous. Since most of the cultural tourism initiatives in the country are initiated by grassroots organizations, their profits tend to help the local communities directly. However, many of these initiatives are fragmented and lack the linkages to be directly incorporated in typical itineraries.  

Although all regions of Uganda have great potential for cultural tourism, the poorest region of Uganda, Karamoja, is particular promising for that activity. The Karimojong, the Ik and other tribes in that region often live as semi-nomadic pastoralists and hold on tightly to their traditions. A visit to the kraal where herdsmen sleep with their cattle together at night is a truly wonderful experience that cannot be found anywhere else in the country. 

Visitors to the region will currently not experience any form of inauthenticity and overcrowding of tourists,  which is something worth protecting. As such, any attempt to develop tourism in the region needs to be socially sustainable. Still, further professionalization of these tourism activities will help the local communities as it can create business opportunities and employment for young people.

In this project a feasibility study will be conducted on this trail and together with the local communities we will explore how it can be most beneficial to them. We will start awareness-raising campaigns to interact with the local communities about tourism, we will interact with small businesses along the trail on how they can make a business case from the presence of tourists and we will train young people in the skills that are needed to make a career in tourism.

The cultural tourism pillar is an initiative of Kara-Tunga Arts & Tours , a Karimojong-Dutch tour operator based in Moroto. They are a leading party in tourism development in Karamoja and the initiator of the Karamoja Tourism Academy. Feel free to get in touch if you see possibilities for collaboration.

Tour Guiding

Tourists deserve the best guides. Uganda has plenty to offer.

The pillar for professional tour guiding is led by Matoke Tours , a reputable tour operator  offering customized full-package itineraries within East Africa, with Uganda at the heart of its operations.  

With primate and safari tourism as Uganda’s more prominent tourism attractions, adventure travel has until recently been considered a special interest “niche” product. Consequently, experienced Adventure Travel Guides, who have both the specific expertise and soft skills required, are scarce and in high demand.

To address this scarcity, Matoke Tours will develop a training program for professional Adventure Travel Guides in Uganda to give qualified guides the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge about adventure travel as well as further develop their soft-skills, such as high-level customer service, planning and intercultural communication.

The guide trainings will take place over the course of 3 years and will consist of a 1-week basic training in Kampala and two 1-week regional trainings in the field per year with focus on both nature-based active travel and cultural experiences.

To participate in the 3-year guide training, guides will have to go through an application process and an entry level test. 40 guides will be selected for the 1 week-introductory level tour-guiding training, of which 30 guides will qualify for the 3-year regional specialization program. 

Within the program, there will be a dedicated track for female tour guides. Societal and economic barriers often make it impossible for women to consider a career in tour guiding in Uganda. To contribute towards a change in perspection, Matoke Tours actively encourages aspiring female tour guides to participate in their trainings and offers support through additional training modules e.g. on safety and security or on career development in a male-dominate profession and throughmentorship programs for female guides.

Feel free to get in touch if you see possibilities for collaboration .

Advanced Hospitality Training

One is never finished learning, as there is always room for improvement.

In Uganda the possibilities for additional training while already working in tourism & hospitality is limited. That is one of the reasons why it is relatively difficult to make a vertical career growth within the sector. Since many companies have to make large investments to hire foreign managers and other high-level staff, the call for short, relevant, advanced level in-service trainings is large.

Under this pillar we aim to provide just that. By giving a kick start to advanced level in-service training that are designed in collaboration with the private sector we aim to further professionalize the human resources in the tourism & hospitality sector. The focus will lie on management training, digital marketing and coffee tourism.

The management trainings will focus on a range of skills including effective leadership, teamwork and customer care. It will be of particular interest to high-potential youngsters who already hold a management position or are dedicated to get one in the future.

Digital marketing is a difficult topic for many tourism companies as they did not receive any training by experts on it. By training representatives of tour operators and accommodation providers in digital marketing we aim to strengthen their company’s online presence.

Finally, Uganda’s coffee industry is increasingly looking towards tourism and many coffee estates start to offer tours as well. In addition, a particular niche of tourists is visiting Uganda for the specific focus of visiting coffee estates. Still, the coffee companies have had little training in how to maximize the potential of their tourism activities. By providing relevant trainings to coffee estates and their site guides, we aim to further professionalize the coffee tourism sector in Uganda.

The advanced in-service training pillar is initiated by EyeOpenerWorks , a Dutch-Ugandan social business that is based in Kampala. EyeOpenerWorks specializes in the field of active learning and has been active in various tourism development initiatives. The trainings will be open for various tourism professionals, although selection criteria will be applied. Feel free to get in touch if you see possibilities for collaboration.

News Updates

A magazine developed by adventure lovers

Adventure Tourism Uganda Magazine, developed by fellow adventure lovers, will be officially launched at ITB Berlin. This exciting new publication…

These 10 best day hikes in Uganda will leave you breathless (in a good way!)

When people think of hiking in Africa, the first thing that comes to mind is Kilimanjaro. Some may have heard…

The Adventure Tourism EXPO in Kampala: a roaring success

On the 5th of May this year, we hosted different stakeholders and various adventure tourism companies showcasing their activities. Various…

Why this project?

Uganda simply is a beautiful country. From the wild waters of the Nile to the snow peaks of the Rwenzori mountains, from the rainforests of Kibale to the arid plans of Kidepo: Uganda boasts almost all of the landscapes that can be found on the African continent. With more than 40 indigenous languages the cultural diversity is just as large, but in every region of Uganda, the local population will make you feel truly welcome. So it’s fair to say that Winston Churchill was right when he called Uganda ‘the Pearl of Africa’.

While it still has a bit of an off-the-beaten-track feeling, Uganda’s tourism sector is growing rapidly. The country at large benefits from it in terms of jobs, business opportunities and through the conservation of protected areas. But the country can benefit even more from it if the tourism sector is developed in a sensible and sustainable way.

Most tourists currently go Uganda to visit the national parks, especially to see the endangered mountain gorillas and the abundance of savanna animals. And for good reasons: being face-to-face with a silverback or a large elephant is truly wonderful. But Uganda has so much more to offer than wildlife alone.

No matter to which region you go, Uganda has breathtaking landscapes, is safe and culturally unique. That is why adventure and cultural tourism has so much potential! But this potential is largely untapped as the tourism products and services are not fully developed, the supporting infrastructure is lacking and the local communities often have not enough access to training possibilities to offer a truly professional experience. It is worth developing those niches as adventure and cultural tourism can help to spread out the benefits of tourism more evenly among communities across the country.

This project aims to boost product development in adventure and cultural tourism and to help showcase excellent and well-rounded tourism products. In that way we aim to boost the local private sector, create business opportunities and employment in adventure and cultural tourism throughout the country.

dutch government

The Dutch government has recognized the Ugandan tourism sector as a significant creator of jobs and business opportunities. In its ambitions to help develop the Ugandan private sector, the Dutch government has joined hands with a number of Dutch and Ugandan frontrunners in adventure and cultural tourism. By embracing adventure and cultural tourism as focus areas the Dutch government aims to help making the Ugandan tourism industry more diverse and more socially and environmentally sustainable.

Corporate Social Responsibility

All partners involved adhere to a strict corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy, which can be found here . As such, the partners proactively aim to set a good example in terms of social, environmental and economic sustainability. The partners hope that such policies become the norm in the Ugandan tourism sector and call upon anyone to report wrongdoings if they have been committed by partners or service providers within this project.

Several reports have been published by the project partners and aim to further develop adventure tourism in Uganda. Download them here.

Running Tourism in Uganda: a Study (2020) Tourism Development in Uganda: a Roadmap for the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (2019)

Are you involved in tourism and would you like to fill in our survey?

We would be very happy if you would like to fill in our survey as this will help to increase the relevance of this project! You can find the survey here.

Would you like to collaborate or participate in any of our trainings?

Feel free to send an email to [email protected] and we will provide you more information.

For any inquiries please email

• [email protected]
• +256 773 873 516

Uganda Breaks Away from the Safari Narrative With New Tourism Marketing

Lebawit Lily Girma , Skift

February 3rd, 2022 at 1:30 PM EST

It’s about time Africans were portrayed as central protagonists in the exploration of their own backyards. But Uganda’s new campaign also shows how African destinations can stand out more sustainably — pushing for local and regional tourism short-term, and preparing for more adventure and community-based tourism down the road.

Lebawit Lily Girma

For years, selling Uganda as a destination meant leaning on the region’s most predictable features — the iconic mountain gorilla and the Big Five animals. The East African nation’s diverse communities, modern cities, and remote community tourism experiences remained eclipsed to all but the intrepid explorer.

That narrative has now shifted. In a visible departure from the status quo, Uganda Tourism Board’s new marketing campaign showcases a country with features few outside visitors might expect, and serves as a sign of what’s to come out of African destinations in a post-pandemic competitive tourism industry.

Viewers might glimpse a chimpanzee, a giraffe or a cheetah on the chase, but these make up a tiny part of the footage, otherwise dominated by scenes of Ugandans enjoying a range of outdoor adventures, cultural and urban activities in their own country. 

The new message is to not just visit Uganda’s sights, but to stay longer and explore its diverse corners beyond the gorillas and the Big 5 . 

There’s a group river rafting, a lone female hiker on a gorilla forest hike, friends sharing a plate of matooke or mashed green bananas, and nightlife scenes in Kampala that contrast against tribe visits and Millennials partying by a riverfront infinity pool at a luxury lodge. As the clip wraps up, two women are in awe while on a game drive, while a road tripping couple pull over and hug over sunset.

All the depictions are of locals enjoying their modern, multi-faceted African destination while inviting outside visitors to “come see what is uniquely ours.”

The campaign, released less than a week ago, was launched alongside a rebranding of the destination to “ Explore Uganda , The Pearl of Africa.”

“That tourism brand is the result of a very intensive study which took place for a period of time,” said Tom Butime, Uganda’s Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities , on a recent local news broadcast, adding that the study revealed tourists stayed longer in Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda than they did in Uganda.  

Past branding didn’t stand out because of former poorly executed campaigns, and a lack of unity behind the meaning of “Pearl of Africa,” said Lilly Ajarova, CEO of Uganda Tourism Board .  

“We also collaborated with some of the market researchers in North America or in Europe, and we know that it is not just wildlife that people are interested in right now,” said Ajarova. “So to be able to position ourselves as a competitive destination, it was important that we highlight the other attractions that we have as well.”

Uganda tourism businesses and veterans in the industry who spoke to Skift shared optimism and positive feedback on the new narrative and branding efforts. 

For Theo Vos, founder of Kara-Tunga Arts & Tours —  a social enterprise tour company in Uganda’s northern Karamoja region, a former conflict zone transformed through tourism, the message shift is indeed packed with meaning.

“The new video finally represents us, the people of Uganda, the potential of outdoor adventure and in addition the diversity in nature and its biodiversity,” said Vos. 

Ugandan-born safari tourism veteran Praveen Moman welcomed the departure from the obvious marketing of the past.

“It’s great that the government is doing the campaign and hopefully, it helps build the product, build awareness, build the messaging,” said Moman, co-founder of Volcanoes Safaris . 

There’s also power behind the voice leading the narrative, said James Haigh, head of sales and marketing at Lemala Camps & Lodges , whose Wildwaters Lodge riverfront infinity pool is featured in the campaign video.

“It’s a tourism board initiative, but it is a Ugandan talking to other Ugandans overtly, talking about ‘our country,” said Haigh. “I think it’s a really bold statement to change that and I love it.”

The three-year campaign roll out will prioritize local and regional African markets this year, before going big in international markets in2023.

An Initial Resistance to Change

The campaign faced initial pushback from Uganda Tourism Association (UTA), a trade association representing the private sector, claiming it wasn’t consulted on the new branding. Skift reached out to UTA president Herbert Byaruhanga but did not hear back.

Uganda Tourism Board’s Arajova told Skift that her team did consult the major stakeholders in the private sector, but that it wasn’t possible to incorporate their individual demands. 

“We tried, but there are people who are just too passionate,” Ajarova said. Some had wanted the gorilla to be in the logo and others were saying they wanted the national flag, Ajarova added, noting that the tourism board’s priority was to look at the interest of the country in having an adaptable brand that speaks to future tourism trends.

But Uganda’s tourism industry at large is now embracing the change.

“We have gone around this now; as recently as yesterday we had a full meeting with them,” Ajarova added. “We are now doing training to get them to understand how to use the brand, co-branding the destination brand with their individual tour companies or hotels and so on.” 

Africa’s Tourism Future Is Also Regional

When Covid hit, Uganda’s tourism industry had been growing by at least 20 percent annually for a decade, reaching just over 1.5 million visitors in 2019 and $1.6 billion tourism earnings. Of course that all changed in 2020, when the pandemic set the country back to 2005 with just a third of those visits and a 72.7 percent decline in tourism revenue , according to the Uganda Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities. 

“In 2021, we had just over 500,000; we are hoping that we can be able to double last year’s number this this year,” said Uganda Tourism Board’s Ajarova.

Vaccines are on the way and so far the country aims to innoculate the majority of its adult population by the end of the year, Ajarova said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department’s “Reconsider Travel” advisory on Uganda remains in place since the bombings in Kampala in November 2021. But Ajarova said the warning was nothing new.

“Again, it’s the way we are basically viewed, you know, countries on the continent of Africa,” Ajarova said. “But in reality, you know, it is not what is on the grounds. So, we basically have left the responsibility to our diplomatic missions to deal with that.”

The initial local and regional tourism draw has provided a buffer for Uganda’s tourism businesses as more locals and Africans have increasingly taken to exploring their backyards. 

“We’ve been luckier than most,” said Volcanoes Safaris’ Moman. “First we started having a trickle of tourists from the region and then international tourists.” 

The up and down flow of visitors the past 18 months has helped sustain the lodge, Moman added, but it’s also allowed it to operate and to some extent continue with its community and conservation work.”

Lemala Camps’ Haigh said that its Uganda property has seen a combination of visitors and record-breaking revenue.

“We’ve made more money in January this year than any year since the property’s been opened,” said Wildwaters Lodge’s Haigh. “And that’s been funded out of a mixture of local and regional, and international tourism.”

