During this past weekend’s prayer session, President Yoweri Museveni acknowledged that the tourism and entertainment industries were indeed affected by this. He said that apart from tourism and entertainment industries that would be greatly affected by the threat of the COVID19 pandemic, the economy of Uganda would continue to thrive.

Remember the country has for the next 32 days, starting last Friday, put any gatherings of sorts on hold and demanded that all bars be closed. On top of this, Uganda has now closed its borders allowing only the cargo planes. Though highly welcome in these dire times, the industry will lose over a million tourists that visit Uganda annually. Only last week, tourism enthusiast, Amos Wekesa called attention to this.

“Now for Uganda, the tour operators are actually laying off our employees,” he said. “I know that for sure yesterday three lodges put off 70% of their stuff.” He worried the impact starts from the community but then becomes a national issue. “That means these kids are going to be very desperate in the villages and millions of people are gonna lose opportunities,” he said. “Because tourism is not just lodges and so on and forth.”

But an optimistic Museveni said that while tourism would suffer, this would allow for the country’s business community who have been importing from China to go into manufacturing. “Uganda has been spending US$7bn, importing things from China, but now the businessmen are no longer importing. They should therefore start manufacturing from here. This challenge might in the end become an opportunity for us. It is a wake-up call for Africans to start manufacturing things from here and stop depending on others,” he said.

President Museveni who was accompanied by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataha Museveni was speaking during the intercessory national prayers on the COVID-19 global pandemic held at State House, Entebbe organized by the Inter-Religious Council Union (IRCU). The intercessory prayers sought to seek the protection of God and spare Uganda from the global pandemic that has sieged the entire world. They expressed hope that the COVID19 pandemic would soon come to an end.

The president addressed the nation on the Coronavirus pandemic and announced the drastic measures Uganda was taking. Though it doesn’t have a single confirmed case of the virus yet, Uganda will clearly do everything in its power to keep it that way. At the risk of bringing everything to a screeching halt, the president announced a 32 day of no large gatherings; this will spread to schools, churches, and even weddings. But here are the 13 points as clearly listed by the President’s press team.

• Schools, tertiary institutions to close for one month starting Friday, 20th March.
• Religious gatherings, churches, mosques, open prayers were suspended for a month with immediate effect.
• Political and cultural public meetings, rallies, conferences, elections were suspended for 32 days with immediate effect.
• No outbound travel by Ugandans to or through Category One countries (those severely affected by pandemic) for 32 days. These are; Italy, France, South Korea, China, USA, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Norway Austria, Malaysia, Pakistan and San Marino.
• Foreigners can leave but not return in the 32 days.
• Ugandans coming back from abroad, including category one countries, will be quarantined at their cost.
• Non-agricultural workplaces, factories, hotels, taxi parks, etc will continue operating but with SoPs, put out by the ministry of health, eg compulsory sanitary points, temperature monitors, etc.
• Uganda-style weddings that bring together the pentagon of groups will be postponed for 32 days from today. If couples are in a hurry, do a scientific wedding with core members. Not more than 10 people.
• Burials won’t be banned but recommend should be done by relatives who are nearby. Mourning is done later. If the deceased died of Coronavirus, State will take over burial.
• Crop people, cattle keepers, and fishermen. These should observe proper hygiene practices. Fishermen should be studied closely because they live in concentrated landing sites. Monthly (open-air) markets are suspended for 32 days.
• Public transport. Taxis, bodas, buses, etc. Advice: Don’t travel unless it’s absolutely necessary. Also, transport operators are given mandatory soap. In event of an outbreak in a given locality, public transport will be suspended.
• Stop merrymaking, discos, bars, music shows, and concerts. Drunkards speak with saliva coming out of their mouths. Suspended for 32 days.
• The virus spreads by sneezing, coughing. Observe hygiene. Close your mouth, etc. Stop touching surfaces, wash your hands, don’t shake hands, hugging; also do online transactions.
  Do a balanced diet. Eat vitamin C, oranges, lemons, etc.

Uganda has increasingly become a vacation place for many people worldwide. Uganda is a whole new complexion in the game of travel because it has some unique wildlife species a tourist can never find elsewhere.

