Uganda Removes Limits to Tourism
Uganda Government has decided to remove exclusive zones in her national parks to boost park tourism following the construction of new accommodation facilities.
Twenty years ago, the Uganda Government gave exclusive rights to a few hoteliers to build accommodation facilities in the country's three major national parks.
While the rights were aimed at boosting a dormant sector then, the move constrained the growth of the sector as visits to the parks have been constrained by limited accommodation there.
But the lifting of the exclusive rights is boosting the sector as investors take on ventures in the wildlife conservation areas.
The government had given the early proprietors a 25-kilometre exclusive zone for 30 years. That meant no other investor was allowed to erect a similar facility within a radius of 25 kilometres.
The stakeholders in the industry have welcomed Government's decision saying it is working to boost to the sector.
Mr Ben Rwabutara, the Managing Director Palace Motel Ltd in Uganda's Western town of Fort Portal says while security in the once insecure parks and mountainous area is good, inadequate accommodation remains a big challenge.
“Exclusive zones around the parks had affected the tourist arrivals since no investor was allowed to set up any infrastructure within a radius of 25 km”.He added
Rwabutura is currently setting up 20 self contained cottages on the periphery of Katwe Town council bordering Queen Elizabeth National Game Park. The cottages are like those in Kidepo National Game Park. Rwabutara are urging Government to aid the tourism sector if it is to be more competitive.
"Lack of Government input in helping people who are interested in developing the industry is a big problem.
Rwabutara said the government should help in identifying investors who are interested in constructing lodges.
Mweya Safari Lodge in Queen Elizabeth Park has a capacity of about 50 rooms and it is fully booked year-round.
State Minister for Tourism Serapio Rukundo, says the Ministry in conjunction with Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) have identified areas suitable to tourism investors.
"The exclusive rights given to Madhvani are no longer there.” We discussed with Madhvani about the proposed sites for development," Mr Rukundo said.
Queen Elizabeth Park in western Uganda covers 2,000 square miles, Murchison Falls, which lies in Gulu and Masindi, covers 3,840 square kilometres, while Kidepo in Karamoja is 1442 square kilometres wide. The Madhvani Group is the biggest concessionaire with a hotel in Queen Elizabeth National Park and two in Murchison Falls, among others.
Despite having unique tourist attractions, Uganda's tourism sector remains the poorest in the East African region.
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Uganda’s King of the Jungle on the Brink of Extinction
In Queen Elizabeth National Park, the King of the Jungle living between Kasenyi and Hamukungu and another living near River Nyamugasani in the north western part of the park are in danger of being poisoned.
"Poisoning of the lion is becoming a regular feature," says Siefert, "it is only a question of when, but two more prides are exposed to poisoning because UWA can not eliminate intrusion of the cattle grazers in the park."
The Lion may be the king of the jungle but in Uganda he is losing the battle to his would-be prey.
Armed with poison, Basongora herdsmen might drive lions and hyenas out of Queen Elizabeth National Park as they try to stop them from killing their cattle.
Wilson Okaali, the leader of the Basongora, says his tribesmen have no problems with wild animals, not even the lions. The Basongora, according to him, are like someone who is trapped between a rock and hard place. He says keeping wild animals is part of the heritage of the Basongora.
"It is not the intention of the Basongora to go against their heritage. It is the way the park is managed that has caused the local people to become hostile to the wild animals," Okaali explains.
"We have been staying with wildlife for centuries because unlike many tribes we do not eat wild animals," he adds.
Okaali noted that when the park was created in 1952, the Basongora were disregarded as "owners" of the land. He also states that despite changes in management of wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park, compensation is not provided for those who lose their cattle.
"We do not earn anything from wildlife yet the lions sometimes eat our cattle," says Okaali. "Those accusing the Basongora are park managers who are employed and paid money for managing the park, but they do not want to listen to the victims of the raids by lions."
According to local residents, park authorities did not respond to repeated warnings that a pride of lions was moving deeper into the park and approaching Hamukungu, a human enclave within the park. Previously, Basongora herdsmen had strayed into the national park to graze and ended up luring the pride.
The Uganda Wild life Authority executive director Moses Mapesa says lions are wild animals and that it is difficult to restrict them to the park. But it is possible to restrict livestock to the villages without moving into the park.
"The problem is that livestock is all over space. The cattle come to the park and go back to the villages. What happens is that the lions follow," he says.
The lions, a critically endangered species, are hanging on by a thread. Biologists like Siefert estimate that there are less than 60 lions in Queen Elizabeth national Park as opposed to 100 a decade ago.
The big cats which are African kings, they never die alone. The poison set for lions also kills hyenas because they eat the leftovers from the lions' meal.
Unlike the lions, the whole population of hyenas can get poisoned, according to Siefert.
He says accurate census for the hyenas in the whole park has not been undertaken, but the population could be declining.