Adventure as a Community Tourism Game Changer

Vos’ Kara-Tunga Tours recently partnered with a group of six Ugandan and Dutch companies to form Adventure Tourism Uganda and design new cycling trails in national parks, including cross-border adventure and cultural routes linking Northeast Uganda to Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

Guides are also being trained to meet the future demand from outdoor travelers and tap into opportunities. The project has the backing of the Uganda Tourism Board and Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Vos said the shift to support community-based tourism in Uganda and spread the economic benefits of tourism to communities had started just before the pandemic. 

“It got amplified by the effects of the pandemic and the current demand of tourists for immersive experiences with direct positive impact on the host communities,” said Vos.

The push for adventure and rural tourism beyond wildlife spotting is particularly promising for Uganda’s remote areas where climate change is threatening the pastoral way of life, and tourism can help diversify community income and reduce harm to natural resources.

“For a country like Uganda that’s one of the world’s youngest countries, fast growing population, rapid loss of wilderness, tourism is a changemaker,” said Vos. 

Uganda Tourism Board’s Ajarova confirmed the push for involving communities in tourism. “As we pursue the development of different kinds of adventure, communities are going to be massively involved in the new product developments from culture to the adventure activities.”

It’s all part of Uganda tourism’s goal to target slower and immersive exploration and attract the rising number of travelers — domestic, regional and international — who are in search of meaningful experiences.

“I love the challenge of the word ‘explore’ because it is literally challenging people to take a deeper experience of a destination rather than the superficial one,” said Lemala Camps’ Haigh. “That’s what I think that’s what our future is all going to be about.”

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Tags: africa , coronavirus recovery , tourism campaigns , tourism marketing , uganda

Photo credit: Kara-Tunga Tours' community experience with the Karamojong people in Uganda Kara-Tunga Arts & Tours / Kara-Tunga Arts & Tours

Why we need to focus on Uganda’s tourism products, infrastructure facilities

Jun 02, 2023

Research shows that successful destinations provide visitor experiences that meet the visitors’ needs, and expectations and are true to the promises of their brand. 

The writer is the chairman of the Uganda Tourism Board.

Daudi Migereko

Tourism can be considered a major export item for Uganda. Indeed, NDP 111 and Vision 2040 indicate that with optimal investment in our tourism products and sites Uganda can earn approximately $6b per year.

The package of interventions as directed by H.E President Y. K. Museveni on April 20, 2023, aimed at revitalising the tourism sector, which has been highly hailed, if pursued with urgency regarding follow-up and implementation will put the sector on the desired trajectory and enable the sector to realize the earnings envisaged, sooner than later.

For several years, before the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism was Uganda’s leading foreign exchange earner.

Destination Uganda was also predicted to be among the 10 fastest-growing destinations for leisure-travel spending between 2020 and 2026 in the following order: India, Angola, Uganda , Brunei, Thailand, China, Myanmar, Oman, Mozambique, and Vietnam. 

Ever since the launch of the country destination brand by the President in January 2022, the brand has won international awards and the destination has received unprecedented endorsements from leading media houses, globally, including the recent one by CNN. All this should enhance the marketing of Destination Uganda.

The Government, the Ministry of Tourism, UTB, and the private sector players have been having discussions, generating papers pointing to policies and interventions that must be pursued to revitalise our tourism industry and enable the country to benefit from her tourism attractions given the peace and tranquility that the country enjoys.

We commend the President on his Directives of March 28, and April 20, 2023, geared towards fostering improvement in Uganda's tourism infrastructure, specifically the tarmacking of  aerodromes in National parks, working on tourism roads, and Wi-Fi Connectivity in the tourism hot-spots.

These Directives are timely and will certainly set the pace and momentum for stronger interventions and investment in improving our flagship tourism attractions and eventually enhancing the country's attractiveness as a preferred tourism destination.

Numerous initiatives are underway to position Uganda, alongside the other East African Community member states in marketing the region as a single tourism destination. Indeed, the just concluded 

Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE 2023) event held from April 26 – 29, 2023 in Munyonyo, was well attended by all the seven East African Community (EAC) partner tourism boards and private sector from the EAC partner states and calls were made to fast track the implementation of the East Africa Joint Tourism Marketing Strategy, among other initiatives. 

However, for Uganda to maximize returns from this joint initiative and achieve the set tourism targets in NDP III, we must pursue deliberate interventions and strategic investments geared towards improving and enhancing Uganda's tourism products holistically to ensure global competitiveness.

Many countries, including oil-rich countries, are investing heavily in tourism, precisely because they want to be the best, and most competitive and are targeting the high returns associated with tourism investments.

Research shows that successful destinations provide visitor experiences that meet the visitors’ needs, and expectations and are true to the promises of their brand.

They continuously maintain and enhance their existing products and where there are gaps or opportunities, they invest in new products, infrastructure, services, and amenities that strengthen the destination’s appeal and competitiveness.

Following the Presidential Directives, all we need to do now is to focus on the priority areas/ items/things for intervention and immediately start working on them, in line with the resources we have, at a given time.

We should be certain of the impact or multiplier effects they will create, the returns we shall get and the benefits should be well articulated.

Attractiveness and Competitiveness:

The popularity of tourism destinations can be enhanced by a combination of the factors of competitiveness and attractiveness.

The competitiveness elements are derived from the supply side while the attractiveness ones are from the demand side of tourism.

Competitiveness and attractiveness can help us view destination Uganda from two different yet reinforcing perspectives: one from the tourist perspective (attractiveness), and the other from the destination perspective (competitiveness).

The attractiveness of a destination is enhanced by its ability to provide facilities that tourists can use at the destination.

The competitiveness of a destination is achieved when the provision of services and facilities is more competitive compared to alternative destinations.

Combining these perspectives is one sure way to come up with a holistic understanding of the destination's popularity dynamics.

The input of both tourists and tourism facility operators is necessary for any destination to manage and enhance its competitive advantage.

Therefore, the evaluation of Uganda as a tourism destination should be approached by symmetrically assessing destination attractiveness and destination competitiveness as related and complementary dimensions.

This approach allows comparisons to be made about the congruency between what we invest in as a country and what our tourists are looking for in Uganda.

Research has demonstrated that 70% of all tourists visit the 10 major world tourist destinations, leaving the rest of the world to share the remaining 30% of tourists.

This indicates the intensity of competition for the other less-known destinations. With this, the attractiveness factors weigh in.

The more a destination can meet the needs of the tourists, the more it is perceived to be attractive and the greater the chances that the destination is likely to be chosen. The attractiveness of a tourist destination encourages people to visit and spend time at the destination.

Therefore, the major value of destination attractiveness is the pulling effect it has on tourists. Without the attractiveness, tourism does not exist and there could be little or no need for tourism facilities and services.

As a country, we need to be more purposeful and invest in those facilities or infrastructure that attract and help to retain visitors. 

Product Development 

Arguably, Uganda is a very beautiful country that is greatly endowed with natural attractions and human-related offerings; culture, weather, and heritage that make the country unique in its way.

From the snowcapped mountain Rwenzori to the grasslands of Kidepo, we must all agree that Uganda is a beautiful country. 

However, our products need to be developed to the expected standard to promote repeat visits.

A case in point is Uganda is yet to develop cultural villages or tourism parks where a tourist experiences the destination for a whole day and spends as much money as he has on the experience and items on offer.

We are working on enhancing the potential of tourism sites such that they meet internationally acceptable standards.

This will ensure that we are creating competitive local and international demand for our tourism products. This will ultimately enhance our tourism earnings. 

For example, the Source of the Nile, the Equator, the urgent need for a National Convention Centre, the untapped opportunities in marine tourism on Lake Victoria and River Nile, the Rwenzori mountaineering circuit, Namugongo/ Munyonyo and other religious sites, among others, if carefully attended to will greatly enhance our product range and competitiveness of Uganda as a Tourism Destination. 

Equally important, is the cleanliness and beauty of our cities and urban centers. The cleanliness, hygienic standards, and safety of our major tourism and urban centers are going to be critical in attracting more tourists to Destination Uganda.

This is closely tied to the establishment of infrastructure that is accommodative of the massive urbanization across cities in Uganda.

This would reduce inefficiencies associated with the apparent congestion in the consumption of public services in cities. 

A team of government, private sector, and other stakeholders can be constituted at national and regional levels to ensure follow-up and timely implementation of whatever is agreed. A mechanism for rigorous monitoring and supervision will also need to be put in place.  

Infrastructure:

Accessibility  to our tourism sites/products is  critical . For several years, some tourism roads have been prioritized in the annual budgets and work plans.

However, a good number of these roads are yet to be worked on and are in a sorry state. Many tourism sites could not be accessed, this last peak season, leading to a loss of revenue and related negative effects on our tourism. 

The recent Directive by the President on tourism roads did cover the key tourism areas of Kisoro/Bwindi, Kasese/Kanungu/Bwindi, Kitgum/Kidepo, Kampala/ Jinja/ Itanda, Pian Upe.

The Ministry of Works and UNRA will need to expedite the implementation of their re tarmacking, upgrading their capacities, and tarmacking.

It may also be prudent to maintain an emergency road repair unit to service the tourism areas.

Domestic air transport and connectivity ; should readily complement road transport or provide a faster and more convenient alternative to the various tourist destinations in the country. Very few tourists want to spend 12 hours on the road, to reach one area of tourist attraction.

The Directive issued by the President on March 28 and April 20 to revitalize some airstrips/aerodromes, code them and enable them to handle charter, domestic, regional, and international flights will go a long way to ease accessibility and connectivity for tourists who come to Destination Uganda.

If this directive could be handled expeditiously, this would make it easy to optimally plan /arrange for the visitors who will be here to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)Conference, the Pan African Parliament, and the Commonwealth Speakers’ Conference to visit most areas of touristic attraction in the country.

The benefits and earnings for the country will be considerable.

ICT/Internet Capacity : Since the outbreak of Covid-19, internet usage has become a way of life. Therefore, every tourism facility must have a fast internet connection and the requisite capacity to handle multiple users.

This enables tourists to share experiences, and participate in meetings and conferences from wherever they may be. This will also help us to enhance our business and conference (MICE) tourism competitiveness.

Our national broadband needs to take this new reality into account and the program to enhance capacity needs to be immediately embarked on. 

Capacity building :

World over, the tourism and hospitality sector is impacted by the level of services offered by the persons involved in the value chain.

That is the reason why the Government has invested funds to upgrade the Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (UHTTI) in Jinja and supported other facilities established by the private sector.

Upon completion, UHTTI will provide the necessary skills training to young people across the tourism value chain. That is from the front desk, chef, etc up to the tourism entrepreneur.

The courses will need to be reviewed, aligned to the international standards and other international languages to be taught for the marketability of our human resources.

The skilled staff should be qualified and suitable for employment in any of the five-star hotels around the world and fetch revenue for the country through remittances.

Many countries suffered serious manpower shortages, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and are in dire need of skilled manpower.

Capacity building is also important in the classification of tourist hotels and restaurants. The country needs standards for what should constitute tourism service providers across the accommodation and restaurant value chain.

That when a tourist settles for a given classification of a hotel, the quality of services should be consistent with the tourist’s expectations. 

A five-star experience should be what it is; while a three-star experience should be at that level. However, no accommodation service provider should market themselves as such yet the experience is worth a 2-star facility.

  Credit to the Sector:   The private sector is finding it difficult to access credit on affordable terms. This affects the industry’s ability and capacity to offer the desired range of services, to expand and remain competitive. 

Today, most domestic tourists are insisting on staying in hotels and lodges which have a swimming pool and health club.

Foreign tourists are in addition insisting on a golf course and tennis court in the vicinity of the hotel or lodge before they are to check-in.

These amenities are now becoming a necessity but difficult to finance without long-term affordable credit for the tourism sector.

UDB has taken the lead in financing the sector, however 

the resource available for lending to the sector needs to be enhanced and made more concessionary or affordable. 

The Government should, in the meantime, consider establishing a Tourism Support facility similar to one for the Agricultural sector which is under the supervision of the Bank of Uganda.

This will go a long way in addressing the plight of the private sector, regarding credit, in the tourism industry.

It will also enhance the capacity on the part of industry players to contribute more to the development of the industry. Besides, the sector players have always demonstrated a good capacity of honoring their obligations.

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Analysis of the tourism value chain in Uganda

Tourism is an increasingly important contributor to Uganda’s economy. The 1.5 million international arrivals, combined with a growing number of domestic tourists, generated 7.75% of GDP and 6.7% of total national employment in 2018.

The vast majority of international arrivals (80%) come from Africa. In 2018, the regions outside Africa which generated the most arrivals were Europe (8%, which grew for the first time in 5 years), Asia Pacific (6%, which also grew significantly compared with the previous year) and the Americas (5%).

Tourism data for 2018 and 2019 are based on modelling, following the introduction of e-visas and changes to data collection processes. As a result, the most current data on individual source markets are from 2017, when the top 5 source markets were Rwanda (32% of arrivals), Kenya (24%), Tanzania (6%), the USA (4%) and India (3%). In Europe, the largest source market was the UK (2.4%), followed by the Netherlands (0.7%) and Germany (0.6%). Annex A provides actual visitor numbers for 2017.

Leisure visitors are highly valuable and account for 89% of visitor expenditure, yet they only make up 21% of arrivals. By contrast, more than 75% of visitors to Kenya and Tanzania come for leisure. These countries also receive between 3 and 6 times more visitors from Europe than Uganda does.

Uganda’s greatest opportunity is to invest in attracting adventure travellers. This market segment is very valuable and adventure travellers are looking for experiences that Uganda can offer, in particular safari, hiking, birdwatching and community-based cultural tourism.

Adventure tourists travel both independently and in small mid- to high-budget tour groups. Independent adventurers love all things local and their preference to book directly creates opportunities for MSME providers as well as local entrepreneurs who create suitable products, offer high-value flexible itineraries and promote themselves effectively online. To capture the European tour groups, high standards of professionalism and an environmentally sustainable supply chain are required.

Uganda has the potential to position itself as a high-value destination that offers exceptional wildlife, adventure and cultural experiences which match or exceed those of its neighbours. However, it currently lacks the confidence, infrastructure and skills to capitalise on its competitive advantage.

