The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities in partnership with Agencies including Uganda Tourism Board, Uganda Wildlife Authority, UWEC, UHHTI, and UWRI, and private sector players will this April traverse Western Uganda in a domestic tourism campaign dubbed “Explore Western Region,” aimed at interesting Ugandans to visit the uniquely prized tourism sites and attractions in the region from April 12th – 16th 2023.
The Explore Western Region domestic tourism promotional trail comes a few months after the successful Explore Elgon domestic tourism campaign that witnessed hundreds of Ugandans participate as they visited Mbale city, Wanale Hill, and Sipi Falls in December last year.
The campaign will be led by Hon. Martin Bahinduka Mugarra, the State Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, along with celebrity influencers to spotlight the key attractions of the region. They will make stopovers at the Uganda Equator in Kayabwe and Lukaya for some mouthwatering roasted Nyama Choma, chicken and refreshments before traveling to the tourist-friendly Mbarara Igongo Cultural Centre as the meeting point.
In the company of local leaders, the team will leverage the five days to visit a series of attractions and tourism hotspots in Western Uganda such as the Eclipse monument in Biharwe, Mugaba Palace, Kyamuhunga growers tea estate, Lake Nkugute, Kyambura gorge viewpoint, Katunguru bridge, Rubirizi Crater lakes, Mweya Peninsula, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Katwe Salt lake mines, Kilembe mines ruins, Nyamwamba Valley, Rwenzori Mountain National Park, Mihunga Gate, Tooro Kingdom Palace, Semuliki National Park, Amabeere Ga Nyina Mwiru among others.
An initiative by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, “ExploreWest,” is aimed at creating awareness of the various potentially untapped prized tourism sites and attractions strewn across the western countryside and neighbouring places as part of the synergies to encourage domestic tourism in Uganda and also as a strategy for tourism recovery post-Covid-19 and the Ebola epidemic, among other catastrophes that affected the Country’s tourism industry.
The Ministry will also leverage the campaign to emphasize the newly launched national tourism destination brand identity dubbed ‘’Explore Uganda—The Pearl of Africa,” which was launched by His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on January 21, 2022 at the Kololo ceremonial grounds in Kampala city. The new brand identity invites tourists both local and international to explore Uganda deeply, stay for extended periods of time, and take time to appreciate what the Pearl of Africa has to actually offer.
As travel bounces back and restrictions are lifted by different countries and airports across the world, several countries have stepped up their destination marketing and promotional strategies in a bid to boost domestic tourism so as to attract foreign travelers and regain trust. As a result, they have embarked on domestic tourism promotional initiatives as the road to recovery of their tourism sectors and as a way of igniting interest among local and foreign tourists.
Prior to the pandemic, Uganda’s tourism industry was growing at a rapid pace contributing 7.7% of GDP in FY2018–2019 and was the top foreign exchange earner for the previous five years. In addition to collectively protecting and conserving the country’s abundant natural resources, the sector employed over 677,000 young people.
In conclusion, Ugandans are encouraged to explore and discover their Country as they join the Explore Western Region this April.
Participants can join the campaign conversation using the harshtags #ExploreWest #TurambureAnkore #TubungireTooro and #ExploreUganda
About Western Uganda Region
The bulk of Uganda’s National Parks, game reserves, waterfalls, crater lakes, rich cultural legacy, amazing wildlife, wonderful birds, charming landscapes, and lush green vegetation are found in the Western region of the Country. Among other remarkable features that render the region a stand-alone ideal tourist destination include the fact that it is home to 54% of the remaining endangered mountain gorilla population.
The Western Uganda region borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the west and the northern tip of Rwanda, as well as Tanzania in the south. The region is divided into 26 Districts including Mbarara, Buhweju, Buliisa, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Hoima, Masindi, Ibanda, Isingiro, Kabale, Kabarole, Kamwenge, Kanungu, Kisoro, Kasese, Kibaale, Kiruhura, Kiryandongo, Kyegegwa, Kyenjojo, Mitooma, Ntoroko, Ntungamo, Rubirizi, Sheema, and Rukungiri etal.
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