KAMPALA, Uganda – The second edition of Twegaite Source of the Nile Run in Jinja due for 18th July – 23rd July, will feature a Mini Zoo Expo, organizers have said.
The run which was officially launched a fortnight ago by the Speaker of Parliament of Uganda, Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, partly aims to promote domestic tourism in the Busog region in Eastern Uganda, and specifically in Jinja the biggest town in the region.
Twegaite International, a not-profit corporation based in the USA which brings together children and friends of Busoga, both in the diaspora and Uganda, with a primary objective of reaching out in a collaborative manner for Busoga regional development partnered with Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) to bring a Mini Zoo Expo to the residents of Jinja and the entire Eastern region.
The expo is intended to give opportunity to residents of Jinja and beyond to enjoy Uganda’s wildlife animal potential from Entebbe Zoo. The event is envisioned to be an annual occurring that will promote tourism by driving traffic to Jinja from other parts of country and beyond.
Kadaga said the first run was a success even though it was held on the shores of the River Mississippi in the USA.
“Twegaite is an organization that brings together the Basoga and other people from eastern Uganda, all living in the USA. I was chief runner at the first event in St. Paul/Minneapolis and I finished the race,” said Kadaga in a press statement.
In this particular event, organizers hope to raise funds to support a cancer hospice in Jinja. Kadaga called upon Ugandans and others to register and participate in the run because,not only will they support the cancer awareness campaign, but also promote tourism in Uganda.
“Each of us has a personal responsibility to promote our country,” Kadaga said. “Busoga and the eastern region has a lot to offer to the rest of the country and I encourage all Ugandans to participate in this run,” Kadaga said.
Twegaite Source of the Nile Run is one of several sports events in which the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) has partnered with the private sector to promote regional and domestic tourism.
“This year, the Uganda Tourism Board is focused on driving domestic tourism to higher levels as opposed to previous years. Uganda is rich and diverse in culture, landscape, and tourism attractions. Twegaite Source of the Nile Run is one such event that promotes domestic tourism,” said Stephen Asiimwe, CEO, UTB.
UTB has partnered with Twegaite International to promote Jinja as a tourism and adventure destination in East Africa. Through this run, UTB and Twegaite International will be driving traffic to Jinja for the entire week.
On that note, organizers say there are a number of activities lineup starting 18 July all through to 24 July, and among them is the zoo exhibitions.
Tourism is highly guarded as Uganda’s cash cow having become the country’s top foreign exchange earner. For example, UTB reported that in 2015, Uganda generated Ush3732.8bn in visitor exports. That is, Money spent by foreign visitors to a country, which they (UTB) said was a key component of the direct contribution of Travel & Tourism on the economy.
UTB went on to report that Travel & Tourism attracted a capital investment of about Ush1089.5bn in 2015. The Tourism regulator said this is expected to increase by 7.6% in 2016 and by the same figure per annum over the next ten years.
This is the first time the run is on the shores of the world’s longest river, the River Nile. The Nile is at about 6700km from the Eastern district of Jinja in Uganda to the Nile Delta in Egypt on the shores of the Mediterranean is the longest river.
Source: BusinessWeek