Potential for New Products and Regions

The regions which have the greatest potential to attract tourists from niche markets in Europe, and which could help diversity Uganda’s tourism offer, are the south-east and north-east. Jinja and Mount Elgon are well positioned to provide the starting point for an eastern circuit through the Karamoja region to Kidepo Valley National Park. There is also considerable potential to diversify the product in the Rwenzori region to the west. This area already attracts a reasonable volume of tourists and could support the growth of new businesses.

In all regions, communities must be able to offer cultural experiences that appeal to the growing demand from European adventure travellers to gain a greater understanding of local lifestyles.

Structure and Governance of the Value Chain

Overall, the governance of Uganda’s tourism sector is well structured. For the public sector, the MTWA is leading in terms of policy, strategy and planning. Its key agencies, UWA and UTB, are responsible for managing the natural heritage as well as realising product development and marketing. However, responsibility for skills development is more fragmented. In the private sector, there is a clearly defined structure for communicating with central government through UTA, which represents the industry on behalf of its 9 industry associations.

At the local level, tourism management is in its infancy. The MWTA is represented by district tourism officers and tourism clusters have recently been set up to enable private- as well as public-sector stakeholders to manage regional destinations jointly.

However, the sector needs a clear focus and direction, with a well-prioritised strategy and an action plan that coordinates activities across the sector. The forthcoming NTSDP 2020–2025, due for publication in mid-2020, is the next opportunity to deliver on this need.

The public sector and business support organisations welcome expertise as well as support in a wide range of areas, provided that it is designed to be sustainable beyond the life of the funding programme. A large number of international organisations are actively involved in supporting the tourism sector and provide opportunities for partnerships. Care is needed to ensure that these programmes are complementary and that efforts are not duplicated.

Sustainability of the Value Chain

The long-term sustainability of leisure tourism in Uganda depends on the conservation of its natural resources and cultural heritage, in particular its iconic and endangered wildlife. Conserving this wildlife and its natural habitat largely depends on the commitment of local communities that live in the wildlife reserves adjacent to the national parks in order to support the work of the UWA. To achieve this aim, they need to derive direct economic benefit from tourism.

Opportunities in the Value Chain for SME Providers

The key opportunities for MSMEs that will strengthen Uganda’s tourism value chain are:

i)             Uganda’s potential to create a strong regional competitive position as a high-value destination that offers exceptional wildlife, adventure and cultural experiences which match or exceed those of Kenya, Rwanda or Tanzania;

ii)            International leisure market trends (before the COVID-19 pandemic) that match Uganda’s product offer, in particular:

• Africa’s middle class is growing and travelling more;
• Leisure tourism from emerging markets is growing, particularly from India, Russia and China;
• Millennials from these emerging markets are increasingly looking for adventure experiences;
• There is a growing demand for niche and special-interest holidays in unspoilt destinations ;
• Adventure tourism is becoming mainstream, is high value and is growing at 20% p.a.;
• The largest outbound markets for adventure tourism are also Uganda’s target markets of the USA and Europe (the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain);
• The most popular adventure activities for Africa fit well with Uganda’s strengths: safari, ecotourism, hiking, birdwatching and cultural tourism ;
• Adventure tourists want to have immersive local experiences , to use small companies that provide bespoke itineraries and to see that their tourist money is supporting local communities ;
• There is a growth of online booking by independent travellers using local companies;
• There is a growing awareness of sustainability and conservation ;

iii)           Uganda’s potential to develop and market a diverse range of products that meet the interests of the high-value leisure market as well as the broader range of niche market segments;

iv)           Uganda’s potential to diversify products and differentiate suppliers by utilising the whole country’s diverse wealth of natural resources as well as its iconic wildlife;

v)            Uganda’s potential to improve product knowledge and promotion of existing products as well as lesser-known regions by UTB, international marketing representation companies and Kampala tour operators;

vi)           Uganda’s potential to capitalise on unutilised accommodation capacity while matching quality and geographic distribution to the demand;

vii)          Uganda’s potential to maximise marketing investment by developing a strong brand narrative and a digital strategy for content marketing ;

viii)         Uganda’s potential to improve the professionalism of DMCs, tour operators, accommodation providers, guides, community tourism, women and craft productions through market intelligence as well as skills development in conjunction with the well-organised support network for tourism association businesses and the large number of NGOs active in Uganda.

Obstacles for SME Providers in the Value Chain

Uganda’s homogenous product of primates and savannah safaris does not tap into the changing demand. To capitalise on these opportunities, the obstacles that MSME tour operators need to overcome include:

i)             Access and infrastructure

• Limited air access;
• Insufficient mobile (3G) network;
• Limited road access and national park trails;
• Loss of iconic natural attractions due to large-scale infrastructure projects.

ii)           Product development and diversification

• Lack of tailored market intelligence, digital marketing skills and access to markets;
• Undeveloped potential for community-based tourism to support conservation;
• Lack of affordable funding and dependence on foreign investment.

iii)          Human resources development

• Inadequate skills training;
• Lack of digital expertise among SMEs and UTB;
• Challenge of meeting customer expectations;
• Lack of a nationally accredited qualification for tour guides.

v)            Marketing and promotion

• Lack of destination branding and marketing strategy;
• Lack of a crisis management strategy;
• Absence of advance planning and budget sign-off for international trade fairs;
• Lack of large-scale MICE convention centre and MICE promotion.

vi)          Tourism management and regulation

• Limited sector coordination;
• Inadequate data collection;
• Uncoordinated planning and regional development;
• Very limited sustainability accreditation;
• Insufficient enforcement of regulations.

Possible Interventions and Activities to Support a More Competitive Value Chain

The Tables in Section 10 list the interventions that would help Uganda’s tourism sector become more competitive. Potential local and external delivery partners are proposed for activities that could be part of the CBI programme. The activities that are also included in the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands’s Tourism Development Roadmap are highlighted.

Many of the issues raised in the VCA are fundamental to the long-term competitiveness and growth of Uganda’s tourism sector. The need for them to be addressed is even more urgent due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, as support for the sector must be focused on:

• Market-driven planning and product development;
• National branding and marketing strategy;
• Skills training to meet customer expectations and safety concerns;
• Sustainability training and accreditation.

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Uganda’s Mountains hold huge potential for Uganda’s Tourism Sector

December 14, 2021.

Dr. Lily Ajarova, Chief Executive Officer, Uganda Tourism Board (Left) and Golola Moses, Uganda’s Kick Boxing Champion (Right) at the Margherita peak.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is delighted to join the Government and people of Uganda to commemorate the International Mountains Day 2021, which happens every 11 th day of December. This year’s theme focuses   on “Sustainable Mountain Tourism”.

The tourism sector remains one of the fastest growing economic sectors in Uganda. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism sector was contributing 6.2% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (over USD 2bn) and employing 589,300 people - 3.6 % of total employment. The outbreak of COVID-19 has had devastating impacts on the tourism industry with visitors and number of persons employed by the industry going down to about 473,000 and 386,200 respectively in 2020. 

Dr. Lily Ajarova (second left), Ms. Elsie Attafuah, UNDP (Centre) and the Minister of State for Tourism Geoffrey kiwanda (second right) flagging off the team heading to the top of Mt. Rwenzori in December last year.

Sustainable tourism in mountains can contribute to creating additional and alternative livelihood options and promote poverty alleviation, social inclusion, as well as landscape and biodiversity conservation. It is a way to preserve the natural, cultural, and spiritual heritage, to promote local crafts and high value products, and celebrate many traditional practices such as local festivals.

The lessons we are learning from COVID-19 point at the need to rethink the competitiveness and resilience models of the tourism industry.  UNDP has therefore partnered with the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Uganda Tourism Board, Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Uganda Wildlife Education Center, Cultural Institutions like the Kingdom of Tooro, and the Private Sector to implement the UNDP Rapid Financing Facility (RFF) which is a USD 2 million initiative designed to harness nature, culture, and digital technology and stimulate recovery and build a resilient tourism industry in Uganda. 

Mountaineering enthusiasts before embarking on their journey to the top of Mt. Rwenzori.

The project is being piloted in the Rwenzori Tourism Development Area, in supporting national efforts to recover the tourism sector through greener development pathways to create jobs for the youth, women, and men and to rebuild resilient livelihoods. It is also promoting recovery of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), supporting strategic reorientation of tourism policy towards inclusive green recovery, enhancing capacities of national systems to boost the tourism industry, and building an active innovation ecosystem with accelerated digital transformation.

Journey to the top of Mt. Rwenzori (Margherita peak)

The project commenced through a UNDP and Uganda Tourism Board partnership with Mr. Joshua Cheptegei the 5,000m and 10,000m world record holder, and current 5,000m Olympic Champion leading a team on an expedition in December 2020 to climb the Rwenzori Mountains in Kasese. The expedition included Dr. Lily Ajarova, Chief Executive Officer at Uganda Tourism Board; Moses Golola, champion kickboxer; and other local mountaineering enthusiasts who summited the third tallest mountain range in Africa, to climb the peak of the Rwenzori mountains. This move was intended to illuminate the tourism potential of the Rwenzori and highlight the need for concerted effort to tackle biodiversity loss and combat climate change which has caused rapid loss of the glaciers on Mt.Rwenzori and as well as the endangering of wildlife living in areas around the mountain.

Soon reaching Uganda’s Highest point (Margherita Peak).

The expedition on Mt. Rwenzori has been documented and the film was premiered in November 2021 in Fort Portal during the Ekyooto Ha Mpango Tourism Festival. The Mountains of the Moon Documentary showcases the beauty of the Rwenzori Mountain range and drives domestic and international tourist traffic to experience the mountain and National Park; highlight the need for collective efforts to diversify Uganda’s tourism product range to include mountain communities in the tourism value chain whilst protecting natural and cultural resources; showcase the investment opportunities in the mountain destination; and compliment the efforts of the Government of Uganda and the Private Sector to build an inclusive, sustainable and resilient tourism industry. 

Snow-capped top of Mt. Rwenzori.

Through this initiative to rebuild the tourism industry, UNDP is supporting efforts to broaden community participation in the tourism value chain and effectively harness the country’s rich natural and cultural heritage, while capitalizing on the digital economy.  

UNDP supported the Kingdom of Tooro, working in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities,  as well as the private sector, to launch an exciting tourism product - Ekyooto Ha Mpango – which is a cultural festival showcasing Tooro Kingdom’s rich history and cultural heritage; exhibiting innovations that emanate from the wider Rwenzori region; marketing businesses and investment opportunities in the region; and providing a platform to engage in inclusive conversations on the integration of culture and communities in the tourism business ecosystem.

The Ekyooto Ha Mpango featured events such as a tree planting campaign, Business Clinics to promote community participation in the Tourism Business Ecosystem, Sporting activities such as a mini marathon, a boating regatta, cycling, royal guided tours of the Sempaya Hot Springs, Chimp tracking in Kibaale Forest (the Chimp Capital of the World), and Royal guided tours of King Oyo’s Model Farm to inspire and train youth in modern farming practices. 

View of Uganda’s highest point.

During the Ekyooto Ha Mpango celebrations that happened from the 24 th to the 28 th of November 2021, Ms. Elsie Attafuah, the UNDP Resident Representative echoed her pleasure, last December, in seeing-off a team to climb to the peak of the spectacular snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains. The expedition funded by UNDP was intended to showcase the beauty of the Rwenzori Mountain; drive tourism traffic to experience the enchanted adventure that the mountain offers; and exhibit the investment opportunities that abound in the mountain destination.

UNDP’s deliberate intention was also to stimulate and harness the power of culture, biodiversity, and tourism to build forward better and greener whilst reducing poverty, creating jobs and livelihood opportunities for young people; and incentivizing environmental conservation – a triple-win for Uganda’s transition towards a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient economy.

The Rwenzori mountains, is the largest in Africa (120km long /65Km wide) with an altitude range of 1600m to 5109m above Sea Level, making it the highest mountain in Uganda and third in Africa. It is the tallest horst mountain, standing at 5109 m above sea level (Margherita peak).

Dr. Lily Ajarova (Left), Her Royal Highness Queen Best Olimi Kemigisa Akiiki (Centre), Ms. Elsie Attafuah, UNDP (third right) take a group photo with the team that made it to the Margherita peak.

Mountain tourism attracts around 15 to 20 percent of global tourism.  As Uganda and world work to rebuild the tourism sector, there is a huge opportunity in harnessing the potential mountains offer. Uganda is endowed with Mountains – The Mountains of the Moon in Rwenzori in the West, Mountain Elgon in the East, and Mountain Moroto in the North East, these are assets we must work together to conserve while building world class tourism products to ignite the local economies in these respective regions through Sustainable Mountain Tourism.

Happy International Mountains Day!

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A peek into Uganda’s tourism marketing strategic plan

Tuesday, August 27th, 2019

Uganda is a gifted country, with variety to showcase to a tourist so much that if half of its tourism potential were to be realised, its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would immensely catapult economic development over and above its currently leading sectors.

Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) Country Director, Moses Sabiiti, observes that tourism is increasingly becoming a key source of livelihood and pride.

TMEA is regional company that supports growth of trade of different aspects, both in the region and beyond. At the local level, there are different associations that contribute to the growth of the tourism sector in Uganda.

Though spread at different times, there is a strategy and plan that each of the associations is implementing to galvanise the pluses in the sector and also deal with bottlenecks. Some are capitalising on the gains already achieved.

The single tourism visa “Implementation of the single tourism visa has seen 4, 447 tourists applying for the single tourist visa in 2016. There has been development of four tourism products for marketing including Namugongo Shrine son et lumiere, Uganda National Museum Indigenous dinner, Uganda Rwenzori Cultural Trail and Interpretation Capacity Building for Birding.”

If implemented, Sabiiti anticipates that these are estimated to bring in about 275, 000 visitors in five years, and thereby strengthening competitiveness of Uganda as a tourist destination.

Richard Kawere, the technical director of Uganda Tourism Association (UTA) observes that world over, the countries that are doing well in international tourism, are doing well in domestic tourism first. To that end, he recommends that efforts to harness domestic tourism ought to be boosted.

