With almost every country in the West in the throes of a debilitating near economic meltdown, the tourism industry in many countries around the globe has taken an ineluctable battering over the last few years.

This is due to the fact that the affluent countries in North America, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand constitute the bulk of foreign tourists - especially in Africa.

In an attempt to insulate Uganda's tourism industry from these vicissitudes and position the country as a prime tourist destination, Uganda Wild Life Authority (UWA) has prudently changed its tuck in many facets.

According to its Acting Executive Director, Dr Andrew Seguya, UWA has taken to aggressive marketing and packaging of Uganda's many biodiversity attractions individually - as opposed to a holistic tourism package.

And he underscores its importance: "This has come in handy in highlighting the different gems we have on offer, which has resulted into many of them achieving international awards. We have rebranded all our national parks as a result."

Last year, Uganda was ranked as the best tourist destination in the world by Lonely Planet - the world's largest travel guide book and digital media publisher.

This, according to Dr Seguya, is a result of authentic good reviews by tourists who visit the country. As a result of these reviews, Rwenzori Mountain has been ranked among the top 15 hiking spots in the world by the reputed National Geographic Channel and the Virunga Massif - part of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park among the Top 20 Must See places in the world.

UWA has also undertaken a vigorous marketing campaign through showcasing Uganda's biodiversity in different travel fares where different countries showcase tourist sites.

Key among these have been the World Travel Marketing in London, ITB in Germany, FITUR in Spain and Karibu in Tanzania.

Tourism going Local
In an attempt to make tourism cease being a preserve of 'foreigners,' UWA has embarked on a multipronged initiative aimed at interesting the local populace in the industry.

UWA is in talks with public transporters to devise means of ferrying people to parks on scheduled days. "Access to national parks is a problem because not everyone has powerful Four-by-Four vehicles. It's a problem we are keen to solve through this initiative," Dr Seguya said.

He said UWA will purchase specialized game drive vehicles and will encourage players in the private sector to purchase some for hire.

UWA is also keen to scale down the cost of staying in national parks by reducing the cost of accommodation and meals which is currently high-end. This, UWA hopes, will be done through individuals investing in tented camps within parks and establishment of more hotels in parks like Lake Mburo - for which a notice has been advertised.

In an attempt to increase the average stay in parks from its current 1.8 to 3.5 days, UWA has introduced new activities.

These include; bird trailing (Uganda has over 1200 bird species) in parks like Bwindi, Murchison falls, Queen Elizabeth, and Kibale; walking Safaris in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison falls; and White water rafting in Murchison falls.

Through a public private partnership, UWA also hopes to introduce a hot air balloon and cable cars on mountain Rwenzori.

Although he conceded that the number of foreign tourists will plummet if the current global economic turbulence is not mitigated, Dr Seguya said Uganda's unique biodiversity and geographic location will come in handy in cushioning the industry from the worst case scenario.  

"Uganda is home to 54% of the world's mountain gorillas, 11% of the world's large mammal species, and 17% of the world's entire biodiversity. This gives us an edge over our regional competitors," Dr Seguya said.

In 2010, the tourism sector was Uganda's second highest forex earner with US$680m; created 8% of the national jobs; contributed 9.3% to the national GDP and an estimated 200,000 foreign tourists visited national parks.

By Ian Ssengendo