International tourism receipts increased by 48% in 2023

Hon. Matia Kasaija, the minister for finance, said that Uganda’s Vision 2040 provides a 30 year-year strategic direction for the country and identifies tourism as one of the sectors with high potential to harness the country’s economic transformation.

The Minister made the remarks at the 2nd annual tourism development programme review conference in Kampala held under the theme ‘’Tourism and Peace.

According to him, during the period FY 2020/21 – 2024/25, public investment of about Shs2.9 trillion has been undertaken in the tourism industry.

‘’As a result of this sustained investment, Uganda’s tourism showcased exceptional resilience by achieving a recovery of 82.6% of pre-pandemic international arrivals, reaching 1,274,210 visitors by the end of 2023 compared to 814,508 in 2022’’.

He stated, adding that the compliance of tourism business with national and international service standards rose to 55% from 34%. International tourism receipts increased by 48% in 2023, rising from Shs2.57 trillion in 2022 to Shs3.819 trillion in 2023.

 He added that Tourism Development is one of the four key growth areas underpinned by the goal of ‘’full monetization and formalization of the economy, with a focus on increasing tourist arrivals by five-fold under the current spend-per-tourist and length-of-stay’’. The target is to generate annual export earnings of US$50 billion.

In his remarks, Minister for Tourism, Hon. Tom Butime said that the sector has recorded success with increased tourist numbers attributing it to the country’s tourism promotional efforts, plus the addition of new flight routes by the Uganda Airlines as well as the Expansion of Entebbe International Airport and the improved ambiance of the Airport.

 ‘’Through our Conservation Efforts, we have continued to manage our 22 wildlife protected areas and supported 30 wildlife sanctuaries and four community conservation areas working very hard to tame human wildlife conflicts’’.

The Minister said that further efforts have been put in developing a wide variety of tourism products across the country to improve individual experience and customer satisfaction when visiting the country.

‘’We strive to guarantee the safety and security of tourists physically and of course using technology and insurance security’’. He added.

According to him, the Tourism development Programme is a testament to the government of Uganda’s concerted efforts to develop a programme approach to development planning.

In the final year of NDP3, the Tourism Development Programme intends to implement clear achieve able interventions aimed at realizing its objectives, namely promoting domestic and inbound tourism, increasing the stock of quality of tourism infrastructure, developing, conserving and diversifying tourism products and services, developing a pool of skilled personnel around the tourism value chain and ensuring Uganda is the place to visit and be.

 ‘’Industries such as hotels, travel, airlines, activities of restaurants, leisure industries as well as the wider effects from investments, the entire supply chain has led to increased income. Additionally, the recovery of the tourism industry has been fueled by the undertakings of the government of Uganda, the exuberant private sector, our development partners, and civil society organizations who continue to collaborate and promote our tourism industry’’. Said Doreen Katusiime, the Permanent secretary at the ministry of Tourism, wildlife and antiquities

According to her, the performance review conference is a much needed exercise that will provide for the ministry an opportunity to showcase the performance of the programme in the past one year and really highlight to our stakeholders the progress we are making in recovering the industry.