For instance, he says, the hyenas that used to have dens around Mweya and Kabatoro have reduced from 54 to only five within the last two years.
"Though they gave birth recently only two of them are visible," says Siefert. "They could have been killed by the Basongora's poison."
While the lion is one of the big five, which many tourists crave for, the sad reality is that it is disappearing from the landscape, according to Siefert.
"Tourists going out at night complain bitterly that although they see lions and leopards, they rarely get to see a hyena," he says.
"Night Cultural wildlife tourism is under threat because you can't take visitors out in the night when the nocturnal animals are not there.
When hyenas become excited they make a howling and clucking noise that sounds very similar to the laughter of an insane person.
However, when a hyena 'laughs' it doesn't necessarily mean that it is happy. The hyena also makes this noise when it is feeling anxious or fearful, for example, when it is being chased by a lion.
The hyena knows that it can't take on a lion and so the lion gets first choice as to what he eats for dinner. So, the hyena has to wait until the lion has finished and then he is allowed to eat as much as is left over.
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9 Baffalos and more hippos die from Anthrax in Queen Elizabeth Park
An anthrax outbreak in Queen Elizabeth National Park has killed 82 hippos and nine buffaloes since June 2010.
The chairman of the National Anthrax Task Force Dr Nicholas Kauta told journalists on Thursday that the most affected areas are those surrounding Kazinga Channel and lakes Edward and George.
As a national response, he said, the task force is implementing a multi-pronged response which includes undertaking a base line study to determine the extent of the outbreak and affected species through carrying out carcass management, marine and terrestrial patrols and sample analysis.
He warned people around the area not to graze animals in the park, report all sicknesses and deaths in wild and domestic animals to authorities and not to consume meat from sick and dead animals.
He said there will be a ring vaccination of livestock in the national park and all health centres have been put on high alert.
Anthrax is caused by bacteria (bacillus anthracis) in the atmosphere. Animals mainly herbivores get it through contaminated grass, soil and water.
Humans can acquire it through eating contaminated meat and animal products from infected animals.
The park has often experienced attacks in 1954 and in 1994 and 2004. In 2004, about 300 hippos died.
The Uganda Wild Life Authority says there is no cause of alarm that all animals in the park might die because the beasts have natural immunity to the disease.
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America gives Shs12b to Uganda Tourism
Uganda has announced plans to introduce “marine tourism” to its list of core sightseeing marvels after the US government offered $6 million (Shs12b) to support the thriving sector over the next five years.
Mr Muzahura Edwin, Uganda Tourism Board’s public relations officer, said that they intend to start with purpose-tailored marketing of tourism treasures on Lake Victoria - the world’s second largest freshwater body.
“We have rapid waterfalls and sites for water-rafting. That’s why we want to introduce marine tourism which the Americans suggested and are willing to support,” he said after a meeting on Thursday with US Ambassador Jerry Lanier.
The meeting was at Mweya Safari Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park to launch United States Agency for International Development’s Shs12 billion domestic tourism campaigns, the US Mission in Kampala announced.
The campaign will raise awareness among Ugandans about the importance of their nation’s natural heritage and the need to improve conservation efforts.
It will also encourage tour operators, hotel owners, and others in the tourism value chain to promote reasonably priced facilities to tourists in Uganda as a means to ensure long-term economic growth in Uganda’s tourism industry.
From the Tourism Industry, last year Uganda got $746m (Shs1.5 trillion) from 842, 000 tourists, most of them foreigners, and the sector is the fastest growing at 8 per cent this year.
The USAID programmer will focus on the Albertine region and promote conservation and increase shared profits with rural Ugandans who shoulder conservation costs, the embassy said. “Sharing these benefits is the best way to build a local constituency to support wildlife conservation, which is the tourism resource base for Uganda’s future generations.”
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Buganda Totems become tool for Uganda wildlife preservation
The Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) has adopted Buganda’s totem system to supplement the conservation effort, an official has said.
In his speech, UWEC Executive Director Andrew Seguya said that People have forgotten this but during the old times, the Baganda knew that it was a taboo to kill your totem or even to eat your totem. And If we re-invent this, it may be a useful tool in our conservation.
Dr Seguya was briefing the Vice President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, about UWEC’s activities during the Buganda Tourism Expo 2010 yesterday. Prof Bukenya officially opened the exhibition, now an annual event.
Traditionally, a totem was an animal that represented a clan or familial group in order to distinguish them from other clans and thus prevent inbreeding or incest, and help one to monitor the kinship.
Dr Seguya said the cultural attachment to some of the animals helped in their conservation as Baganda held those animals sacred.
Last month alone, Dr Seguya said, five lions had been poisoned by unknown people in Queen Elizabeth National Park and the wild cats are now an endangered species.
UWEC exhibited a lion, a crested crane, an ostrich, pythons, fishing eagles and parrots among others.
