UGANDA TOURISM BOARD ROOTS FOR JINJA CITY

UTB Board Chairman Hon. Daudi Migereko giving remarks during a board meeting in Jinja City, Eastern Uganda.

By Aggrey Twesigye

www.mknewslink.com

In Jinja—-

Uganda Tourism Board, Jinja City council have concluded plans to develop Jinja City as a gateway tourism city in Eastern part of Uganda.

The plans are as a result of the meeting held on Thursday Last week between Uganda Tourism Board and Jinja City council and Private sector at Jinja City Hall under the theme showcasing tourism potential for Jinja City.

The meeting chaired by the acting Jinja City clerk John Gulooba Choli was attended by the UTB delegation led by  the UTB chairman Hon. Daudi Migereko , his vice Ms. Susan Muhwezi ,Directors , management of the board and Jinja City Tourism officer Simon Kayiite.

The stakeholder engagement meeting highlighted the challenges faced by tourism sector in the city as well as strategies to mitigate the hurdles a head of recovery by the tourism industry.

It comes at a time when Uganda Tourism Board is profiling Entebbe Kampala Jinja City to identify potential tourism sites in these cities, discover tourism opportunities therein, and potential tourism Investment areas and promote them as potential Tourists destinations.

UTB Board of Directors, Managers and Staff meeting with Jinja City council Authority at the Jinja City hall chamber, Eastern Uganda.

Mr. Gulooba Choli presented key issues affecting the Tourism sector in Jinja and the Busoga Region which included limited government funding towards the Tourism activities, inadequate tourism infrastructure and awareness of the Tourism products available in Jinja City.

In his remarks, Hon. Migereko noted the sorry state of the infrastructure in Jinja and noticed an urgent need to revamp the infrastructure such as roads to ease access to tourism hot spots such as bridge Street and source of the Nile.

Furthermore, the UTB chairman highlighted the need to curate, authenticate and standardize the information shared by tour guides at these attractions for an exceptional tourism experience by travelers.

UTB Tourism city development plans have earmarked the development of Jinja City as a gateway tourism city in the financial year 2022/23 .The plan dubbed the Entebbe- Kampala- Jinja project will highlight the available Tourism and Investment opportunities in the three cities but also position then as model cities for tourism development across the country.

UTB CEO Lilly Ajarova giving her remarks during a meeting between UTB and Jinja City Authority in Eastern Uganda.

Ms. Lilly Ajarova, UTB CEO added that the board had recruited three consultants to profile the cities, show case the available Tourism investment opportunities as well as the enhancement of existing services.

She also added that the Tourism opportunities in Jinja City such as adventure and cultural tourism would position Uganda as a unique destination for an adventure of a life time.

In particular, Ms.Ajarova pointed out white water rafting,tubing,bungee jumping, cycling, horse riding and other adrenaline sports tourism activities that are unique to Jinja City .she was pleased that UTB delegation would experience these tourism products while in the City.

Susan Muhwezi, UTB vice chairperson cited a need to engage in all tourism sector stakeholders ahead of the development and implementation of the plants I’m collaboration with the city authorities.

She also mentioned that the government of Uganda is discussing the taxation issues faced by the Tourism sector so that the country remains competitive ahead of recovery.

UTB is a statutory organization established in 1994. It’s role and mandate was reviewed in the Tourism act of 2008 ,the Board’s mandate is to promote and market Uganda across the Region and internationally, promote quality assurance in Tourism facilities through training, grading and classification , promote Tourism investments , support and act as a liaison for the private sector in Tourism development ,The broader goals of the board are to increase the construction of Tourism earning and GDP , improve Uganda’s competitiveness as an international Tourism destination and increase Uganda’s share of Africa’s and the world Tourism Market, UTB aims to create inclusive opportunities for the Tourism sector through market transformation.

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