Love for travel fuelled her tourism career

Protecting wildlife: Ms Atuhairwe at World Environment Day Celebrations in Moroto on June 5. Photo by Edgar Batte

What you need to know:

Passion. Your passion could very well be a pointer to which work industry you are best suited to thrive. For Ms Irene Atuhairwe, her love for travel and exploration gave birth to a successful career in the every growing tourism industry.

From a tender age, Ms Irene Atuhairwe was passionate about traveling and exploring new places. Luckily for her, in 2006, she was part of a school tour to Lake Albert and part of Murchison Falls National Park, in Buliisa District.
“I saw tourists and longed to one day work with them one day.
In line with my dream, at university, I applied for a Bachelors in Tourism but was not admitted. I was instead offered a Bachelors of Arts. To my delight, tourism was one of the subjects on the course outline,” she recounts.
Ms Atuhairwe who was born and raised in Hoima District went on to major in sustainable tourism and hospitality at Makerere University.

Humble beginnings
After her bachelor’s degree, she applied for internship at the Chimpanzee Trust Field office in Hoima and was given the opportunity to pursue her internship.
“During my internship, I was flexible, versatile, and open minded and willing to learn. Being a team player helped me learn a lot.”
Ms Lilly Ajarova, chief executive officer, Uganda Tourism Board agrees.
“Ms Atuhairwe is a very enthusiastic young lady, with passion for tourism and conservation. She is very focused, determined and hardworking,”

Rising through the ranks
When her internship was done, her supervisors asked her to stay. She was taken on as a volunteer for a year at the head office in Entebbe, under the tourism business department.
From an intern, she has risen through the ranks, over time, to become a reservations and marketing officer at Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary.
“I am happy to be part of the team saving and protecting the welfare of chimpanzees and other wildlife,” she says, with a smile.
The chimpanzee sanctuary located on Lake Victoria was established in 1998, to care and support orphaned chimpanzees saved from the wild and communities. Today, it is home to 49 orphaned chimpanzees.

Hardwork
Ms Atuhairwe speaks highly and passionately about her job at the sanctuary.
“To be a reservations and marketing officer one must know the product, brand and how to package it. As a reservations’ personnel, before I respond to any inquiry, I always put myself in the customer’s shoes. I have to be polite and package the product as simply but effectively as I can.”

Ms Atuhairwe stresses that as a marketer, you have to be confident, hospitable, have enough information and always be presentable.
“It pays to be outgoing, connect with people in the industry, know the trends on market and be able to rebrand and strategize, she adds.
Ms Atuhairwe’s career journey has brought her joy and satisfaction because it lets her participate in sustainable tourism, making positive impact on the environment.

At the Chimpanzee Trust, she works with communities to save water points in their areas by giving them water tanks.
She is engaged in marketing the tourism destinations in Uganda domestically and internationally through creating awareness to communities to save the environment and wildlife.

Atuhairwe’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. Mr Godfrey Lule, a colleague and marketer at Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary describes her as having customer care and people management skills.
“Every organisation has power centres and ours being a service and people service oriented, Ms Atuhairwe influences our publics’ perception about us. She listens and that is a virtue very rare in this age. Given a good team she will thrive well as a top team leader.”

Marketing Uganda
She recently attended the Sub Saharan International Cultural Program at Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge where she represented Uganda.
She used the chance to raise the national flag through presentations, showcasing our cultures and engaging in conservation education.
“I got feedback from tourists who have visited Uganda and convinced others to visit. We need to work with Disney and recruit more Ugandan representatives on the programme to market Uganda.
Ms Atuhairwe says Uganda has a lot to offer to tourists for instance the diverse cultures, wildlife, beautiful sceneries for filming, delicious African food, having second largest fresh water body in the world- Lake Victoria, etc.

Local Tourism
She says it is important for Ugandans to explore the country’s tourism destinations before traveling to other countries.
“When we all know about Uganda; it makes it easy to market.
At times it’s hard to convince domestic tourists to explore their own country.
Nonetheless, I have done my best to encourage them find time outside work and enjoy the beauty of Uganda.”

Ms Atuhairwe whose future goal is to be a marketing consultant and hotelier credits her success to a combination of things.
“I am always determined to achieve my goal, I make sure I prioritise at work, I am a team player, truthful and respectful to my supervisors. This has helped me learn a lot,”
However, much like any other job, hers is not without frustrations. Atuhaire says she is disappointing when guests cancel their trips and when there are weather challenges.