Tourism Sector in Uganda: An Interview with Lilly Ajarova of Uganda Tourism Board

Interview with Lilly Ajarova, CEO of Uganda Tourism Board

How do you assess the tourism sector in Uganda as a whole? What are the most important things that are there at the moment that are the factors of success? What is your vision for the sector itself?

The tourism sector in Uganda is growing. There is a lot of opportunity for growth in the sector. Uganda has a lot to offer in terms of different attractions and services that could bring the global community to visit here. We have a lot of natural endowment in the wildlife, the dramatic landscapes, the unique features like the equator, the source of the Nile. We have very good weather averaging 23C throughout the year which is perfect weather any time of the year. Even when it rains, in an hour’s time, it will be bright and shiny and all very nice. There is quite a lot to experience here about the history of Uganda. We have the architecture, the food, the people themselves. Ugandans are a very warm people and very hospitable. We have a very diverse culture with 65 different tribes. Every part of Uganda that you go through, you will experience different cultures, the way of life of the people from the food to their dressing to their dancing and singing. It is all so diverse. Uganda has positioned itself as a cultural destination, as a wildlife safari destination, and as a historical destination. What is very special about Uganda is the diversity that we have as a destination and that provides a huge opportunity for development and growth in the tourism sector. The tourism sector in Uganda is one sector that is well positioned to transform the economy of Uganda from a developing country to a developed country. Some of the challenges that we have had historically are political issues. We are grateful that for over 30 years now we have had political stability. It is safe to be in Uganda at any time of the day. Of course, we have the challenge of investment into the tourism sector, specifically. There is work that we are doing now to provide the incentive to bring in as many investors into the tourism sector in Uganda as possible. We have some infrastructure in place in terms of hotels, etc., but we require more if we are going to attract more numbers into the country while meeting the needs of the different market segments. We still need more investment to make the tourism sector in Uganda perform to its best. The other challenge is to get Ugandans themselves to appreciate what we have to be able to share this with the world. Ugandans need to appreciate the resources available, the opportunity of investing in tourism in Uganda, being part of what tourism is in Uganda, they need to experience the heritage that they have as citizens of this country. This is another responsibility that we are taking on right now as a challenge that we need to overcome. We need to get all Ugandans to appreciate and understand tourism as a sector and be part of it. We always say in Uganda that tourism is for everyone, so we need to bring that to reality.

What is your reaction towards the current challenges of lockdown and COVID and what can you do in that respect?

We are in our second wave but we also have the experience that we learned from the first wave of handling COVID in Uganda in 2020. We went into our first lockdown in March 2020 and that lasted for about two and a half months. The airport was closed and everything was shut down. We only opened the borders in October 2020. We came to a standstill for those several months of the year. By the end of the year, business started picking up and we got into the second wave in May this year. That has hit us very hard. The difference is that we are not completely shut down. The borders are open, international tourists are allowed to come to Uganda under some strict operational procedures, everyone coming in has to have their PCR test report to present, they need to be retested at the airport before they get to move out of the airport environment in Entebbe. Some of the flights have been canceled which is affecting the numbers that are coming in. But, I prefer to look at the positive side of it, the fact that we are managing these waves differently from the first one based on the lessons that we learned. We have organized ourselves to have the bubble tours. The tourists are coming in and there is a restriction on what vehicles they get in, the tour guides who have to go with them, the drivers must have their 48 hours PCR test before they go with any visitors. The hotels have strict standard operating procedures that they are following. One waiter has to deal with one client or one group of clients for the whole time in the hotel and they have to use the same tables so that there is not too much mixing of people to provide for more safety for everyone. It is hard and it is challenging, but the fact that we can have a few people come in is the main thing showing that we can still allow international tourists into this country.

What are some of the highlights and key destinations that you can offer in Uganda?

There are a lot of investment opportunities in tourism in Uganda. One of them, of course, is the accommodation facilities. We require a lot more luxury accommodation facilities in the different parts of the country.

