Tourism innovation denied money in first quarter – tourism chief

Is Uganda ready for agri/agro tourism?
Yes. It has been ready for years! Agriculture employs majority of Ugandans, especially rural based Ugandans living and working near the several new roads constructed which is increasing being used by number of tourists, thanks to the better international marketing strategy employed at Uganda Tourism Board. With an agro-based economy, increasing tourism numbers, security and better roads, Uganda is 100 per cent ready for this.

Why is UTB interested in this kind of tourism instead of focusing on wildlife tourism which is more popular and probably easy to market?
Correction! Agro tourism and wild life tourism are not mutually exclusive – both happen simultaneously and in fact wildlife boosts agro tourism. I would like you to think of a van full of tourists on their way to Murchison falls. And along the way they stop over at an agro farm in Luweero, Kikyuusa or Kasaana to eat local food, dance to our traditional tunes, harvest ffene (jack fruit) and taste it, milk cows, harvest fruits to make fresh juice which they go sipping for the rest of their trip! Do you see how the two feed into each other? This model also redistributes money from tourists and tour operators to farmers and the rural-based population. This is operation wealth creation through agro- tourism!

What does Agro-tourism have in store for an ordinary Ugandan?
The Trickle-down effect is massive. There will be jobs and more income! At the moment, over 85 per cent of the 1.4 billion earned by tourism is going to large hotels, big tour operators, fuel companies, telecoms, and very little to rural communities. This creates income inequality. Agro tourism is one of the solutions where the farms alongside main roads become tourism stopovers – to sell authentic farm-life to tourists. Only then will tourism make sense from the economic perspective. Only then will drive development [in lieu of just growth] by creating rural jobs and increasing rural incomes.

Where is the gain in all this for the country (economy)?
Over 20 per cent of the cash that tourists bring here or carry on their credit/debit cards, remains unspent! That means that about $300 to $400 million per year is what Uganda loses annually. This is due to mainly limited product base. There are countries where this cannot happen because there is a lot of varieties to spend money on. So the benefit for the country here is that 400,000 international and domestic tourists [especially urban-based middle class whose children are growing up in high concrete fences without the pleasure of touching live plants as they grow or even milk a cows, et all] shall visit our farms and spend at least $50 each on the farm, earning Uganda $20 million in a year. Just imagine spending Shs80 billion in the villages near roads en route to wild life resorts!

At what stage is this (agro-tourism) initiative?
In June, Uganda Tourism Board advertised and over 1,000 farms registered to be trained. A national agro tourism committee was set up and it held its first meeting where a plan to visit these farms was drawn, unfortunately, the activity was denied resources in the first quarter. It seems as if Uganda has some enemies of progress, unfortunately embedded in the systems and institutions.
Hopefully, the activity will continue in quarter two [October – December]. Or else, I will have no option but to interest Operation Wealth Creation to consider adding agro- tourism to their agro push! General Salim Saleh please take note.

Has the model got any cost implication?
Of course, yes. You reap what you sow, especially in agriculture. Resources are required to visit these farms, educate our people, and the communities around them. All this is to ensure that these farms have necessary requirements based on the principle of 5As of Tourism. The principle include; accommodation, which will be foregone in the beginning until the concept has been understood and applied. Accessibility. For example how close to the main road is the farm. How passable is it.
Activities that can leave a lasting the experience! What will tourists see, eat, taste, touch, do, feel, hear, sing, while at the farm? This will defer from farm to farm and, what will the local community supply? Traditional dances, stories, crafts? This is the crux of the matter
The other principle are amenities. For example issues around sanitation, safety, security, briefing area and all that. Most international tourists can’t use pit latrines. This means we have no choice but to ensure these farms have modern toilets and showers. And attractions which is already naturally sorted. Uganda has more attractions than all the other EAC countries combined.

Any anticipated or current challenges associated with this kind of tourism
First is awareness! We must realise that it is possible for a farm to become a tourist attraction. Secondly, that the farm owners accept to include communities – this is not negotiable! Without communities participating, there is no partnership with farms. Third, roads should be improved and farm owners should be willing to provide descent sanitation and amenities. A little seed capital is required to kick start this. About Shs150-200 million which when invested will earn Uganda $20million! That is a remarkable ratio of return on investment. Now, again just imagine if more resources were available to roll this out all over Uganda.

If this succeeds, where will it leave other model of tourism such as community tourism?
This will greatly boost community tourism. Tourists will stop by farms to listen to community stories, take village walks, name trees and enjoy the authenticity of village life, a privilege they can’t enjoy in their concrete jungles in modern cities.

Where do you see this kind of tourism in the next 5-10 years?
In year zero, after investing in farms, and linking them to serious and dependable industry players such as the Amos Wekesa’s of this world, Uganda should earn $20 million in year one. And as more farms join in, and more communities provide more unique services and farms show case our agro prowess and culture by the road side, this figure should increase to reach $100million in year and by the year five we should be talking of a billion U.S$ of more. Uganda is surely the Pearl of Africa.
So where do we go from here—parting words.

I wish to call upon development minded partners to support this inclusive tourism campaign! Tourism is for everybody, Members of Parliament, let’s mobilise our people to smell the “tourism coffee” and finally, detractors, (wapingamizi), frustrating initiatives aimed at pushing Uganda towards middle income status, your days are numbered.