Uganda Tourism Board is in plans of profiling Kampala, Entebbe, and Jinja tourism potentials to discover tourism opportunities therein and potential investment areas and then promote them to tourist destinations.
This has resulted in a summit of Jinja City Authorities and Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) to conclude plans to develop Jinja into a tourism city in East Africa. The meeting included UTB, Jinja Council Authority, and the Private Sector at Jinja City Hall to discuss the theme “Showcasing Tourism Potential for Jinja City.”
This tourism stakeholder engagement painted the challenges faced by the tourism sector in Jinja city and pointed out strategies to mitigate such.
The summit was presided by Acting Jinja Town Clerk – John Gulooba Choli, before the attendance of the UTB Delegation led by UTB Chairman – Hon. Daudi Migereko, Vice-Chairperson Mrs. Susan Muhwezi, Directors, Management of the Board, and Jinja City Tourism Officer – Simon Kayite.
Gulooba Choli noted issues affecting the tourism sector in Jinja City and the Busoga region among which comprised; limited government funding for tourism activities, inadequate tourism infrastructure, and awareness of the tourism products available in Jinja city.
The UTB board boss, Daudi Migereko pointed out the sorry state of the infrastructure in Jinja and added that there was an urgent need to develop a sound maintenance program for key access roads to tourism hotspots such as Bridge Street and the Source of the Nile.
Migereko further highlighted the need to curate, authenticate and standardize the information shared by tour guides at these attractions for an exceptional tourism experience for travelers.
Lilly Ajarova, UTB CEO also said that Jinja tourism opportunities such as adventure and cultural tourism would position Uganda as a unique destination for an adventure of a lifetime. Particularly she pointed out white water rafting, tubing, bungee jumping, cycling, horse riding, and other adrenaline sports tourism activities that are unique to Jinja City.
Susan Muhwezi, UTB Vice-Chairperson noted that there was a need to engage all tourism sector stakeholders ahead of the development and implementation of the plans in collaboration with the city authorities. She also mentioned that the Government of Uganda is discussing the taxation issues faced by the tourism sector so that the country remains competitive ahead of recovery.
