Government to strengthen tourism sector through handicrafts and souvenir development project

As the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities (MTWA) prepares to host the Handcraft Expo 2022, the government has emphasized that the Handicrafts and Souvenir Development Project is one of the measures that have been put in place to bring up the sector by creating linkages between producers, traders and exporters.

According to the ministry, the upcoming expo will present a rare opportunity for the people involved in the handicraft and souvenir subsector to meet new clients, network, and discuss business opportunities with different stakeholders.

Martin Mugarra Bahinduka, the State Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiques, says it’s important that the expo is pushed to provide an opportunity for the people involved in the handicraft and souvenir subsector, especially the women.

He says the different groups coming from across the country, most of the women, will benefit from the expo, hence acquiring money to sustain their families.

“If you look at our NDP three plan, for instance, I think there’s so much on such sectors that need to be pushed so that people can have some more money in their pockets. So I think it’s important that we support this as a ministry.

Unfortunately, some of our partners are not here, but you’re also working with the private sector, and the other groups that are involved in the handicraft and souvenir business,” he said.

Bahinduka added that during the expo, the ministry will also train traders, exhibitors and producers, on how to trade their products online via e-commerce platforms.

According to Bahinduka, all participants in the handicraft and souvenir subsector are still encouraged to open up websites, to further their businesses.

The minister acknowledges that challenges affecting the sector are still available, like the current Ebola virus; however, as a government, they are still working tirelessly to provide an enabling environment for tourism to thrive in the country.

“Yes, we agree the challenges are still there. But at least I think you can see there is some goodwill that we’re trying to push this. And this is what we’ve been saying about the tourism sector; for us, ours is mainly to create an enabling environment so that people can participate and make some income.

But we should always create a platform. And that’s why we’re saying in terms of trading and all this to make sure that our people compete fairly or produced products that can compete internationally,” he said.

Hakim Kizito, a Statistician at the Ministry of Tourism, highlights that at the start of the project, a baseline survey was conducted which showed many of the producers in the handicraft and souvenir subsector lacked machinery and equipment to help them in the production of their crafts.

The Handcraft Expo 2022 is scheduled to take place on November 24 – 26, 2022, at the Uganda Museum, Kamwokya. It has been organized under the theme “Rethinking Tourism through Culture and Creative Hands.”