Leverage the tourism sector for greater gains

Every year on September 27, Uganda joins the rest of the world to celebrate the World tourism day and this year’s theme will be “Tourism and peace”.

This day is a significant global observance introduced by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to increase public awareness of the significance of tourism on a global scale and to demonstrate to the public how tourism benefits not only the economy but also the social, political, and cultural fabric of a destination.

Tourism is projected to employ over 348 million people in 2024 worldwide which means that its development should be well planned since it offers a great opportunity to citizens’ quality of life and region’s economy vitality. Therefore, this celebration underscores the potential of tourism in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals stated by the UN, including poverty eradication, job creation and environmental preservation. Under the National Development Plan (NDP) 111, the government identifies tourism as the priority economic sector that must be developed to reduce poverty levels, increase jobs, strengthen local economies and accelerate economic growth.

It is noted that the sector attracted over 1.5million visitors in 2018 and earned the country $1.6b in the same year. In the 2024/2025 fiscal year, the tourism sector was embarked as a priority for sustainable development with an increase to shs 289.6 billion from sh249b in 2023/24 dedicated to tourism development programmes. The budget aimed at bolstering both international and domestic tourism through marketing and promotional of activities.

Despite the increase in finances and all the above strategies to boost the sector, it is noted that the tourism sector still faces a lot of challenges that need to be addressed such as destruction of forests reserves such as Bugoma forest reserve in Bunyoro, Zoka central forest reserve in northern Uganda with human activities for instance sugarcane growing, timber loggings among others, oil exploration in game reserves like Murchison falls national park which is a popular region for tourism,

Notably, the government of Uganda made commercial oil discoveries in pristine, ecosensitive and biodiverse Albertine Graben in 2006, Ugandan government alongside oil companies decided to commercialize Uganda’s oil reserves through three projects that is Tilenga, Kingfisher and EACOP projects. The oil projects which were commercialized partly cover Murchison falls national park, however it is noted that this park which is an important biodiversity conservation resource and supports tourism is however facing unprecedented pressure from oil and gas threats.

More so, Murchison falls national park is said to be the heart and pride of Uganda’s tourism industry and has been a significant contributor to the annual tourist numbers in Uganda’s national parks. It is noted that in the year of   2023 only, the park received 141,335 visitors making 36.4% of all Uganda national parks visitors. However, these oil activities in the park has disrupted the natural habitat and forced animals to move from the park because of the noise from the construction of oil infrastructures like roads thus posing more risks like increased human-wildlife conflicts, impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity, threats to tourists and local economies and this may cause a significant drop in the number of tourists and the income from tourism which is vital for the economy of Uganda and this has raised concerns among the biodiversity experts and tourism sector players.

Therefore, as we celebrate the world tourism day, the government must address challenges affecting tourism sector such as oil and gas exploration in Murchison falls national park and the destruction of Bugoma and Zoka forest reserves. These forests reserves must be restored and protected in order to increase on the biodiversity and promote tourism which contributes 10% to the country’s economy and creates employment opportunities for Ugandans. The sustainable management of national parks such as Murchison falls national park and other natural heritages around Uganda should be prioritized since they are of great importance to our economy’s tourism and future generations.

Olive Atuhaire is an environmentalist