Authorities in Uganda have increased the country’s tourism sector budget in the financial year 2024/25 as the country seeks to keep an upward trajectory of its economy for another year running.
While presenting the national budget for the next financial year, Finance minister Matia Kasaija said that this was done because tourism is one of the significant sectors with the potential to generate more revenue if adequately funded and marketed.
According to minister Kasaija, the tourism docket will receive Shs 289.6 billion set for different development programmes.
This is up from Ush89.29 billion ($24 million) for 2023/2024.
“Uganda has increasingly regained her global position among the top ten best tourism destinations in global tourism rankings. In the year 2023, international tourist arrivals increased by 56 percent to 1.274 million tourists compared to 814,085 arrivals in 2022 and the peak of 1.52 million in 2019. The international tourism receipts reached USD 1.03 billion in 2023,”Kasaija said.
Among the programs this money is earmarked for include Supporting international and domestic tourism marketing and promotion activities; Modernising tourism products to make them more competitive. These include completion of the pier and related infrastructure at the Source of the Nile; upgrading the Uganda Museum; upgrading construction of 8,000 metres of climbing ladders and boardwalks on the Rwenzori Mountains to make hiking safer.
Other projects include the grading, supervision and classification of tourism facilities to enhance the quality of services and ensure adherence to the required global standards; Complete the upgrade of the Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute infrastructure in an effort to make it an International Centre of Excellence for training and skills development in tourism and hospitality; and enhancing the conservation of Uganda’s 22 Wildlife Protected Areas with a focus on the mitigation of human wildlife conflicts.
Government plans to construct an additional 150 kms of electric fence and maintain the existing 106-km fence; carry out boundary surveillance through more than 13,904 patrols; uproot invasive species and construct four (4) water dams in protected areas.
Apart from the Shs 287.6 billion, an additional Shs 1.629 trillion has been provided for several critical interventions associated with tourism including support to Uganda Wildlife Authority, construction of tourism roads, road rehabilitation and upgrade under Kampala Capital City Authority, support to AFCON‘27 and completion of key stadia, strengthening security, law and order in our tourism destinations, and extension of the internet to tourism destinations, among others.
“There is also an additional Shs 55 billion to Uganda’s Missions Abroad to support the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) to market Uganda to potential tourists, market our exports and attract more investors,” Kasaija said.
According to a recent tourism trend and statistics report 2024, released Tuesday, the country’s international tourist receipts grew by 48.5 percent to reach $1.025 billion last year, representing 83.4 percent of the $1.6 billion recorded in 2019.
The increase in both numbers and revenue was attributed to arrivals from Africa and some key overseas markets including the United Kingdom, United States of America and India.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic disruptions and its ensuing lockdowns that saw the sector come to a standstill, it was the country’s biggest foreign exchange earner raking in about $1.6 billion annually.