Prof. Bukenya promised to become an ambassador for the bird’s conservation efforts. He said he was interested in the crane, which is a national bird yet it is becoming extinct
“I am interested in getting a male and a female crane,” Prof. Bukenya requested. And this was considered since Uganda crested crane is getting extinct.
Prof. Bukenya urged people to take part in cultural tourism that is one of the ways to effect development and conservation of culture.
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You must take a Safari in Uganda
Uganda is a small, land-locked country in Eastern Africa. It borders Kenya, Sudan, DR Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania and is home to one of the most diverse landscapes in all of Africa. Within Uganda's borders lie lush mountains, vast lakes and dry grasslands that teem with all sorts of wildlife, making it a wonderful safari destination.
Of recent, Uganda was not as popular a tourist destination as it neighboring countries. This means that adventurous visitors here can enjoy a type of authentic African landscape and culture that is less available in the better trodden countries such as Kenya and Tanzania.
One of Uganda's most famous and unique aspects are its abundance of Endangered Mountain wild gorillas, many of which are accessible on Ugandan safaris that take visitors into the national parks where they live. It is only because of Uganda's uniquely lush environments that gorillas can be observed up close here.
Chimpanzees come second to Uganda's unusual wildlife staying in their natural habitat. Typical Ugandan safaris also incorporate a chimp element, in addition to gorilla treks.
The River Nile is a very different setting on a safari through Murchison Falls National Park. Here, the massive river plunges down 45 meters into an amazing waterfall and wild hippos and crocodiles roam the waters.
Despite the rocky reputations of several of its neighbors, Uganda is one of the safer countries for tourists to visit in the entire Eastern African region. The nation boasts a stable government and lacks the insurgents and war that characterize many African nations, making it the perfect place to experience an Excellent African safari.
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Tanzania Tourist Board gets new Managing Director
Dr. Aloyce K. Nzuki has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the Tanzania Tourist Board
Dr. Nzuki brings years of experience in the tourism industry to the position. He previously worked with Tanzania’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism as an Assistant Director in Tourism Development and Tourism Research, Training and Statistics.
He was appointed by H.E. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania
Under Dr. Nzuki’s direction, the Tanzania Tourist Board will continue to promote sustainable tourism domestically and internationally.
“As Tanzania’s tourism industry, which accounts for 17.2 percent of the country’s GNP, keeps growing, we will remain focused on high quality, low impact tourism to ensure the sustainability of the tourism product. We look forward to continuing the momentum started in the United States, which remains our number-one market,” said Dr. Nzuki.
Dr. Nzuki studied Statistics at Makerere University in Uganda and completed a master’s degree in Tourism Marketing at University of Surrey in England. He holds a doctorate
Degree in Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management from Clemson University of South Carolina.
Until last month, Dr. Nzuki was an Assistant Professor of International Business Administration at the College of Applied Sciences in Salalah, Oman. He has also worked as a member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s World Committee on Tourism Ethics, the body responsible for interpreting, applying and evaluating the provisions of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.
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Uganda Tour Company wins Wild card space
One of Uganda-based Tour Company recently won free Wild Card space to exhibit in Frankfurt, Germany at the recently concluded IMEX 2010 exhibition.
IMEX in Frankfurt is the essential worldwide exhibition for meetings and incentive travel and their Wild Card programmer allowing undiscovered destinations to be put on the global business map. IMEX brings together international buyers and sellers and over 3,500 exhibitors from more than 150 countries attended IMEX 2010.
Great Lakes Safaris was the only African company that won free space; alongside two others, Morzine, France and Hof Conference and Cultural Center, Iceland.
Information obtained from the IMEX website indicates that to qualify for a winning place, Wild Card entrants have to justify their potential as a brand new meeting and incentive travel destination or a new convention and conference centre from a new and emerging destination.
On what significance the exhibition is likely to have for Uganda, the managing director Great Lakes Safaris Amos Wekesa told East African Business Week in an interview last week that the exhibition cast Uganda in the spotlight and is likely to open up opportunities for doing business. "There were many international companies at the exhibition that will sell Uganda as an ultimate destination," said Wekesa. "Charters that last came to Uganda in the 1970s will soon start bringing tourists as a result," he said.
As a company, Wekesa said winning the Wild Card free space means growth provides a challenge and opened eyes about the opportunities available. "They looked at our organization, our facilities, the people we deal with and our website and found that we qualified to be there. The contacts of the companies we met are going to help us market Uganda as a destination," said Wekesa.
Some other benefits to each winning destination of the Wild Card programmer include free exhibition space within the Wild Card Pavilion, access to discounted air fares, complimentary hotel room for three nights in Frankfurt, plus a free ticket to the IMEX Gala Dinner.