UTA is an umbrella association that brings together all tourism associations in Uganda. “And here, we are talking about Ugandans and our neighbouring friends in the East Africa region. We must understand them and find out what products they like and be able to package that and sell it to them,” Kawere argues.

Domestic tourism packages Uganda, like the neighbouring countries have undertaken efforts to boost domestic tourism. Uganda is running a flagship domestic tourism campaign called Tulambure (let’s travel).

Kenya is running a more successful one at a national level, called Twende Kenya where locals are encouraged to visit different tourism destinations with discounted rates for accommodation as a key element in travel.

Family and group travel plans are promoted among masses. Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), organisers of Tulambure, can pick a leaf from Kenya Tourism Board (UTB) on the promotional campaigns and general organisational strategy that draws in key sector players in the tourism industry.

UTB is the government’s agency in charge of marketing and promotion of destination Uganda to locals and the world. At the moment, UTB is undergoing a metamorphosis of sorts where much of its top leadership has been restructured in anticipation of attracting new and competitive members.

Building on past successes Hon Daudi Migereko, Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development is the chairman, board of directors at UTB. He says that the board has targets and looks forward to stepping up arrivals from 1.3 million to four million visitors to Uganda per year as a precursor to also increasing tourism’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 10 per cent to 15 per cent by 2020.

“To support these initiatives, several interventions are being pursued in regard to human resource capacity development, infrastructural capacity development, tourism facilities improvement/development, marketing and publicising Uganda as a preferred tourists’ destination,” Migereko explains.

Targeted marketing strategy The Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO) shares similar objectives, documented in the national tourism sector development plan 2015/16-2019/20 which identifies five critical areas of interventions for unlocking the potential of tourism development.

“These areas are marketing and promotion human resource development, product development, natural and cultural resource conservation, and tourism management and regulation,” the AUTO strategic plan 2016-2020 states, in part.

AUTO is Uganda’s leading tourism trade association, representing the interests of the country’s professional tour operators.

From a marketing point of view, and more specific terms, Kawere says that events, marine tourism and generally fun activities are a good point to start. Packaging such events is what UTB needs to look at, and give thought on how to encourage Ugandans to travel.

“That even with a small budget, one is able to travel. Most Ugandans travel for burials, kwanjula (introduction ceremonies) and wedding ceremonies but they can be encouraged to visit areas on top of a wedding,” UTA’s director suggests.

He adds that for this to be realised, there is need for a harmonised and coherent marketing strategy. “There is need to understand what the market needs to consume. What do the local people actually enjoy? There are efforts to put the strategy in place to guide the domestic marketing.”

Migereko says that part of the strategy, is for UTB to pay a lot of attention to and take advantage of the emerging tourism products such as meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE), faith based tourism, birding as additions to the other traditional products.

“In our strategy, running from 2018 to 2022, we will continue supporting the tourism sector. Key interventions include, implementation and marketing of the four products develops (feasibility studies and fundraising), empowering women in the tourism value chain by linking communities to tourism products and improving the handicrafts sector, and enhancing the institutional sustainability of tourism association,” Sabiiti affirms.

Strength in numbers Pearl Hoareau, chairperson of The Uganda Association of Travel Agents (TUGATA) that runs under UTA umbrella, is grateful to TMEA for funding towards formulation of the association’s five-year (2016- 20121) Strategic Plan that was achieved through consultative workshops.

She adds that to survive in the industry and be able to offer value to the tourism sector, the travel agent has had to evolve, to also offer more to the sector’s clientele.

“If we are to survive, we must look to new avenues to support our businesses and become innovative on how we serve our clients. TUGATA shall therefore, as per recommendations in the Strategic Plan, embark on training our members to gain the necessary skills to ensure competitiveness and compliance,” Hoareau explains.

In its five-year strategy, the Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA), which brings together 450 hotels operating in different parts of Uganda, Jean Byamugisha, its Executive Director, says it is looking at streamlining the growth and organisation of the sector.

She explains that the hotel sector is providing a solution to the unemployment challenge through providing jobs to youths, particularly in the age bracket of 15 and 30 years. “77 per cent of our staff are aged between 18-30years while 58 per cent of our entire workforce are women,” she adds.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UTB, Stephen Asiimwe, observes that 1, 281 hotels were registered during the year and 25 hotels were classified.

Favourite destination for Africans “Uganda’s tourism sector is on consistent upward growth. According to UBOS (Uganda Bureau of Standards) statistical abstract (2016), Uganda received 1.32 million tourist arrivals. The number of arrivals through the gazetted border posts increased by 4.1 per cent between 2015 and 2016,” Asiimwe explains.

He observes that in 2016, most tourist arrivals in the country were from the African continent, accounting for 79.2 per cent, followed by Europe at 8.3 per cent, Asia at 5.5 per cent and America at 5.4 per cent.

“Tourists from the neighbouring countries including Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo, accounted for 64 per cent of all visitor, or tourism arrivals.

“These promising tourism statistics were attributed to various factors and aspects and there is no doubt UTB had an amazing contribution basing on the intensity of activities and initiatives done in 2016/2017. The financial year was busy for UTB as an organisation recorded a number of milestones and achievements in both at domestic level, regional and international level,” UTB’s CEO further explains.

“That does not take away the fact that we need to create marketing campaigns and high levels of awareness to Uganda of the very many attractive things within their reach that they can be able to see,” Kawere observes.

He commends the efforts to have a strategic plan which was consultatively done, to promote Uganda and hopes that it can consistently be followed with measurable outputs.

“Marketing is a continuous engagement and efforts to remind the client what is available and good for them. To UTB, this is a beginning of a journey of engagement of all sectors and needs support. If we think we can leave marketing of the country to UTB, we are lying to ourselves. It is a collective effort. It should be leading but with supporting blocks of the marketing of the destination,” Kawere further argues.

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How Uganda tourism potential is getting market attention

Uganda Tourism

In the financial year, 2018–2019 tourism earned Uganda’s GDP 5.6 trillion Ugandan shillings (US$1.60 billion or €1.3 billion as of Dec 2019) from 1.6 million tourists (World Bank 2019).

Compared to neighboring countries, tourism is still a developing sector for Uganda to catch up to them. According to figures from the World Travel and Tourism Council , the direct impact of tourism expenditures in Uganda amounted to 3.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, compared to Tanzania’s 4.8 percent, Kenya’s 5.0 percent, and Madagascar’s 5.7 percent. Nonetheless, tourism in Uganda is showing great promise for the future.

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics 1 , the share of leisure tourists increased from 21 percent in 2012 to 25 percent in 2019 (from 89,000 to 126,000 tourists), and now form the largest share of tourists before Visiting Friends & Relatives and business tourists. An increase in leisure tourists may reflect the successful promotion of Uganda’s nature tourism in the intervening years and the growing recognition outside and within Uganda.

The country’s tourism potential is getting market attention, including endorsing the quality of the nature tourist adventure experience in Uganda by high-profile publications such as Lonely Planet , prominent online bloggers, and National Geographic Traveler .

Uganda is endowed with a wide range of tourism resources, including biodiversity, varied landscapes, and cultural and religious heritage. Uganda tourism has been intricately linked to the country’s natural history, exploration, trade, and colonial history since the 19th century.

Although tourism resources in Uganda are varied, the most significant attention is currently pointed to the country’s landscape and wildlife because they’re the considerable employment, investment, and foreign exchange source.

Tourism has grown tremendously over the last decade with the improvement in security in the northern part of the country, and huge infrastructure investments from private and government. However, many challenges remain, including the need for government leadership to develop the sector, skills upgrading in the industry, investment in the parks and other protected areas, and a much stronger marketing effort for Ugandan tourism. Still, the sector has greatly impacted the growth of household welfare by creating more jobs.

Uganda’s tourism industry created 536,600 jobs in 2019 (5.8 of total) and 321,960 jobs in 2020 , sadly dropping 4 in 10 jobs in the wake of the pandemic. The wages of skilled and unskilled labor were employed due to foreign tourist demand for local goods and services, directly impacting household welfare. The value-added generated by tourists is the most general measure of the impact of foreign tourists on the Ugandan economy (World Bank, 2019.).

In the same report: In 2012 and 2019, 32 percent of leisure tourists bought tour packages countering the global trend towards more independent tourism. Satisfaction rates, i.e., very good or excellent ratings, increased strongly across most categories, most notably for “local transport” (up 43 percent from 2012 to 2019), “shopping” (up 32 percent), “restaurants” (up 29 percent) and “accommodations” (up 25 percent).

The report observed the highest overall satisfaction ratings in 2019 for “people and hospitality” (85 percent), “tours and excursions” (77 percent), and “accommodations” (76 percent). High satisfaction rates translate into a high stated likelihood of return (70 percent say a return is very likely) and an increased willingness to recommend Uganda to friends (90 percent definitely would).

Uganda’s tourism industry has made remarkable strides in the past three decades. Uganda has changed. The 15-year cycle of dictatorship and civil conflict that ended in the late 80s tangibly shattered Uganda’s economy, infrastructure, the human spirit, and every aspect. The 90s were a mending period for the whole nation, but a steady trickle of its tourism industry remained in the doldrums. 

Incredible as it seems today, there was no facility to track mountain gorillas within Uganda until 1994, no white-water rafting, no realistic opportunity to get close to chimpanzees, and the likes of Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls national parks were practically void of game. And many other tourist sites that today seem well established either didn’t exist in their present form, were off-limits or unknown to travelers, or were far less accessible than they are now.

Highlights of Uganda’s Leisure Tourism

• Meeting the eyes of a mountain gorilla on the bamboo-clumped slopes of the Virungas.
• Rafting grade-five rapids on the Nile
• Following a narrow rainforest trail awhirl with the heart-stopping pant-hoot chorusing of chimpanzees
• Cruising the Kazinga Channel in the shadow of the Rwenzoris while elephants drink from the nearby shore
• Watching a prehistoric shoebill swoop down on a lungfish in the brooding reed-beds of Mabamba Swamp
• The roaring, spraying sensory overload that is standing on the tall rocks above Murchison Falls

Current Status of Uganda Tourism 

Uganda today does not lack accessible travel highlights. There is the opportunity to trek within meters of one of the world’s last few hundred mountain gorillas, arguably the most exciting wildlife encounter Africa has to offer — though, observing chimps in the Kibale or Budongo runs it a damn close second. 

There is the staggering recovery made by Uganda’s premier savanna reserves, where these days, one can be almost certain of encountering lions, elephants, and buffaloes. There are the Rwenzoris and Mount Elgon, where one can explore east Africa’s bizarre montane vegetation without the goal-oriented approach associated with ascents of mounts Kilimanjaro or Kenya. And there is Bujagali Falls, which is rapidly emerging as east Africa’s answer to that more southerly `adrenalin capital,’ with its white-water rafting, kayaking, and bungee jump comparable to one at Victoria Falls. 

Nor does Uganda lack tourist facilities. As recently as ten years ago, international-class hotels and restaurants were all but non-existent outside the capital. Today, by contrast, practically every major attraction along the primary tourist circuit is serviced by one to four luxury lodges and/or tented camps. Five-star international hotel brands are lighting up the hospitality market in metropolitan cities like Golden Tulip, Hilton International, Marriot International, Onomo Hotels, and Radisson Blu.

Trunk roads have improved beyond recognition, as has the overall standard of local tour operators, public transport, budget accommodation, restaurants, and service in general. 

The country’s natural attractions far exceed the opportunity to see mountain gorillas , lions, and the big game on the savanna plains. Somebody once said that if you planted a walking stick overnight in the soil of Uganda, it would take root before the morning dawned. And it is certainly true that of all Africa’s reasonably established safari destinations , Uganda is the most green, the most fertile — the most overwhelmingly tropical! 

Ecologically, Uganda is where the eastern savanna meets the west African jungle — and it really does offer tourism visitors the best of both these fantastic worlds. In no other African destination can one see a comparable variety of primates with so little effort — not just the great apes, but also more than fifteen primate species, including the tiny, wide-eyed bushbaby and peculiar potto. 

If Uganda has primate enthusiasts wandering around with imbecile grins, it will have birdwatchers doing cartwheels. Uganda is, by far, the smallest of the four African counties in which more than 1,000 bird species fly freely. It is particularly rich in western rainforest specialists — in practical terms, undoubtedly the finest birdwatching destination in Africa. 

Uganda feels like a more intimate, unspoiled, and low-key safari destination than its neighboring destinations. For starters, it has no semblance of a package tourist industry: group tours seldom exceed eight in number, and even the most popular game-viewing circuits retain a relatively untrammeled atmosphere. 

The country’s plethora of forested national parks and reserves remain highly accessible to independent travelers and relatively affordable to those on a limited budget, as do such off-the-beaten-track gems as the Ssese Islands, Katonga Wildlife Reserve, Sipi Falls, and Ndali-Kasenda Crater Lakes. 

Uganda has changed. Thirty years after Idi Amin was booted into exile and over two decades after President Museveni took power, the country bears few apparent scars of what came before. 

Today, Uganda enjoys one of the healthiest reputations of any African country regarding crime directed at tourists. The level of day-to-day hassle faced by independent travelers is negligible. 

And Ugandans working within the tourist industry and the ordinary man or woman on the street genuinely across as the warmest, friendliest, and most relaxed hosts imaginable. And, progress begets progress, and unquestionably, the next few years will see a host of new and exciting tourism developments in Uganda. 

Tourist numbers

Uganda’s tourist arrivals hit an all-time high in 2019 with 1,542,620 tourists from 192,755 from 2000 and suddenly dropped to 473,085 tourists in 2020 due to the pandemic. Similarly, tourist expenditure in Uganda dropped threefold in the year 2020. A total of US$1.60 billion was spent by tourists in Uganda in 2019 compared to US$ 0.44 billion spent in the year ending December

2020. COVID-19 hit Uganda tourism hard with a 72.7 percent decline in earnings.

Uganda Tourists Arrivals Trend 1983-2020. Source: Uganda Bureau of Statistics

Tourists Average Expenditure per day was US$ 111, and the Tourists’ average length of stay in Uganda was 8.7 days, according to the Tourist Expenditure and Motivation Survey 2019 1 .

