In a striking demonstration of cross-border tourism leadership, the 4th Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism Conference & Exhibition, held 27th-28th October 2025 at the Ocean Beach Resort & Spa, Malindi in Kilifi County, has both reinforced and expanded the vision of East Africa as a unified tourism destination.
Held under the theme, “Leveraging Youth, Innovation & Technology for Responsive and Inclusive Tourism”, the conference celebrated the strong partnership between Uganda and Kenya.
Since the first edition in 2022, the partnership between Uganda, via its Mombasa Consulate and Kenya’s coastal region, has been founded on complementarity rather than competition, an approach emphasised repeatedly at this year’s event.
According to official figures, in 2024 some 466,000 Kenyan tourists visited Uganda, making Kenya Uganda’s largest African source market, while 225,559 Ugandans travelled to Kenya, underlining the close inter-flow between the two destinations.
Against this backdrop, the conference marked yet another step in what could aid Uganda’s target of the ten-fold growth strategy by 2040 driven by youth, digital acceleration and regional investment.
In her keynote address to attendees, Juliana Kaggwa, the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) Chief Executive Officer emphasised a future-facing Uganda.
She noted the need for a “digital exercise to connect products” across both countries, pointing out the ambitious 2040 “ten-fold growth strategy” which crosses borders, integrates investment, and expands inland stays.
Kaggwacalled for longer stays inland to realise “extra dollars” in tourism expenditure.
Giving an example of the European Union, Kaggwa said that East Africa can emulate unity and that tourism is one sector that can start that, via shared destination branding and integrated regional circuits.
Martin Mugarra Bahinduka, Uganda’s State Minister for Tourism, Wildlife & Antiquities, affirmed the importance of the dual-country approach, from Uganda’s wildlife and adventure, to Kenya’s sun, sand and sea.
Aligning the two, he noted, can create a multi-destination itinerary, prolong traveller stays, and deepen value.
“This forum continues to be a pivotal platform for strengthening the regional tourism ecosystem, deepening collaboration, and expanding opportunities between our two sister nations, Uganda and Kenya,” he said.
Following the engagements, the two sides, Uganda and Kenya, agreed to adopt digital branding, innovation and AI/data tools for destination marketing.
They also agreed to build frameworks and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) on how to connect products like inland Uganda safaris with Kenya coast stays.
Other issues agreed on were to leverage the youth segment comprising 80% of the population in both countries as innovators and service-providers in tourism, develop inclusive, tech-driven, accessible tourism that integrates persons with disabilities and establish an online East African tourism marketplace and broaden the event’s scope beyond the coast into a full “Uganda-Kenya Tourism Conference” umbrella.
Significantly, Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism is now pushing that the Coast campaign be rolled out beyond the Mombasa/Kilifi coastal belt.
By partnering with Uganda and looking inland, Kenya acknowledges that its future competitive edge lies not only in beaches but in linked regional circuits like beaches, wildlife and culture.
This strategic pivot positions Uganda squarely as a leader in the regional tourism architecture, and it is the Ugandan Government, via the Consulate in Mombasa and the Ministry of Tourism that deserves emphatic recognition for this.
On the Ugandan side, under the Mombasa Consulate leadership of Paul Mukumbya the Consul-General, the team has successfully built tourism diplomacy, networks, fam trips, golf tournaments and joint marketing of “bush to beach” packages.
According to Mukumbya, there has been a progression from 200 delegates in 2022 to over 750 projected in 2025.
It is therefore fitting to hail the Ugandan government, through the Consulate in Mombasa, for its pioneering efforts in institutionalising the Uganda-Kenya Coast platform whose, work has created the architecture, confidence and momentum that now allows Kenya’s broader rollout.
Looking ahead: opportunities & next steps
•The 5th Uganda-Kenya Tourism Conference is slated for Uganda in 2026, signalling that Kampala will host the next edition, further cementing Uganda’s forward role.
•Tourism investment in infrastructure (air connectivity, SGR/rail links, road networks) will underpin the regional integration vision.
•From Uganda’s perspective, the focus will be on driving longer stays inland, increasing foreign exchange yield, and integrating the youth ecosystem in digital, start-ups, influencer marketing and inclusive tourism.
•Private sector, technology providers, social-media influencers and youth entrepreneurs will be key enablers as highlighted in the panels on digital branding, innovations, training and social-media platforms moderated by the Uganda/Kenya tourism ministries.
•The joint “bush to beach” product ie Uganda’s forest & adventure + Kenya’s coast is now a mainstay. Tour operators are urged to structure combined packages that offer Uganda first, then Kenya coast or vice versa to capture higher spend and longer durations
In summary, the 4th Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism Conference did more than talk partnership; it advanced a strategic agenda for youth-driven, tech-enabled, globally marketed East African tourism. Uganda’s government, its Consulate in Mombasa, and the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities have played a leading role in building this platform and deserve robust recognition.
Kenya’s decision to push for the roll-out of its coastal campaign beyond the coast is a testament to that leadership and to the success of the Uganda-Kenya tourism partnership.
