Uganda will showcase its rich cultural diversity consisting of about 50 ethnic clusters alongside the unmatched flora and fauna at the 39th World Congress of the Africa Travel Association (ATA) congress

Uganda will showcase its rich cultural diversity consisting of about 50 ethnic clusters alongside the unmatched flora and fauna at the 39th World Congress of the Africa Travel Association (ATA) congress.

President Yoweri Museveni will open the conference officially on Wednesday.

Referred to as the “Pearl of Africa” by war time British Prime minister Winston Churchill, Uganda is regarded as the only country in the region where a traveller does a 21-day safari and adventure with a different experience everyday from experiencing a different culture, seeing the source of the River Nile and water sports, big five safari, tracking the gorilla, urban tourism, city tours among others.

It is this that will be laid bare to close to 500 local and foreign delegates as global focus turns on Uganda once again as the country positions to completely turn the corner in growing the tourism industry which has emerged as the number one foreign exchange earner roping in more than $1b in 2013.

Both tourism revenue and arrivals (over 1 million in 2013) are set to rise as government begins to invest in marketing in a sector whose linkages have a huge trickle down impact on almost all segments of the economy from agriculture, transport, accommodation, fuel, tax revenue among others.

Top travel industry leaders will congregate and traverse the country’s diversity including American top media outlets like National Geographic, Voice of America and CBS some of who have already jetted in the country and are undertaking field excursions.

Sylvia Kalembe, senior marketing officer at Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) says delegates will also see what tourism money does in the everyday lives of the community through pro-poor projects.

“We want to reemphasize the fact that tourism is everybody’s business,” noted Kalembe.

UTB and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the ministry have also lined up a series of outdoor activities that the guests will relish including world famous sites like Murchison Falls where the River Nile is forced through a seven meter gap before thundering down 60 meters making it one of the most spectacular falls in the world.

Other activities are the world famous mountain gorillas of which Uganda hosts more than half the surviving world population, the Rwenzori, Africa’s third highest mountain ranges.

UTB chief Stephen Asiimwe said the seven day high level congress will open Uganda to more global visibility.

“We are going to tell the world that Uganda and Africa are the best places to visit,” noted Asiimwe.

ATA's signature event in Africa provides a networking, learning and agenda-shaping platform for the most diverse group of tourism industry stakeholders of any travel industry event on the continent. The 2013 edition was held in Cameroon.

Asiimwe said it is also a prime moment for investors to position to invest in the country’s diverse tourism sector.
There will be forums for investment and destination marketing.

A special session on Wednesday will focus on highlighting destination Uganda whereas Uganda Investment Authority will highlight the overall investment opportunities in the country.

The ATA congress addresses timely industry topics, offers a lineup of educational and professional development opportunities and showcases the host Destination’s newest products and services.

There will also be business-to-business and networking events, an African Bazaar at the Uganda Museum.

Wildlife song Launched

Last Friday was a special one for tourism players – as UgandaWildlife Authority (UWA) unveiled a new conservation song, Follow Me To Uganda, at the Sheraton Kampala hotel.

The hotel’s Rwenzori ballroom had been deserving decorated for the evening – with benefiting dinner round tables.

The MCs of the night, comedians Tindi and Richard Tuwangye took to the floor at 8:30pm, pulling off their usual jokes.

But the audience, which comprised of tour operators, conservationists, Makerere University students of tourism, and the chairman of Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, Elly Karuhanga, among others, was not an easy one to crack.

Yet even the first performer, Howard, a Makerere University student of tourism using hip-hop to communicate to young people about tourism, wasn’t up to the task.

It was fast-rising vocalist Jemima and Joshua, who were backed up by a group of friends on the musical instruments, that put guests in the appropriate mood by taking us to South Africa with songs such as Jabulani and Ndihamba Nawe. This set the mood for the launch of Follow Me To Uganda.

The song, which opens the tube-fiddle (ndingindi), was done by pop singer Patrick Musasizi aka Chosen Blood. Chosen first hit chats in 2012 when he did Pressure Ya Love with Walden. The pressure of separating with Walden could have taken a stall on him, but certainly Follow Me To Uganda is a good comeback for him.

The song relays Uganda’sbeauty, right from your arrival point at Entebbe airport to the countryside such as the source of the Nile, the Equator on Masaka road and the national parks. The unveiling of the song started with its video, which was played on the project, before Chosen joined Jemima and her band to perform the song.

But before that, guests, who were either invited or paid Shs 1 million for a table, were treated to a sumptuous dinner, with all kinds of drinks flowing the entire night. UWA also used the occasion to award media houses, among which was The Observer newspaper, for their continued coverage of the tourism sector.