Traveling Patterns for Tourists

Foreign Nationals were the highest number of tourists in Uganda, trailed by Foreign Residents and East African Residents, according to the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities 2019 report 2 . 

The report shows that the most visited park was Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (36,341), followed by Kidepo Valley, Murchison Falls, and Queen Elizabeth National Parks in that order. 

Tourist Attractions in Uganda

Uganda is enriched with an extraordinary measure of world-class tourism resources, despite its small size (241,551 square kilometers). The country is best known for having the world’s largest population (54 percent) of mountain gorillas. Tourists can track gorillas in two of the country’s two national parks: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) —a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) heritage site—and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (MGNP). Three of the country’s national parks and several forest reserves also offer opportunities to track chimpanzees. In all, the country contains 24 primate species .

Uganda is also renowned for its wildlife safaris. Uganda’s national parks contain 38 carnivores and 30 antelope species . In fact, Uganda is the only country in the world that has both the Big 53 and gorillas.

Uganda’s most visited safari destinations are Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) and Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP) . Still, excellent game viewing is also available in parks such as Kidepo Valley National Park (KVNP) and Lake Mburo National Park (LMNP) .

In addition to wildlife, Uganda’s protected areas host the continent’s largest variety of bird species (1,082 species). This attracts birders from around the globe to BINP, QENP, KNP, MFNP, Semliki National Park (SNP), and several forest reserves.

Rwenzori Mountains National Park (RMNP) offers top-notch trekking and climbing experiences. The snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains , topped by the 5,100-meter Margherita Peak, are the highest mountain ranges in Africa and one of Uganda’s major UNESCO World Heritage sites. The volcanic Virunga Mountains and Mount Elgon also offer excellent trekking opportunities .

Other adventure activities are available in Jinja , which many consider the continent’s second-best adventure tourism destination after Victoria Falls. Activities on offer include white-water rafting, bungee jumping, jet boats, river surfing, and zip lines . Jinja is also one of two primary sources of the Nile , the world’s longest river. Lake Victoria , the world’s second-largest freshwater lake, also serves as a tourist attraction.

While nature-based tourism is the country’s primary draw, Uganda also contains some significant cultural tourism resources. Many leisure tourists visit local communities offering experiences such as village tours, cultural dance performances, cultural hikes, craft demonstrations, etc. The Kasubi Tombs, burial grounds for four Buganda Kings, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Another noteworthy cultural site is the Karamoja.

Primate Viewing Adventures

Primate viewing adventures are the biggest tourist attractions in Uganda, with most tourists adventuring into the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park’s mist jungles to trek the mountain gorillas . With over 19 primate species and a good number of human-habituated primate troops in their natural habitats, Uganda offers the best primate viewing adventures on the continent and an excellent sustainable tourism program. 

Why trekking gorillas in Uganda should be your next summer bucket-list adventure

With the largest human populations surrounding national reserves, Uganda tourism directly benefits the local communities, creating a healthy relationship between wildlife and human settlement. Additionally, sustainable tourism programs are greatly supported by the government collaborating with local and international organizations.

Other primates of much interest to tourists in Uganda include the golden monkey, de brazza’s monkey, black and white colobus monkey, red colobus monkey, potto, bushbaby, grey-checked mangabey, l’hoest’s monkey, red-tailed monkey, vervet monkey, patas monkey, baboon, and blue monkey.

Top primate destinations include Mgahinga National Park (mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, Batwa cultural encounters, and Volcano hiking), Kibale National Park (Chimpanzees & other 11 primates), Budongo Forest, Semuliki, and Kyambura Gorge (Chimps).

Birds and Game Viewing 

Though lucking in the abundant wild game compared to Kenya and Tanzania, Uganda has a varied number of wildlife species that provide for a memorable wildlife viewing experience. Complimented by a low number of tourists, Uganda’s game viewing attractions offer a more private safari experience . That’s why many prefer Uganda.

The African bush elephant, lion, leopard, and Cape buffalo are some of the most sought-after animals on Uganda safaris. Furthermore, there are 142 reptile species, 501 fish species, 86 amphibian species, 345 mammal species, 1,242 butterfly species, and 1,020 bird species in Uganda. 

Tourists can view all of the Big Five in Uganda’s savannah parks. Lion is quite common in Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls, and Kidepo national parks, where they can often hunt Uganda kob.

Boat Safaris and Water Sports

With its prime location in the African Great Lakes region, Uganda has a variety of water bodies that are popular spots for tourism. White water rafting and kayaking are popular activities on the rapids near the source of the Nile at Jinja.

Boating is commonly Lake Victoria, Lake Mburo, and Lake Bunyonyi. Boat launch safaris bring tourists the closest to wildlife and rare birds on Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park and Victoria Nile River in Murchison Falls National Park. The boat safari is a perfect way to adventure close to buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles, the rare shoebill, and a wide variety of bird species that inhabit the banks. 

Sportfishing is another favorite Uganda tourist activity. Fish like the Nile perch and tilapia can be caught in designated areas of Lake Mburo and the banks of the Nile. The best canoeing adventures are on Lake Bunyonyi and Lake Mutanda in southwestern Uganda, close to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Hiking and Mountain Climbing

Uganda tourism offers a great many opportunities for mountain climbing, hiking, and nature walk . The Rwenzori Mountains summits, stretching on the western border with DR Congo, feature the 16,795-feet (5,119-meter) Margherita Peak, a climber’s favorite and highest summit of the Ruwenzori Range in East Africa and the third highest in Africa (after Mounts Kilimanjaro and Kenya). Rwenzoris also features Mount Speke (16,043 ft), Mount Baker (15,892 ft), Mount Baker (15,892 ft), and Mount Emin (15,741 ft). 

The Ruwenzori Mountains are a favorite Uganda tourism attraction for nature hikers because of their vegetation, ranging from tropical rainforest through alpine meadows to snow. The range supports its own species and varieties of giant groundsel and giant lobelia and even has a 6 meters (20 feet) tall heather covered in moss that lives on one of its peaks. Most of the range is now a World Heritage Site. It is surrounded jointly by Rwenzori Mountains National Park in southwestern Uganda and the Virunga National Park in the eastern Congo.

Tourists head to Uganda’s southwestern corner into the Virunga Mountains guarded by Mgahinga Gorilla National Park for moderate hiking. The park encompasses three peaks, Mount Gahinga (11,398 ft), Mount Sabyinyo (12,037 ft), and Mount Muhavura (13,540 ft). 

Mount Elgon on the eastern border (shared with Kenya) is another hiking and climbing attraction. It also has one of the largest calderas in the world.

Religious Tourism

Religious tourism is a relatively new phenomenon in Uganda despite the existence of traditional religions and the introduction of foreign religions about 140 years ago.  In the last three decades, religious tourism has gained recognition from various actors, including the government.  

Religion and religious institutions are recognized in several national legal,  planning, and regulatory frameworks.  For instance, Uganda’s 1995 Constitution  (Chapter  2,  Section  29,  Sub-section  C) provides for freedom of worship which allows the establishment of worship centers in any part of the country.  Therefore, religious tourism in Uganda is highly respected and protected in law and practice.

99.8% of Uganda’s population subscribing to some form of religion (39.3% Catholic, 32% Anglican, 13.7% Muslim, 11.1% Pentecostal, 1.5% Seventh-Day Adventist, 0.1% Orthodox,  0.1% traditional believer and 0.2% non-believer)  (UBOS, 2016), religious tourism potential has remained largely unexploited. 

Uganda Martyrs Catholic Shrine Namugongo, where 22 Catholic martyrs were killed between 1885 and 1886, is the most prominent religious attraction for martyrdom and pilgrimages. Other religious tourism sites in Uganda include Anglican Martyrs Shrine Namugongo, Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine, St. Mary’s Rubaga Cathedral, St. Paul Namirembe Cathedral, Kibuli Mosque, Old Kampala National Mosque, Kigungu landing site, Baha’i Temple, Bishop Hannington site, and Paimol site in Agago District.

Find out more about Uganda’s religious tourism.

• 1 MTWA: Statistical and Economic Analysis of Uganda’s Tourism Expenditure and Motivation Survey 2019 (pdf)
• 2 Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife Antiquities: Tourist Arrivals Report, 2020 (pdf)
• World Bank: Statistical and Economic Analysis of Uganda’s Tourism Expenditure and Motivation Survey 2019 (PDF)
• Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife Antiquities: Analytical Report on Visitation To Uganda’s National Parks in CY2020 and CY2021 (pdf)
• Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife Antiquities: General Statistics
• Ayorekire, Jim & Obua, Joseph & Mugizi, Francis & Byaruhanga, Bruce. (2020). Opportunities and Challenges of Religious Tourism Development in Uganda: Policy, Planning, and Institutional Perspectives. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage . 8. 144-158. 10.21427/v3jj-zg88. 
• 2017 World Bank & UK’s Economic and statistical anaysis of Torusim in Uganda

I enjoyed reading the article about tourism in Uganda. I am a Ugandan by birth. I highly recommend everyone to go and visit The Pearl of Africa. Once you you visit Uganda,trust me your life will never be the again.You will thank me later.

Thanks for updating us about tourism.

thank you for updating the public about tourism in the pearl of Africa, visit Uganda when you are ready to stay, since Her beauty is unbearable.

Amazing article, thanks for the work well done

This is wonderful. Our motherland is our pride. Everyone should get a place here in Uganda

Excellent piece of work. Both for the ordinary person as well as for academicians.

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MINISTRY OF TOURISM, WILDLIFE & ANTIQUITIES

Enhancing Uganda as a Preferred Tourist Destination

The Handicrafts and Souvenir Development Project is a three-year Tier II project funded by the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and implemented by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities. The project seeks to respond to the Government’s efforts to diversify and increase exports of non- traditional exports while supporting increased job creation and employment as provided for in the Uganda Vision 2040, National Trade Policy 2008, National Development Plan II, the National Tourism Development Master Plan 2014/2024 and Uganda Tourism Policy 2015.

Objective of the project

|  other projects.

Mt.Rwenzori Tourism Infrastructure Development Project

Lake Victoria Tourism Circuit

Development of Museums

Handicrafts and Souvenir Development Project

The objective of the project is to develop the handicrafts and souvenir sector in Uganda. Overall, the program looks at creating linkages between the producers, associations and the traders of handcrafted products and the tourism industry to improve livelihoods for some of the most marginalized communities in Uganda. Key focus is on supporting production of functional items which are in demand to both the local market and the international buyers. Interventions emphasize product development and diversification, increased production and quality enhancement.

The project supports the following activities: 1)    Capacity building to producers, associations and exporters of handicrafts and souvenirs; 2)    Renovate and establish production centers; 3)    Strengthen market linkages for producers, exporters of handicrafts and the tourism sector; 4)    Supporting handicraft firms to adopt e-commerce

Expected Results

Handicraft and souvenir, | related documents.

The handicraft items and the views presented in this catalogue are not necessarily those of the publisher or partners associated with this catalogue. This catalogue has been prepared to give a general picture of the handicrafts available in Uganda.

The Code of Conduct for stakeholders in the Ugandan handicrafts and souvenir industry stipulates the standards and guidelines of ethical and responsible behaviour which must be met by all stakeholders involved in the Handicrafts and souvenir industry in Uganda.

| The 10 Selected Souvenir Enterprises for Website Development

Museveni best candidate to deliver Uganda to energy independence

_________________

We thank President Yoweri Museveni for being a visionary leader and befriending countries with leaders who try to sabotage African countries’ pursuit for economic independence.

President Museveni has been firm in putting an end to export of raw materials and emphasising import substitution.

In his early years, Museveni strongly believed it was a revolutionaries’ role to revive the moral standards of our people and promised to create a “Directorate of Moral Guidance” that would “promote a general revival of values in society, which this country badly needs.”

Ssabalwanyi has played a critical role in returning the lost glory of Uganda and set the country on a journey towards greater heights.

Keeping a country united and stable for 38 years is a great milestone and a no mean feat.

His stay in power has been for the good of the country and l believe Uganda needs him now more than ever before in the new phase of development and management of our oil and gas. We cannot risk and take a gamble with revenues generated from the sale of our oil.

President Museveni’s steadfast dedication to economic diversification and poverty alleviation has led to tangible improvements in the living standards of numerous Ugandans.

NRM’s initiatives like Entankidwa, Bonna Bagagawale, Emyooga, NAADS, Operation Wealth Creation, and now the Parish Development Model plus many others were designed to create financial empowerment of citizens which underscores Museveni’s commitment to positive change.

For the above programmes to succeed, there was need for a secure and peaceful environment, which President Museveni, also the commander-in-chief, has been able to provide through a professionally trained army and well streamlined security systems.

Now that the country is secure, it is time to work on the independence of our energy sector.

That is why the last five-seven years have seen a raft of legislation, policies, diplomatic manoeuvres, and infrastructural development to ensure that Uganda exploits its oil and gas resources profitably, and in an environmentally-friendly way whilst ensuring maximum benefit to the citizenry. This puts Ssabalwanyi way ahead in his use of wisdom in running the affairs of this country, especially at this critical time when the EACOP is underway, with a scheduled timeline of First Oil by December 2025. The construction of a refinery will soon start at Kabaale, Buseruka, Hoima district, which translates into a total of 9.54 million litres of refined petroleum products per day.

Uganda alone consumes about 6.5 million litres of fuel per day as at September 2023, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. With this resource at hand, our fuel requirements are secured. It is extremely foolhardy to not let President Museveni see us over the finish line by endorsing him again in 2026.

His greatest legacy will be to leave this country energy secure and independent. A lot of key sectors of the economy rest on achieving this, including industrialisation and the key growing area of aviation. If we get a refinery by 2027, our national carrier, the Uganda Airlines, will get cheap Jet A-1 fuel readily and become a competitive entity while facilitating other key sectors of this country such as tourism, trade and travel.

Already the International Monetary Fund’s outlook for 2024 has indicated that Uganda is projected to be the world’s seventh fastest growing economy from now to 2029. This would mean that Uganda would have a faster economic growth rate than countries like India and Vietnam. All this is thanks to President Museveni who has set the country on the right path to socio-economic transformation.

