As Uganda moves closer to the 2026 genera elections, tourism –the country’s biggest foreign exchange earner after gold – has emerged as a central pillar in the manifestos of the country’s leading political parties — the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), the National Unity Platform (NUP), and the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
Each party, according to their manifestos, has presented ambitious plans to transform the country’s tourism sector into a major driver of economic growth, prosperity and job creation.
NRM: Tourism as an Anchor for a $500 Billion Economy
The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) manifesto explicitly describes tourism as “strategic for Uganda,” citing its impressive performance with minimal investment over the years which has seen the sector generating an estimated USD 1.6 billion in FY 2024/25.
In its manifesto, the NRM pledges to leverage tourism as a key growth engine in the party’s ambitious plan to turn Uganda into a USD 500 billion economy.
The party’s strategy focuses on increasing the number of tourists, their length of stay, and average spending per visitor.
To achieve this, the NRM is suggesting a series of interventions including aggressive marketing and branding of the country both domestically and internationally.
Already, government has hired destination marketing firms around the world and set aside a sizable budget for its missions and consuls to market the country as a top tourism destination although sector players maintain that it is dismal.
The party is also targeting investment in tourism infrastructure, including tourism roads, aerodromes, airports, ICT systems, electricity, and water facilities.
Largely, Uganda’s tourism infrastructure is still wanting, a factor that has contributed to the hindrance of faster growth.
The NRM also suggests construction of cable cars especially in the mountain Rwenzori area, museums and highway stop-over facilities in tourism regions in partnership with the private sector.
As the country’s hospitality sector continues to grow, largely pushed by the private sector, the NRM is looking to position Uganda as a top destination for conferences, events, and sports tourism under which is known as Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism.
Already, At the helm of this ambitious drive to make Uganda a market leader in the events industry is the Uganda Convention Bureau (UCB), a unit recently set up under the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB)
Largely, the NRM manifesto reflects a continuation of its long-term approach.
The party says that it continues to view tourism as an export-oriented sector that can boost foreign exchange earnings while stimulating related industries such as transport, hospitality, and culture.
NUP: More funding and a Focus on Value Addition
The National Unity Platform (NUP), Uganda’s main opposition party, seeking to end the 40 year dominance of the NRM promises a sharp break from the status quo.
According to it’s current manifesto, the NUP says that Uganda’s tourism sector is “undervalued and under-commercialised.”
The party’s manifesto highlights declining sector metrics like shorter average tourist stays which have come down from 8.3 to 7.6 nights and a drop in leisure tourist share, quoting a drop from 19.3% to 15.7%.
It hence suggests a comprehensive overhaul of the sector.
To start this process, it pledges to increase tourism funding tenfold in its first year in office from the current UGX 289.6 billion in FY2024/25.
This funding, the party notes, is to support infrastructure, marketing, and product development.
The NUP also suggests simplified visa processes, including online applications with one-day processing and visa-on-arrival for most countries especially top source markets.
It also suggests investment in visitor experience like customer service training, hotel grading regulation, and improved air access.
Expansion of domestic tourism through affordable packages and national awareness campaigns.
If handed the mandate, the party says it will further develop adventure tourism, bird-watching, and eco-friendly iconic projects such as glass bridges and upgraded facilities at the Source of the Nile in Jinja.
The NUP manifesto also talks about strengthening conservation efforts and opposing extractive industries in national parks.
Currently, there are ongoing oil explorations in parts of the Murchison falls conservation area and recently, the government has plans of building a Hydroelectric Power dam on Uhuru falls just a few meters away from the Murchison falls, a move that caused an uproar from the tourism community, environmentalists and conservationists.
NUP also promises to create 239,000 direct jobs annually and up to 2.5 million tourism-related jobs by 2030.
Currently, the sector employs about 600,000 Ugandans both directly and indirectly.
NUP’s plan positions the tourism sector as a catalyst for economic diversification and youth employment, fronting sustainability, technology, and service excellence.
FDC: Reviving a Neglected Growth Sector
The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), it’s other peers, also identifies the tourism sector as a key growth engine for the country’s economy, but maintains that it remains under-developed, under-funded, and under-marketed.
Largely, the party’s approach focuses on institutional reform and targeted funding to unlock Uganda’s potential and make the country more competitive in the regional tourism market.
The party is promising increased investment in promoting Uganda’s birding and mountain-climbing attractions, especially around the Rwenzori Mountains and Margherita Peak.
FDC also promises zero-rating VAT for hotels and tour companies, attracting direct long-haul flights to Uganda from across the world and investing US$50–100 million in five years that they project will generate over one million direct jobs.
The party also promises a revamped tourism authority that will be tasked with improving marketing, regulation, and coordination of the sector.