The winners also benefit from marketing support to assist them in presenting their destination to the audience of international buyers at the show
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Ugandan Lions to get Extinct
The Research projects done on<a href="http://katonatours.com/aboutuganda.html"> lions in Uganda </a>indicate that almost two males, and three females, are killed every year. This, therefore, implies that this year's share of lion death has been fulfilled already by those unscrupulous people in Kasenyi who poisoned the 5<a href="http://katonatours.com/safaris/uganda/3days-queen-elizabeth-safari.html"> lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park</a>. And if the trend increases along with other occurrences, the annual death rate is likely to double resulting into extinction of lions.
This implies at that rate, Uganda is bound to have no lions to show to the tourists that flock the country for a unique wildlife experience. Worse still, there is cause for worry, as the children of tomorrow might not get to see lions.
According to the <a href="http://katonatours.com/safaris/uganda/7days-cultural-wildlife-safari-uganda.html">Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), </a>the total lion population in Uganda could be slightly over 750. They live isolated in groups in only three of Uganda's 10 national parks. The deteriorating population of lions faces lots of challenges. Human population outbursts have led to human and livestock encroachment on wildlife habitats, leading to predator-livestock or wildlife-human conflicts. The end result has been; livestock losses due to lion predation, killing of lions for medicinal or cultural practices, death of lions by hit and run vehicles, loss of prey animals as they are poached by people or killed by diseases.
UWA indicates that the greatest decline in lion populations was during the civil wars in Uganda between 1970s and the early 1980s, due to lawlessness. Protected areas like <a href="http://katonatours.com/safaris/uganda/3days-mburo-wildlife-safari.html">Lake Mburo National Park </a>are reported to be devoid of the lion populations that once lived there. They were all killed by the neighboring pastoral communities but a few of them have been spotted some where in the park.
The Uganda Wild life Authority has put a lot of effort in conservation of lions by making partnership with various stakeholders to uplift the cause. Through its collaboration with institutions like Makerere University, through the Lions Project, NGOs like CARE and other foreign donors, conservation efforts have been put up to improve the survival rate of lions. This they are doing through research, neighboring community involvement and donor support.
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Uganda’s Tourism potential not well tapped
The Tourism sector of Uganda sparks debate on the approaches that the sector should take to finance its growth. Having shaken off most of the negative perceptions that derailed its growth until the late 1990s, the sector has recovered considerably. According to figures from the ministry of Trade and Tourism, revenue from tourism was $350 million in 2006, $450 million in 2007 and $600 million in 2008.
Moses Mapesa, the executive director of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), notes that encroachment and illegal access have often posed challenges to the management of such protected areas.
Between 2007 and 2008, the government allowed oil companies to carry out exploration activities in both Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks, while Hima Cement was granted a licence to mine cement at Dura in Queen Elizabeth National Park.Although these companies are compelled to ensure that they do not extensively damage the parks, the intrusion of humans and machinery often destabilizes the animals’ habitats eternally.
Mapesa argues that such challenges facing conservation have compelled them to strike a balance between development and conservation –an activity that was often carried out with the help of donor funding. “The pressures exerted on conservation in Uganda generally call for a paradigm shift from conservation just for the sake of it and using conservation to promote development and poverty alleviation,” explains Mr Mapesa.
Recently, UWA got semi-autonomous status from the Tourism ministry, started the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Trust. It is expected to generate funds locally for conservation activities, especially as donor funding reduces. According to Imelda Bacudo, a conservation finance advisor at UWA, the Trust will have a rigorous business plan for each national park and wildlife reserve aimed at ensuring they operate at optimal performance. “Once you put the money in a Trust fund then it becomes independent and transparent and it is managed by very technical financial managers.
UWA Spokesperson, Lillian Nsubuga, says while tourism revenue has gone up, most of it is from one activity; gorilla tracking. “Most of our parks bring in more than we put in,” she said. “The gorillas are actually helping to save other wildlife like hippos, elephants, impalas, zebras, gazelles, jaguars, cheetahs, etc.
Income from gorillas support conservation of other species but we are moving towards a period of more equitable distribution.” While a semi-autonomous status has given UWA the room to try out new conservation and fund-generating ideas, other sub-sectors that are funded solely by the government seem bereft of creativity. According to the Commissioner for museums and monuments in the ministry of Trade, Tourism and Industry, Ms Rose Nkaale Mwanje, more than 500 cultural and natural tourist sites are endangered.
Unfortunate sites like Wamala Tombs, Ntutsi Mounds and Nyero Rock Paintings are among those being destroyed due to lack of funds to maintain them, lack of appropriate laws, ignorance of locals neighboring the sites and land encroachment.
Yet the rhetoric from the government does not promise much for sub-sectors still funded largely from state coffers, with the minister for Tourism, Trade and Industry, Mr Kahinda Otafiire, saying, “Government is committed to giving financial support to the tourism industry but the bread bake is still
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