Therefore, for our energy independence and security, we still need Museveni in 2026 and beyond.

The writer is a member of a Presidential Advisory Committee, member of the Presidential Think Tank; NRM cadre; rotarian, farmer and chairman Offshore Energies Ltd

“Biodiversity Offsetting” in Uganda’s Protected Areas: A Pathway to Restoration of Forest Biodiversity?

• Open access
• Published: 10 May 2024

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• Ritah Kigonya   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0689-3087 1 ,
• Patrick Byakagaba   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1685-1347 2 ,
• Edward Ssenyonjo 3 &
• Charlotte Nakakaawa Jjunju   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0004-3474-6879 1  

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With limited national financing for conservation, there is an increasing interest in using biodiversity offset funds to strengthen protected area management. Offsetting measures can potentially be used in the restoration of degraded protected areas. However, there are concerns related to the uncertainty of restoration outcomes and time-lags before the expected benefits can be observed. Using a case of the Gangu Central Forest Reserve in central Uganda, we contribute empirical findings showing the potential and limitations of biodiversity offsetting by means of the restoration of a degraded forest reserve. We use forest cover change analysis and community surveys to determine forest changes after eight years of offset implementation, and forest inventories to analyse the current forest structure and composition to ascertain taxonomic diversity recovery. The results revealed that biodiversity offsetting led to a 21% increase in Tropical High Forest cover, and enhanced restoration of forest species composition and diversity. However, attaining permanence of the restoration benefits requires the regulation of community forest resource access and use. Strengthening forest management capacity to monitor the offset sites and compensating impacted communities for foregone forest resource benefits are crucial for the successful implementation of biodiversity offsets.

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

In the face of the current biodiversity extinction crisis, protected areas (PAs) are key for the conservation of biodiversity (Geldmann et al. 2019 ; Maxwell et al. 2020 ). The post 2020 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework suggested an increase in PAs so that 30% of land, sea and water is conserved (CBD 2022 ). However, effective PA management is constrained by a lack of resources, including funding, staffing and equipment (Leverington et al. 2010 ; Watson et al. 2014 ). Biodiversity offsetting is promoted among innovative ways to create new conservation areas, to restore degraded ecosystems, or to fund the improved management of already existing protected areas (Pilgrim and Bennun 2014 ; Maron et al. 2015 ; Githiru et al. 2015 ). The measure seeks to compensate for loss of biodiversity in one place with equivalent gains elsewhere (BBOP 2009 ). Biodiversity offsetting is carried out as the last option of what is often described as the ‘mitigation hierarchy’, after avoidance, minimization and restoration measures have been implemented, in order to fully compensate for the residual environmental impacts of development activities to achieve no net loss (NNL) benefits (BBOP 2009 ).

Restoration of degraded lands, both within and outside existing protected areas, is among the major measures of biodiversity offsetting (Maron et al. 2012 ; Moilanen and Kotiaho 2018 ; Simmonds et al. 2020 ). By 2018, 18.8% of all documented offset projects were ecological restoration projects, and an additional 46.4% combined ecological restoration and avoided loss measures (Bull and Strange 2018 ). However, ascertaining the effectiveness of restoration biodiversity offsets (BOs) in attaining the desired conservation benefits, as well as of the conditions supporting the achievement of conservation outcomes has not attracted much research attention. Such assessments can guide the effective implementation of BOs and the development of related evidence-based policy (Kormos et al. 2014 ; Bull and Strange 2018 ).

The potential of such BO measures has been discussed by some scholars, and deemed to be feasible and useful in securing existing PAs when their implementation: strictly follows the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy; involves designing appropriate baselines, metrices and guidelines that can be used to evidence achievement of NNL benefits; secures permanence of biodiversity NNL benefits; prevents social inequity; and safeguards social wellbeing (Githiru et al. 2015 ; Buschke et al. 2019 ). However, offsetting in protected areas presents major concerns about the risks of cost-shifting, whereby biodiversity funds displace rather than supplement current or future conservation-funding commitments. In such a case, biodiversity benefits would not be additional.

There are challenges in achieving equivalence in biodiversity losses and gains, as the prioritization of offsetting in protected areas involves the risk that biodiversity in the development and offset sites will not be comparable. There is uncertainty with regard to ensuring the permanence of biodiversity benefits, whereby offset gains last for as long as the development impacts. Offsetting in protected areas can lead to negative social impacts, especially where the destruction of a given ecosystem upon which a community is dependent is compensated for by the restoration or protection of another ecosystem, or if the offset site is distant from the affected community, limiting their access to the offset site, or if community access to the protected area resources is restricted (Pilgrim and Bennun 2014 ; Githiru et al. 2015 ).

For a better understanding of the potential and limitations of restoration BO in achieving desired protected area conservation benefits, more empirical studies are needed. Using a case of Gangu Central Forest Reserve (CFR) in Central Uganda, we ascertain whether BO can contribute to restoration of degraded protected forests. The Paper: (i) analyses the forest cover changes to determine forest gain after 8 years of offset implementation; (ii) analyses the current forest structure and composition to ascertain forest taxonomic diversity recovery; (iii) investigates the reasons for changes in the status of the BO sites as well as community dependence on forest resources prior to and after the implementation of BO; (iv) and provides an insight into factors that support the achievement of restoration conservation benefits, which may support biodiversity policy and implementation.

Materials and Methods

Gangu central forest reserve.

Gangu CFR is located on the western shores of Lake Victoria, in Mpigi and Butambala districts of Central Uganda (Fig. 1 ). The whole forest reserve is classified as a Strict Nature Reserve (SNR) (MWLE 2002 ). In Uganda, all forest reserves are managed in accordance with the sustainable forest management principles which include the conservation of ecosystems, habitats and biological diversity; sustaining the potential yield of the ecological, social and economic benefits of forests; and the improvement of livelihoods and reduction of poverty (GoU 2003 ). The forests are zoned into three management areas, namely; strict nature reserves, buffer zones and production zones. The whole forest is managed under the same objectives (for ecological, forestry and tourism purposes), with the distinction between zones characterised by a shift of emphasis within the set of objectives, rather than the definition of a completely different objective for each zone (MWLE 2002 ). As such, forest zones are based on utilization or management purpose and not biodiversity. There are more restrictions on forest resource extraction within the SNR, followed by the buffer zones and the highest levels of forest extraction and utilization in the production zones. When compared to the IUCN categories of protected areas, forest reserves fall in category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources). According to the Uganda Forestry Nature Conservation Master Plan (2002), Gangu CFR was proposed as a SNR because it was relatively intact with encroached areas successfully restored.

Map of the Gangu Central Forest Reserve showing the biodiversity offset sites and villages neighbouring the forest

Gangu CFR covers 11 km 2 and was historically dominated by a tropical high forest community classified as Type C2 ( Piptadeniastrum - Albizia - Celtis forest) (MWLE 2002 ). By 2010, the reserve – together with other small reserves forming the Mpigi group of forests—was reported to be heavily degraded due to illegal commercial firewood cutting, illegal logging, charcoal burning and encroachment for agricultural expansion (SMEC International Pty Ltd 2010 ). The forest is easily accessible, as part of it is traversed by a major highway (Kampala-Masaka Road) that connects the capital city Kampala to the western region (MWLE 2002 ). The forest is managed by the National Forest Authority (NFA), an autonomous agency with the mandate to manage Central Forest Reserves (CFRs) in Uganda (GoU 2003 ). However, among the constraints to NFA’s operationalization of the protection and management of CFRs is inadequate financial resources and staffing (NFA 2016a ; MWE 2020 ). The institution obtains funds through government financing, Non-Tax Revenue and donor financing which has greatly reduced over the years (NFA 2016a ). Public funding, which is the major source of funds for NFA is limited mostly to covering salaries and wages, with very little left to meet the operational expenses for law enforcement, boundary mapping and the restoration of degraded reserves (MWE 2016 ). According to the Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER) for the Ministry of Water and Environment for the fiscal period 2005/6 to 2014/15, only 6% of the Water and Environment sectoral budget had facilitated biodiversity management (NEMA 2017 ). In some instances, planned activities were not implemented or completed, due to limited budget releases (MWE, 2016 ).

Biodiversity offset in the Gangu Central Forest Reserve

The Gangu forest reserve BO was established in 2014 to compensate for vegetation cleared in seven forest reserves (covering a total of 27.12 ha) (Appendix 1 ) during the establishment of the Kawanda-Masaka electricity transmission line (Katusabe 2017 ). According to the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (SMEC International Pty Ltd 2010 ), the forest reserves were degraded, constituting small sized trees that merged into bushes. Some of the reserves were small patches that bordered swamps and heavily modified by encroachment for agriculture, brick making and fuel wood. All the reserves are located in two neighbouring districts of Mpigi and Butambala on the western shore of Lake Victoria, between Latitude 0 o 0 and 0 o 3N and between Longitude 21 o 45 and 32 o 30E. The line was constructed to transport electricity generated from the Bujagali hydro-power plant in Kampala (the capital city of Uganda) to the western region. The government of Uganda, via the NFA, implemented the project using financial aid borrowed from the World Bank (World Bank 2021 ). This was in collaboration with the Uganda Electricity Telecommunication Company Limited (UETCL). The BO was implemented to restore forest cover on 200 ha of degraded forest. According to the implementation, completion and results report for the development project (World Bank 2018 ), a second BO was established for the restoration of 10 ha of Nabijoka Local Forest Reserve (LFR). However, the implementation of the second BO was not a focus of this study. At the time of development, project approval and implementation in 2011, Uganda had no provisions for BO implementation within its regulatory or policy frameworks. The BO was thus implemented to ensure compliance with the World Bank safeguard policy OP/BP 4.36 (Forests) (World Bank 2002 ).

The operationalization of the BO included boundary opening and marking of the whole forest reserve, increased patrols, restricting forest access and resource use to the collection of firewood from fallen tree branches, prohibiting logging activities, and the eviction of ‘encroachers’ who were either grazing animals in the forest or practicing what Cavanagh and Benjaminsen ( 2015 ) termed ‘guerrilla agriculture’ – i.e., strategic crop production by farmers circumventing forest regulations enacted by the state to reserve areas for nature conservation.

Prior to commencing the offset activities, the ‘guerrilla farmers’(farmers stealthily growing crops in the reserve) were informed about the upcoming restoration activities in the forest. To secure community acceptance and support for the offset implementation, the NFA initiated Collaborative Forest Management (CFM) arrangements with the ‘guerrilla farmers’. Accordingly, the ‘guerrilla farmers’ were allocated portions of the Gangu CFR land classified as CFM areas for commercial tree planting for a period of ten years. The farmers were only permitted to plant fast-growing eucalyptus trees, for the quick production of firewood, poles and timber, and the generation of income through the sale of tree products. This was meant to enable forest farmers to build up capital to start forest-independent livelihood activities. In return, the farmers were expected to stop cultivating in the forest, and to support the NFA in patrolling and monitoring the BO sites for illegal activities.

The eviction of these farmers from the BO sites was followed by restoration or enrichment planting (with indigenous tree species) in areas that had previously been used for subsistence farming. This was followed by spot weeding and the liberation of planted seedlings to facilitate natural regeneration. Planting activities commenced in 2014, when approximately 100 ha of the forest was planted with native tree species (NFA 2015 ). In 2015, an additional approximately 100 ha of the reserve area was planted (NFA, 2016b ), bringing the total amount of replanted forest to approximately 200 ha (World Bank, 2021 ) (Fig. 1 ). In 2019, the restoration of an additional 50 ha of degraded forest land adjacent to the electricity transmission powerline wayleave commenced as an extension to the BO. According to NFA officials, the extension aimed to compensate for forest cover that was lost due to increased forest access facilitated by the establishment of the transmission line. By the time of the study, these trees were still very young and were therefore not considered during the assessment. Seven tree species were planted during the restoration of the offset sites: Terminalia superba, Terminalia ivorensis , Bathedavia, Khaya anthotheca , Prunus africana , Maesopsis eminii and Cedrela odorata . UETCL financed the implementation of the biodiversity offset activities through a one-off payment to the NFA that was determined by the cost of restoration and management of the restoration area as prescribed in the Memorandum of Understanding. The NFA was obligated to ensure that the area is restored into a forest using the payment made to them as a form of compensation. Maintenance of the biodiversity offset area was left to the NFA as per the Memorandum of Understanding between the NFA and UETCL. This was because the sites remained part of a central forest reserve despite being a BO. The NFA is responsible for the management of all central forest reserves (GoU 2003 ).

The design and implementation of offset schemes involves loss-gain accounting to verify that biodiversity losses and benefits are equivalent (Bull et al. 2013 ). We sought information about the offset design and implementation from UETCL and the NFA, but did not receive any documentation despite all enquiries being made through the known procedures. In the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Report that we obtained (SMEC International Pty Ltd, 2010 ), there was no mention of baseline studies prior to the implementation of the offset to quantify the residual loss against which biodiversity benefits would be compared. Therefore, there was no frame of reference for the offset including counterfactual scenarios for the biodiversity status of the reserve. We did not come across stipulated requirements for NNL of biodiversity. There were no attempts to attain equivalence in species, composition, structure, and functionality between the development and offset sites during BO design. In addition, we had no access to the data that is required in order to monitor and evaluate the ecological effectiveness of the BO. Such data often includes: the amount and types of gains required/expected from BO actions, monitoring data for target biodiversity at the offset site to verify gains, and monitoring data at the impact and control sites to test counterfactual assumptions (Kujala et al., 2022 ). In that respect, the project falls short of the requirements of an offset and should have been referred to as an ecological compensation (BBOP 2009 ).Due to the data gaps, this paper does not assess NNL and additionality that encompasses biodiversity benefits attained exclusively due to the implementation of offset activities. Nevertheless, recent suggestions are that biodiversity offsetting should go beyond achieving relative gains against a counterfactual scenario of biodiversity decline at the project level, and aim at achieving absolute gains at jurisdiction levels so as to achieve broader conservation goals (Simmonds et al. 2020 ). Even with no focus on achieving project level NNL benefits, restoration followed by protection leads to an increase in biodiversity features that is essential for achieving jurisdictional-level No Net Loss that is greatly desired (Simmonds et al. 2020 ).

