The pearl of Africa is one of the most beautiful safari destinations. It is blesses with vast tropical rain forests, beautiful rivers and magnificent waterfalls, high towering mountains, expansive savannah plains and a variety of wildlife and birds. In Uganda you can enjoy activities such as white water rafting, bungee jumping, game drives, and the very popular gorilla trekking, and so much more. The country’s tourism industry is steadily growing but has not yet managed to tap into all the resources it has. In an effort to do just that, the Ministry of tourism in partnership with Uganda Tourism Board and other stakeholders have come up with a new project to promote the country’s tourism potential and also add to the many things that you can do and enjoy on a visit to Uganda.
A mountain climbing challenge on Mount Rwenzori is the new product, and it will further have highlights such as the visit to American super model Marlina Moreno.
John Ssempebwa the deputy CEO of the Uganda tourism board, in an address to journalists in Kampala, said that mountain climbing was earning many countries a lot of money, and the same potential in Uganda was not being exploited. There are a few challenges such as high costs and the distance to the peak, which have been hindering progress in this area, but Mr. Ssempebwa said these issues have been addressed and that a promotion for this product is set to take place on the 17th January , 2015.
about 400 or 500 Ugandans are expected to attend this event with the Minister for tourism Maria Mutagamba as chief walker.
Uganda has been earning quite well from tourism with tourism bringing in more revenue than foreign remittances as a top foreign exchange earner. This is according to reports from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
“The tourism sector also contributed 7.9% to Uganda’s GDP in 2013 amounting to about sh5.5 trillion with as little investment as Shs800m last year,” said Andrew Seguya, UWA’s executive director at the launch of the tourism master plan 2014-2024, which is a collection of strategies and plans geared towards transforming the tourism sector.
Tapping into mountain climbing could be quite profitable for tourism in Uganda. Especially mountain climbing in the Rwenzori mountain ranges, which are the highest mountain ranges In Africa. The rwenzori mountains are found in western Uganda close to the Uganda -DRC border.
It is good addition to other popular tourist activities in the country such as chimpanzee and gorilla trekking and white water rafting. There will one more exciting thing to do on a Uganda safari. Hopefully Uganda will continue coming up with new and exciting products to boost its tourism industry.
