Uganda safaris are to be greatly affected by the troubles affecting the tourism sector, some of the Ugandan tourism stakeholders presently in Rwanda for the annual Kwita Izina Festival of the Gorillas, have left no doubt about their frustration over the international media picking up about the clashes in Kampala over the past days, which in other wards put Uganda in a very bad light abroad,

The image of the tourism sector has been shuttered by the way the city has been affected by the political issues which has resulted in decrease in the number of safaris in Uganda recently.Moreso, There was consensus that there were pictures on the main global news channels with tear gas clouds engulfing the city of Kampala .This is where the tourists come first and from where they leave. All this has affected the tourism sector negatively especially tours to Uganda.

The stakeholders noted that the government should come out to solve these troubles before they affect the tourism sector, because this could led to reduced numbers of visitors to Uganda and especially those who come for visits to  Uganda. In addition, the stakeholders said that these kinds of activities give Uganda a bad reputation and shows us in a bad light thus our competitors in Kenya and Rwanda can use such to attract most of the tourists especially those who come for safaris in East Africa.

Other comments received since the budget reading also focused on the statistics government presents as tourist’s arrivals, when in the words of one regular source, arrivals is not the same as tourists. It’s noted by the stakeholders that most of our arrivals are by road from Kenya or Rwanda or south Sudan, those we don’t count as proper tourists. Such arrivals don’t vary proportionally with the actual number of tourists who come to Uganda for tour safaris.The negative publicity has also spread in overseas media about the massive loss of forest cover in Uganda and the resolved issue of Mabira, which is still looming large, has not also helped to project Uganda as a country firmly committed to conservation. Such faults have negatively affected the number of arrivals to Uganda as well as tour visits to Uganda.In conclusion, Uganda safaris can be improved in Uganda if the government can fully collaborate with the tourism stakeholders in order to improve the tourism sector in Uganda.

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Prime Uganda safaris & tours up dates 2013