Therefore, the analysis of forest characteristics was made in reference to what the offset sites could have constituted prior to its degradation through human activities. The study considered the 7.04 ha of forest land cleared during the establishment of the wayleave as the impacted area within the Gangu Forest Reserve, and the 200 ha restoration area through biodiversity offset financing as the offset area.

Research Design, Methods and Sampling Strategy

The study applied remote sensing (RS) to detect forest cover changes, with an analysis of forest inventory and social survey data to obtain qualitative and quantitative information about changes in forest cover, composition and structure eight years after the offset implementation.

Forest Cover Change Analysis

We mapped the offset areas using a hand-held GPS device in October 2021. We acquired satellite images taken at three different dates from Landsat 8 (2013) and Sentinel 2 (2018 and 2022). We preferred Sentinel 2 due to its higher resolution, but Sentinel imagery was not available in 2013(launched in 2015). We thus combined the more recent Sentinel 2 images with the Landsat image from 2013.

The images were acquired from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) via the Earth Explorer web portal ( www.glovis.usgs.gov ). For each of the selected years, we aimed to obtain images from the same season/month. However, this was not possible due to cloud cover. We therefore used cloud-free satellite images from different seasons of the selected years – namely, July 2013, September 2018 and January 2022. Located close to the equator, the Gangu CFR experiences minimal variations in vegetation cover in the different seasons or months of a year. This is because regions closest to the equator receive large amounts of rainfall all-year round, which means that they experience very little change in ambient temperature or relative humidity throughout the year (Chan et al. 2002 ; Machado et al. 2004 ).

The images were processed to provide surface reflectance values by removing atmospheric effects in order to mitigate the impact of seasonality and to make objects in the images as clear as possible. Several bands of each satellite image were stacked into multiband composites to be used for the classification and analysis. For the Landsat 8 image, six bands from 2 to 7 were stacked. For Sentinel 2 images, four bands (2, 3, 4 and 8) were stacked. Object-based image analysis was applied to images using the Mean Shift filter in the Orfeo Toolbox, which segmented them into distinct objects based on their signatures ( https://www.orfeo-toolbox.org/ ). The Random Forest algorithm in the R software ( https://www.r-project.org/ ) was used to classify each object to the respective predetermined class.

Random Forest is a non-parametric supervised learning algorithm that can identify and cover classes with high accuracy, despite subtle differences due to seasonality. Therefore, the use of a combination of satellite images processed to provide surface reflectance together with the capabilities of the Random Forest algorithm mitigated the impact of the subtle seasonal changes that may have occurred in the study area.

The pre-determined classes were: (1) plantation and woodlots, (2) tropical high forest (THF) – normal stock, (3) tropical high forest (THF) – low stock, (4) bushland, (5) wetlands, (6) subsistence farming, and (7) built-up area. As chlorophyll reflects near-infrared light (NIR), false-colour composites were used for expert visual validation of the image classifications—i.e., bands 5 (near-infrared), 4 (red) and 3 (green) of the Landsat image, and bands 8 (visible and near infrared (VNIR)), 4 (red) and 3 (green).

Forest Inventory

We sampled 83 plots of 20 × 20 m (a total area of 3.32 hectares), which were selected systematically, 100 m apart from each other, along transects in the offset sites. Given the nature of the Gangu CFR as a meandering forest, with swampy areas in the middle, the starting points for the transects were purposively laid 100 m from the forest edge to avoid the sampling of disturbed forest along the forest edge or of swampy areas in the central parts of each forest arm. Swampy areas were avoided because they did not undergo forest restoration. Given a total BO area of 270.3 ha forest restoration area, the sampling intensity was 1.2%. Within the plots, tree diameter at breast height (1.3 m) was measured using a diameter tape. All trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) that was greater than or equal to 5 cm were identified and recorded. Trees with buttresses were measured above the buttresses. Trees that could not be identified were classified under one family, named ‘unknown’. Tree heights were measured using a Suunto clinometer. A 2 × 2 m (0.0004 hectare) subplot was established in each plot, in which seedlings/resprouts with a collar diameter of less than 5 cm were identified and counted. Plots undergoing cultivation and grazing were also recorded.

Social Data

Household interviews, key informant interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted to acquire information on the trends and cause(s) of forest cover changes, on forest state, resource access and use prior to and after implementation of the offset, and on community engagement in offset activities. Obtaining this information was crucial because no baseline biodiversity or socio-economic data prior to implementation of the offset were readily available from the responsible entities. One village was randomly selected from each parish adjacent to the Gangu CFR, making a total of 6 villages. A household survey was conducted by means of convenience sampling of 140 respondents who had spent a minimum of eight years in the villages—namely, Kiryambidde (32), Kanyike (25), Makulungo (25), Kajoolo (20), Budde Kiyonsa (19) and Ndoddo (19) (Fig. 1 ). Eleven key informant interviews were conducted with nine forest-dependent ‘guerrilla farmers’, one charcoal producer and one brick layer. The respondents were either recommended by the local council leaders or identified during household interviews. In addition, CFM members, local council leaders, and representatives of forest management authorities were also interviewed. FGDs were held in two villages neighbouring the offset sites: in Ndoddo (10 men and 9 women, separately) and in Kanyike (6 men and 4 women in one group). FGD participants were purposively selected from a list of members that had lived in the villages for more than 8 years.

Data Analysis

Using the Orfeo Toolbox (OTB), a software library for processing images from Earth observation satellites, the satellite images were processed in three steps to produce land use/cover maps: (1) feature extraction; (2) selection of training data (signatures); and (3) adaptation of the National Biomass Study (NBS) classification system. The image classification was guided by field reconnaissance information gathered in August 2022. Out of the 13 classes on the NBS system, 4 land use/cover classes were identified and mapped: THF-normal stock, THF- low stock, bushland, and subsistence farmland (Table 1 ). Inventory data from the 83 plots were used for classification accuracy assessment. The resulting three land use/cover maps (2013, 2018 and 2022) were compared quantitatively using a change matrix.

Forest structure and composition

The data was entered into Microsoft Excel to create data files and sorted using pivot tables. The species identified within the sampled plots were counted to determine species composition and richness. Species dominance was obtained by calculating relative species density (Savadogo et al. 2007 ) using the following equation:

Species diversity was determined by calculating the Shannon Diversity index:

where:H- Shannon diversity index; p i - proportion of individuals of i-th species in a whole community; ∑- sum symbol; log- the natural logarithm; n– total number of individuals of a given species; and N- total number of individuals in a community.

The Shannon Diversity index was derived using SDR 4 software (Seaby and Henderson 2006 ). Population structure was analysed based on the diameter class distributions.

The survey data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), a software package used for the analysis of statistical data. Descriptive statistics were run to obtain summaries on socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, respondents’ perceptions on forest status and change before and after the implementation of the BO, the reasons for the changes, and changes in forest resource access and use. Key informant interviews, and FGDs were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Narratives of different social categories of respondents were mapped from the content under each identified theme from the transcriptions including forest status, use, access and change.

Forest Cover Changes in the Offset Sites

The satellite image analyses (Figs. 2 – 4 ) revealed a decline in the areas under THF-normal stock and subsistence farming, and an increase in the areas under THF-low stock and Bushland within the BO sites. In 2013, prior to the implementation of the restoration activities, 55%, 17% and 25% of the offset sites was THF-normal stock, THF-low stock and subsistence farmland respectively. Within 8 years after the onset of restoration activities, the total area covered by THF-normal stock significantly decreased to 21%. Out of the 147.7 ha of THF-normal stock in 2013, 62.9% was converted to THF-low stock in 2022 through a reduction in the numbers of big trees. Some of the trees planted in the frame of the restoration activities were also found cut down during the data collection for the forest inventory in 2022.

Land use/cover in the Gangu biodiversity offset sites in 2013

Land use/cover in the Gangu biodiversity offset sites in 2018

Land use/cover in the Gangu biodiversity offset sites in 2022

Total area under subsistence farming decreased to 5%, through regeneration of 72% and 13.8% of its proportion to THF-low stock and bushland respectively. Area under THF-low stock increased to 69% of the offset sites, with 49.5% of the area acquired through degradation of the normal stock THF, 4.2% and 25.6% was acquired through regeneration of the bushland and farmed land respectively, while 20.8% had not changed. Although the area under subsistence farming decreased by 82%, there were still a few scattered gardens as shown in Table 2 . The gardens were either freshly cleared within the forest, or were previously existing prior to offset implementation. We observed that some of the farmers planted shade tolerant crops such as coffee and bananas. The trees were widely scattered in the farms to avoid canopy closure that would constrain crop growth. Such farmers have maintained the trees planted during the restoration exercise, while clearing new seedlings and resprouts.

The results from the household survey show that the majority of the respondents (74%) reported a decrease in forest cover prior to the commencement of BO restoration activities in 2014, while 21% and only 3% reported no change or an increase in forest cover respectively. The remaining 2% indicated limited knowledge about the status of the forest. The responses did not vary significantly across respondents’ social and demographic characteristics. Respondents reported logging (100%), forest farming (72%) and weak law enforcement (70%) as the major drivers of forest loss. The other drivers of forest loss included increased forest dependents (23%), grazing (9%) and establishment of forest plantations (7%). According to the FGDs and key informant interviews, most of the forest cover loss was witnessed in the period 2010–2016. Extensive logging activities were driven by high demand for forest products including timber, charcoal and firewood in the neighbouring urban centres. Extraction of the big trees created forest openings which the local communities turned into farm lands to cultivate ginger, the main cash crop in the communities adjacent to the forest. Some of those who were engaged in forest farming reported having had to make seasonal payments in form of bribes to the forest rangers and forest police to maintain their activities in the forest. As such, forest officials were considered key facilitators of forest degradation.

Between 2014 and 2022, 54.7% of the survey respondents reported to have observed an increase in the forest cover of the BO sites, whereas 12.5% and 29.7% reported no change and a decline in forest cover respectively, while 3.1% indicated limited knowledge about the status of the offset sites. Increase in forest cover was attributed to restoration of the degraded forest areas, increased restrictions on access and use of forest resources in the offset sites and forest patrol support from the CFM members. Communities were only permitted to collect firewood, water, and handcraft materials. However, some activities that were not permitted such as logging for timber and charcoal, farming and grazing were also still carried out by a few individuals as shown in Fig. 5 . We also found goats and cows browsing and grazing in the forest during field work activities. Respondents that reported a decline in the forest cover attributed it to continued logging and farming practices, and weak law enforcement resulting from corruption among forest officials. These claim the remnants of the forest farms are sustained through bribing forest rangers and forest police. Logging activities are usually carried out in the middle of the night. According to FGDs, illegal logging was mainly carried out to obtain fuelwood, especially charcoal. During forest inventories, we came across cut trees, including those planted during the restoration activities. Key informant interviews with forest authorities revealed that, to reduce pressure on the offset sites, they established CFM sites outside the BO sites, and allocated the forest land to individuals previously cultivating in the offset sites to establish commercial tree plantations. These were intended to provide alternative sources of timber, poles, charcoal and firewood to the forest adjacent communities as well as an alternative source of income to forest farming. It was thus a form of compensation for lost livelihood benefits due to restrictions on forest resource access and use in the offset sites.

Forest utilization activities in Gangu biodiversity offset sites and level of community dependence on the activities

However, the beneficiaries were very few, approximately 60 individuals, leaving the majority of the forest dependents without alternative sources of forest products and livelihoods.

Forest Composition and Structure

Species composition and richness.

A total of 1318 individual trees of DBH equal to or greater than 5 cm were recorded in 82 (20 × 20 m) of the 83 sampled plots within the BO sites. There were no trees in one sample plot. The trees recorded comprised of 62 species, 52 genera, and 29 families (Appendix 2 ).

The most dominant families were Moraceae, followed by Meliaceae, Rhamnaceae, Combretaceae, and Anacardiaceae. The most dominant genera were Maesopsis, followed by Cedrela, Terminalia, Pseudospondias, and Ficus. Based on relative density, the most dominant tree species were Maesopsis eminii (13.2%), Cedrela odorata (9.6%), Pseudospondias macrocarpa (9.2%), Terminalia superba (8.4%), and Antiaris africana (5.4%).

The least abundant tree species (each with a percentage of 0.1) were Albizia coriaria , Alconia sp , Bridelia micrantha , Fagara macrophylla , Harungana madagascariensis , Prunus africana , Teclea nobilis , and Tetrapleura tetraptera . Seven of the tree species in the offset sites were on the IUCN Red List of threatened species, 8 were singletons (of which 1 was an unknown species), that is species that have only been observed once (Lim et al. 2012 ), while 19 tree species are listed among the nationally reserved/ protected tree species in Uganda (Table 3 ). Using Species Diversity and Richness (SDR) 4 software, we obtained a Shannon diversity index of 3.312 and Pieulous J evenness of 0.8025.

During FGD discussions, participants named 39 tree species they could remember to have existed in the forest before it was severely degraded. Among the 39 mentioned species, 22 (56%) were observed during the forest inventory, while 17 species were not observed. (Appendix 3 )

Population structure: diameter size class distribution

The dominant diameter class of all the species encountered was 5–9.9 cm DBH, while the diameter class with the least number of tree stems was >50 cm DBH (Fig. 6 ). The historical native species dominate the lower diameter classes while the species used to restore the forest dominate the higher dominant diameter classes (Table 4 ).

Diameter class distribution of individual trees, tree species and tree families in the Gangu biodiversity offset sites

Regeneration: Extent to which the Offset is Providing Conditions for Regeneration

A total of 226 seedlings/resprouts (<5 cm DBH) were recorded in 2 m × 2 m 83 sampled subplots. The seedlings constitute 42 species, 39 genera, and 25 families (Appendix 2 ). The seedlings recorded in the offset sites were mainly dominated by native species, including Blighia unijugate (22.1%), Ficus sp (11.5%), Aningeria altissima (7.5%), Maesa lanceolata (6.2%), Maesopsis eminii (6.2%), Antiaris africana (5.8%), Allophylus africanus (3.1%), Celtis africana (3.1%), Psidium cordatum (3.1%), and Terminalia ivorensis (2.7%).