For us, it is really the diversity that we have. One of our key things is the wildlife resources that we have. Most times people think of the wildlife in terms of the big five, being the lions, leopards, elephants, rhinoceros, and the buffalo. But in Uganda, we have the big five plus two which are the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. They are endangered species and they are great apes. The experience that you can have with these two great ape species is at the top of the travelers’ bucket list. It is always important for us as a destination to mention the plus two on top of the other wildlife species that we have. We are endowed with over 1000 bird species, which is a representation of 50% of the bird species in Africa and 10% of the bird species in the world. In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, we have almost 50% of the remaining mountain gorilla population in the world. We also have the chimpanzees. It is the only place where you actually have both the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees together. There are some endemic birds in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park as well. Bwindi is also a World Heritage Site credited by UNESCO. Bwindi is one of the most special places and destinations to visit in Uganda. We also have the source of the Nile. The Nile is the longest river in the world. This is quite unique. The source of the Nile in Uganda is in Jinja in the eastern part of the country. That gives you a completely different experience of the natural resources we have. We can also look among some of the extraordinary natural features we have like the snowcapped Rwenzori Mountains. It is the third highest mountain in Africa, after Kilimanjaro which is the first and then Mount Kenya. It is an amazing experience to hike Rwenzori Mountains. The beauty is in the trails and hiking experience that are provided for everyone. You can do a half day hike, a one day hike, and we have several peaks. It is one of those places that one should really experience in Uganda. Some of the other features are Murchison Falls National Park which is extraordinary as well. Visiting Kidepo National Park always gives me a feeling like it is a different country. It is so beautiful and so different from the rest of the other regions in the country.

What kind of investors are you looking for to bring to Uganda?

There are a lot of investment opportunities in tourism in Uganda. One of them, of course, is the accommodation facilities. We require a lot more luxury accommodation facilities in the different parts of the country. We still need more accommodation for tourists in this country in mid-range facilities as well. In terms of the tourism experiences, for example, hiking safaris on the Rwenzori Mountains, having people with the international experience of organizing this kind of service is also where we would require international investors to come in. We have had that investment by an international investor, but we need more of such bungee jumping on the Nile, canopy walks in the different forests that we have, and we have looked at opportunities of a glass bridge on the River Nile, at Murchison Falls, or the source of the Nile itself as some of the opportunities for investment.

You work with the embassies in Uganda for France, Belgium, the UK, etc. How do you work with them? What is the relationship that you want to develop with them?

They are representatives of the various countries in Uganda. Getting them to experience and know the Uganda tourism potential or them going through the experience of tourism in this country gives them a very good understanding of giving us support, not only to talk to their countries about the beauty and the diversity that Uganda has to offer for tourism but also for investment opportunities. In terms of investments, one of the areas we are looking at is also sports tourism. We need a lot of facilities for sports in this country. Anybody out there who would be interested in investing in this area is also very welcome. The other area is also medical tourism. We are looking at having specialized medical facilities in this country, specialized services, and we need the investment in these areas as well.

What are your current projects? What are you working on at the moment?

We have three top priorities that we are working on right now. We are working on refreshing our brand from the marketing perspective. Uganda, our brand, is the Pearl of Africa. In the next few months, we want to launch this and share this with the rest of the world. In terms of enhancing the tourism services, the quality of service, and regulating the sector to the expected standards, we are doing a lot of inventory, inspections of the facilities, and training to make sure that the required standards are maintained by all the service providers in the tourism sector. On product development, there are some products that we have that we need to enhance the facilities and make them better. This is not all being done by the Uganda Tourism Board. We are working with the different partners and stakeholders to identify the quick fixes that need to be done and the quick wins that we can have with developing some of the new products.

How do you see tehe tourism sector in Uganda in three to five years’ time? What is your vision for tourism in Uganda? What do you want to achieve in the medium term?

Medium to long term, we are looking at Uganda being the preferred destination in Africa where we will have the required infrastructure development for tourism in place, where we will have the standards that are required at an international level that will bring in the various tourists to the country, and we are also looking at international markets, Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. In our marketing strategy, we have our markets divided into four: the domestic market, the East African market, the continental Africa market, and the international market which is the rest of the world. We are strategically working with the different market segments to make sure that the interest and the development is done in a manner that caters to the different markets. The African market need is different from the East African market need which is different from the domestic or the international. By segmenting our markets, in the next five years and beyond, we should be able to have the required services and products for each of these markets in place to be able to attract the numbers. We are very positive that Uganda will be a preferred destination in Africa.

What is your inspiration and what drives you?

I look at life each day at a time. I believe that each day is a special day that must be lived with its specialty. There will never ever be any other day that is exactly today. Whatever I do today will matter forever and it will be for this day. I can build on or subtract on what I have done today. But, today has its own destiny, has its own opportunity. For me, that is really what drives me each day. Every day I wake up and I have life, I am healthy, and I have to do my best because today will contribute to the past but will also contribute to the future. If I let this day go, then it is a wasted day. My future dreams drive what I do today. I normally have my plans for the day, for the week, for the month, for the year, for five years. I do plans up to 10 years, but I have to work backwards to know what I can do for today that will actually push me to the next level to achieve what I want to achieve in 10 years’ time.

For more information, please visit: https://visituganda.com.

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