The newly established Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities of Uganda is currently looking for ways to promote the countrys attractions across China in a bid to get more Chinese people to visit the Ugandan nation .
According to Grace Mbabazi Aulo, director of the ministry, nearly 7,000 Chinese tourists visited Uganda last year. This number was very small compared to the overall one million tourist arrivals.
Minister of Tourism Maria Mutagamba said that her countrys tourism industry bears great potential because of Ugandas spectacular abundance in natural resources and indigenous cultures.
Mutagamba said that she is looking at all the possibilities of promoting a so-called humanitarian tourism or voluntourism. People who actually have the money but dont want to pass it on to the government are more than welcome to visit the country and spend a week with a family, school or hospital. During their stay, they can do their bit by, for example, doing some construction work, she said.
Another two types of tourism that Mutagamba seeks to promote are faith-based tourism and cultural tourism. With the former, people can visit shrines, mosques and churches across the country. The latter entails that visitors can experience Ugandas various tribe cultures, as the country can boast 50 indigenous tribal cultures, each of which has its own culture and value, she said.
The real sightseeing showstoppers are the mountain gorillas which are very rarely found in the wild. Uganda can provide gorilla tracking services to enable tourists to see the gorillas up-close and personal.
Meanwhile, Mutagamba admitted that promoting Ugandan tourism in China may prove difficult. Marketing is not easy. Especially when you are marketing something to people with different values and cultures, she said. She hopes to collaborate with the Chinese embassy to find partners to promote tourism across China.
In addition, Mutagamba mentioned two areas in which China can help: accommodation services and transport. Chinese can help set up traveler lounges or hotels in the country and train theirpersonnel. They can also help improve the countrys air travel in order to reduce the traveling time to the mountains as well as enhance its water transportation to make the small islands on Ugandas Victoria Lake more accessible.
China and Uganda mark their 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year. China is currently hosting a cultural exchange program called Experience China in Kampala, Uganda. The program features variety shows, TV documentaries and books to give local people an insight into Chinese culture.