There were 7 species in the sampled plots represented by seedlings only (without trees above 5 cm DBH). These include: Allophylus africanus ; Citropsis articulata ; Clausena anisata : Diospyros abyssinica ; Phoenix reclinata ; Syzygium guineense and Vangueria apiculata .

The major challenges of restoration offsets highlighted in literature include uncertainty of restoration success and the large time-lags before degraded ecosystems can be restored to reference states (Maron et al. 2012 ; Bull et al. 2013 ). For the Gangu BO, restoration activities combined with protection resulted into increased forest cover, and enhancement of forest species composition in the BO sites after a period of 8 years. However, the permanence of the BO restoration outcomes is uncertain due to continued forest resource exploitation within offset sites by communities that have no alternative sources of livelihoods.

The forest cover analysis and social data reveal that restoration activities resulted in an increase in area under forest cover (THF-normal stock + THF-low stock) and reduction in area under bushland and farmland. In addition, restricted entry and resource access in the offset sites minimized human interference, especially the extent of farming and grazing, potentially increasing the survival rates of seedlings and sprouts in the offset sites. Studies elsewhere have shown that controlling livestock pressure is necessary for effective indigenous tree species regeneration (Wassie et al. 2009 ). Seedling survival rates are higher and seedlings grow faster because there is no browsing and trampling damage. Therefore, active restoration and management of the conservation areas can increase chances and rate of vegetation recovery in degraded areas. These findings are also in line with Curran et al.’s ( 2014 ) observation that active habitat restoration speeds up the restoration process.

The forest cover analysis also revealed a significant decline in THF-normal stock, which communities attribute to logging, farming practices, and weak law enforcement characterised by corruption. This implies that offset measures have not been effective in halting illegal forest resource extraction. Community dependence on the forest for resources especially firewood and charcoal was very high prior to the implementation of the offset. However, an attempt to address the loss of forest products through establishment of CFM arrangements did not comprehensively address matters of social equity. CFM arrangements that were meant to compensate for lost forest livelihoods as a result of BO implementation only considered directly compensating for lost cultivation land, leaving out other forest resource-user groups. The non-CFM members, who constituted the greatest proportion of the communities did not get alternative sources of forest products (Kigonya et al., Forthcoming). With monitoring and patrolling from both forest authorities and CFM members, continued logging usually in the wee-hours of the night depicts desperate need of fuel wood and lack of alternative livelihood sources among non-CFM members. These were restricted from obtaining firewood from the woodlots established by CFM members, which they have to buy, and is only obtained upon harvesting that is not frequent (Kigonya et al., Forthcoming). Therefore, offset design did not fully recognize the interdependence of the local communities on the forest ecosystem, and the necessity to reconcile local community values, resource demands, which is key for successful offset implementation and sustainability (World Bank 2020 ). The trees currently planted in the biodiversity offset sites are at a risk of being harvested by the communities when they mature, considering that there is evidence of increased degraded forest even when the sites are managed as a BO. An ecological assessment of other parts of Gangu CFR revealed a decrease in forest cover within the sites neighbouring the biodiversity offset sites (Kigonya et al., Forthcoming). Therefore, the establishment of the biodiversity offsetting sites can also cause leakage/perverse outcomes if community livelihood benefits are not adequately compensated for. High pressure on the forest for tree products threatens the permanence of the BO restoration benefits which is crucial for attaining net biodiversity benefits over time (Virah-Sawmy et al. 2014 ). The benefits are expected to be sustained during the commitment period and beyond for a successful BO (Calvet et al. 2019 ).

Since BOs are ideally supposed to compensate for loss of biodiversity elsewhere, the permanence of biodiversity benefits is paramount for legal and legitimacy purposes. The effectiveness of offsets is dependent on performance accountability that can be achieved through constant monitoring (Villarroya et al. 2014 ). Therefore, it is desired that BOs be managed in ways that minimize disturbances or impacts on the biodiversity components restored or conserved. Therefore, the capacity of the forest management to monitor the sites should be strengthened, while taking into consideration the customary rights of the offset adjacent communities. A combination of restoration and protection of offsets was recommended by Souza et al., ( 2021 ) to increase chances of restoration BO success. Considering that the Gangu CFR is a SNR, the management agency should enforce the restrictions of SNR, where access to and use of biodiversity components by the communities adjacent to the offset sites is regulated. To mitigate acts of bribery and corruption that could potentially compromise restoration success, there is need for a robust governance system that is trustworthy and transparent (Wainaina et al. 2021 ). While the NFA is directly financed by the government, institutional financial reports reveal that the budget allocations are low compared to what is needed to operationalise required forest management activities such as patrolling for illegal activities and resurveying and demarcating forest reserves (NFA 2016a ; GoU 2021 ). There is thus need for additional financial support to ensure continued effective management of the offset sites. At a sector level, there is need to adhere to good forest governance principles such as carrying out regular governance assessments to ensure proper management, complying to the rule of law, transparency and low levels of corruption, and implementation of a coherent set of policies, laws and regulations both within the forest sector and other sectors that influence forest management (FAO 2012 , 2018 ). There is also need to implement biodiversity-based livelihood compensations that benefit those impacted by offset measures, create alternative sources of products desired from the forests such as forest buffer zones close to the BO sites or community forests from which communities can continue obtaining forest resources, or widely distribute technologies that can lead to more efficient use of forest products such as energy saving cook stoves, to reduce demand and pressure on offset sites resources. The World Bank ( 2023 ) recommends that prior to implementation of projects, a census be carried out to identify persons and livelihoods that would be heavily affected by the projects. The results should then be the basis upon which livelihood restoration plans are developed to ensure that all of those heavily affected can have their livelihoods improved or restored.

Whereas the restoration activities involved planting of only 7 tree species, the study identified 62 tree species within the offset sites. Among these, 28 species had no seedlings, while 34 species were represented as both seedlings and trees. This indicates advanced regeneration for those species, and their seedlings are most likely to develop into mature trees. Among the species restored are singletons that were previously not reported in the forest ecosystem, nationally reserved/protected species (GoU 2016 ), as well as IUCN Red Listed species. Twenty two out of 39 tree species that were previously reported to have existed in the forest were also observed during the forest inventories. Out of the seven planted tree species, Maesopsis eminii and Cedrela odorata emerged among the most dominant tree species (first and second respectively). Although these two are not invasive in Uganda, they have been reported invasive elsewhere (Mwendwa et al. 2020 ; Van Der Meersch et al. 2021 ; Kilawe et al. 2022 ). It is important for future restoration BOs to take into consideration the potential negative interactions selected restoration species could have with local species. Six out of the 10 most dominant tree species were among the indigenous tree species that underwent natural regeneration.

The relatively high Shannon diversity index of 3.312 indicates that there is high species diversity and evenness within the BO sites. This is an indication of a stable plant community. An ecosystem with Shannon’s index values greater than 2 is regarded as medium to highly diverse in terms of species (Ortiz-Burgos 2016 ). The high Pieulous J evenness of 0.8025 is an indicator that the species in the offset sites have relatively similar abundance. This further confirms that after 8 years of BO implementation, many species have been restored through natural regeneration. The results are in line with Ssekuubwa et al’s., ( 2021 ) findings which indicate that passive restoration in tropical forests can recover forest composition within a relatively short period of time. The risk of the offset being dominated by a few planted species is not reflected in the current sites. Natural regeneration has been deemed highly effective and cost effective where soils have not been degraded and seed-dispersing fauna are present (Martínez‐Ramos et al. 2016 ; Brancalion and Chazdon 2017 ). However, in situations where communities are highly dependent on forest resources, active restoration will result into quick accumulation of biomass that can support community livelihoods within a short period of time (Crouzeilles et al. 2017 ).

Size-class distributions of trees in the study revealed that small diameter classes had large numbers of individuals and large diameter classes had small numbers of individuals. This depicts the classic “inverse J” shaped size class distribution curve indicating a stable and growing population (Condit et al. 1998 ). This indicates that the species are adapted, recruited fairly regularly, can propagate sustainably and constitute stable populations (Oliver and Larson 1996 ; Nduwayezu et al. 2015 ) and the low mortality of regenerating individuals.

Species regeneration could have mainly resulted from sprouting, an attribute that Mwavu and Witkowski ( 2008 ) reported as key to ensuring persistence of woody plant individuals and populations in tropical rain forests after selective timber, pole, and sapling harvesting. This could also indicate that the forest ecosystem had a large seed pool (Buschke and Sinclair 2019 ). The increase in the number of tree species through natural regrowth partly resulted from halting crop farming and grazing which hinders tree regeneration through uprooting and clearing of seedlings or sprouts, grazing, browsing, and trampling on the seedlings. Grazing has been reported in other studies to have significant negative impacts on germination, seedling survival, and growth (Jimenez et al. 2005 ; Wassie et al. 2009 ). The animals could have trampled or browsed on the seedlings, subsequently affecting their restoration and growth. The results also depict that it is only the trees that were planted as part of the restoration effort that have larger diameter size classes. The delayed germination and establishment of other indigenous trees could have resulted from permitted taungya farming, a forest management strategy in which trees are temporarily raised in association with agricultural crops in the first years of tree establishment until crop growth is impaired by tree canopy closure (Appiah et al. 2020 ). Although taungya farming reduces the costs of forest rehabilitation, as the farmers are assumed to tend the trees, as they benefit through planting their own crops (Fatma et al. 2020 ), the practice may have constrained the possibility of seedling growth prior to canopy closure of the planted trees because farmers cleared them when weeding their crops and only preserved the planted tree species that the NFA staff were more concerned about.

Our results provide empirical evidence on the potential of restoration offsets to recover forest vegetation, high species composition, evenness, and diversity of tropical forests in a relatively short period of time. The study also shows that combining restoration activities with measures that limit further forest disturbances such as regulating forest resource access and use through patrols (by both forest authorities and communities through collaborative forest arrangements) and providing alternative sources of forest resources to adjacent forest communities, can enhance restoration offset outcomes. Reduced human activities or disturbances including eliminating Taungya farming during the initial years of restoration in offset sites could potentially lead to higher regenerating survival rates and shorter period for complete forest recovery. However, lost biodiversity-based livelihoods of all those impacted by offset implementation ought to be compensated to possibly secure compliance with offset access and use regulations and minimize illegal resource extraction activities.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the research assistants that supported the collection of forest inventory and social economic data, and the respondents who took part in the research. The authors are also grateful to Haakon Lein, Martin Lukas and Michael Ogbe who provided valuable input to the work.

This work was supported by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology through the Ramme Strategi Omstilling (RSO)-Scholarship at the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences; and the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (DIKU) through the Norwegian Partnership Programme for Global Academic Cooperation (NORPART) project on Collaborative Action for Strengthening Training Capacities in Climate Risk and Natural Resources Management (CostClim). Open access funding provided by NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology (incl St. Olavs Hospital - Trondheim University Hospital).

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Kigonya, R., Byakagaba, P., Ssenyonjo, E. et al. “Biodiversity Offsetting” in Uganda’s Protected Areas: A Pathway to Restoration of Forest Biodiversity?. Environmental Management (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-024-01982-6

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The Maldives Development Update (MDU) has two main goals. First, it takes the pulse of the Maldivian economy by providing key developments over the past 12 months. Placing these in a global context, and based on these recent developments, it analyzes the outlook over the medium term. Second, every other edition of the MDU provides a more in-depth investigation of selected economic and policy issues. It has a wide audience including policymakers, policy analysts from think tanks or non-governmental organizations, and business and financial sector professionals interested in Maldives’ economic development.

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RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

In 2023, the number of tourist arrivals reached a record-breaking figure of 1.88 million. Nevertheless, this did not result in higher GDP growth due to lower per-tourist spending and shorter stays. The Maldivian economy is estimated to have grown by 4% in 2023. Domestic inflation, at 2.9% in 2023, remained higher than the historical average of 0.5%. Price increases were experienced in the food, education, restaurant, and lodging services sectors. Food inflation could increase poverty by 0.4 percentage points, with atolls experiencing even higher rates.

Travel export receipts fell 6.8%, while merchandise imports remained elevated at $3.5 billion. This resulted in a current account deficit of 23.4% of GDP. High import costs and external debt repayments also weighed heavily on gross reserves, which fell to $551.1 million in January 2024. Failure to implement planned subsidy reforms, combined with rising recurrent and capital spending, resulted in a sharp increase in total expenditure and a fiscal deficit of 13.2% of GDP in 2023.

Tourism, which accounts for a quarter of the Maldives' economy, has experienced slower growth in 2023 due to a decline in average duration of stay and lower tourist spending. This slowdown has exposed underlying economic vulnerabilities in the Maldives.

These vulnerabilities stem from persistent large current account and fiscal deficits. The country relies heavily on imports while having limited official reserves, creating an unsustainable imbalance. Government support for struggling state-owned enterprises (SOEs), along with blanket subsidies, high capital spending, and a public health program, further exacerbate these pressures.

While these subsidies and in-kind transfers are crucial for boosting household incomes, their unsustainable nature raises concerns. When fiscal pressures mount, the Maldivian people's well-being could be negatively impacted. Additionally, infrastructure projects, although promising long-term growth, were financed through non-concessional external borrowing and sovereign guarantees. The rising cost of borrowing abroad has forced the government to turn towards domestic sources, increasing the domestic financial sector’s vulnerability to government debt.

The government recently announced its commitment to a fiscal reform agenda to address these economic vulnerabilities. This agenda includes reforms to subsidies, SOEs, the public health insurance scheme (Aasandha), and reprioritizing capital spending. These reforms offer a path towards a more resilient Maldivian economy.

The economy is projected to grow by 4.7% over the medium-term, supported by tourism, a decrease from the pre-pandemic average of 7.4%. This growth is based on expected fiscal adjustments, including subsidy reforms and reduced public expenditure and investments. This slowdown also means slower poverty reduction in 2024.

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Major downside risks include a shock to the tourism sector, limited domestic and external financing, and a widening current account deficit. To maintain macroeconomic stability, a major fiscal adjustment and a multi-year reform plan are required, along with a targeted transfer mechanism to offset welfare losses among vulnerable groups.