Though Uganda has much to encounter, little of it is known by travelers thus making it a very difficult destination to lure a tourist into. The aforementioned problem has crippled Uganda and it is why it is receiving fewer tourists as opposed to its tourism potential.

If you are a tour operator out there, here are some of the tips you can use to attract tourists into a Uganda wildlife trip.

Consider exhibiting at trade shows

The exhibition of products is a universal business marketing tool and one of the most effective methods. Having person-to-person contact can make a client understand what you are trying to sell and later might turn into a real customer. There are very many tourism exhibition shows that are held around the world for example ITB Berlin, the New York Times Travel show, the World travel lifestyle expo, and the international tourism and travel show to mention but a few. These shows make you meet so many powerful entities and personnel who may get interested in Uganda wildlife trips.

Give your website a worldwide reach

A website is one of the most popular channels to reach tourists who wish to travel around the world. The world has gone digital, most things are done through technology. Physical markets have declined and now online markets are gaining momentum. Most people prefer to buy stuff online over other means. So as a tour operator make sure that you design a website with enticing Uganda wildlife trip packages and also affordable and great-looking safari car rentals in Uganda and also optimize it so whereby it can rank well in search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo which are recognized worldwide.

Keep track of online reviews

Since most of your work and market is online, customers send their grievances on the internet. It is better for you to join online tourism platforms like Trip Advisor, lonely planet, and Google where you can ascertain what travelers want from the tour operators so that you can make some adjustments to make it better. You should also answer promptly if the client asks a question through online platforms.

Do more eco-tourism

Environment conservation and preservation are on everyone’s agenda nowadays. Many people in the world have gone eco due to diverse effects. travelers want to associate more with nature because it is rare to find in this sophisticated world. therefore, you should tell would-be travelers more about natural attractions such as national parks, lakes, rivers, mountains, and cultural communities.  

 With the above marketing tools, more tourists can be attracted to Uganda, a land gifted by nature.

Before one hiring a car in Uganda or rwanda from any car agent of company, there are certain things he/she should consider to ensure that he gets the best services. It’s embarrassing to spend your money on services that are below standard and not worth the money. This is why maximum cautiousness is required when selecting where to get a car from. In this case let’s look at Uganda and Rwanda because it’s where car hire is developing rapidly. Below are some of the things one should look at;-

Credibility;

This is so important especially when it’s the first time for someone to book with a specific company. I know this is difficult to determine my tourists when just booking online but there are some measures one can use to prove this like checking if the company is listed on the various tourism platforms like the Association of Uganda Tour Operators. Reading through the reviews given by different clients that have used that company on the various tourism portals is important. If a company has excellent genuine reviews then its credibility is perfect and you can go on and book with it.

Experience;

Experience companies always offer the best services and therefore one should put that in mind while selecting a company to use. Experience normally comes with the number of years a company has been in a particular business. While selecting a company to book a car from, it’s important to check how many years it has been renting out cars to people. The least number of years one should consider is 8 years. Companies that have just started lack the necessary exposure and experience so they won’t guarantee a tourist the best services for their money.

Office location;

Some people ignore this factor but is important. Since tourists book their safaris online and they choose companies to travel with from far away in their countries, there is great chance of dealing with a thief. Some people open up websites with the sake of taking advantage of tourists who want to visit Uganda or Rwanda. Some even pretend to be car hiring companies yet in actual sense they don’t exist and their company is not registered. Its therefore important for someone to determine whether the people he/she is dealing with have a physical office which is well know. This is for security purposes so that if anything happens a client has to know where to go and claim his/her money.

Conditions of the cars;

Since safety is key while travelling, it’s a good practice to always select those companies that have good vehicles which do not put the lives of clients in danger. Since cars have to be serviced regularly, tourists should ensure that they go with those that take the initiative to service their cars. Old vehicles are not to se while on a safari and therefore only those companies that use new cars are worth traveling with.

There are other factors to consider but those listed above are the most important especially for security and safety reasons. Always book with the best car hire agents for a real adventure.

Jinja is one of the most popular touristic towns in Uganda. Located in Eastern Uganda, Jinja is the ultimate gateway for adventure seekers looking to engage in different holiday activities. This peaceful town is the one of the best destinations for nature retreats and it has more to offer! Here are the top 10 things […]