Government to upgrade Source of the Nile tourism site
Tourism site. Tourists enjoy a boat cruise at the Source of the Nile in Jinja District on April 3. PHOTO BY DENIS EDEMA
What you need to know:
- To access the Source of the Nile, Jinja authorities charge students Shs2,000, adults pay Shs5,000, while tourists from East Africa part with Shs10,000 and other countries Shs30,000.
Government has unveiled a plan to redevelop tourism sites on the Source of River Nile in Jinja and Njeru Municipality.
Mr Jimmy Kigozi, the principal tourism development officer at the Tourism ministry, on Tuesday said a master plan for the area measuring 10 kilometres is ready and awaits approval by the ministry.
“The master plan was designed in such a way that when a visitor comes to Jinja side, he or she will be attracted to visit Njeru side because of the different products designed in both areas,” Mr Kigozi said.
He says the plan will caters for all categories of visitors including children, the elderly and persons with disabilities.
“These categories of visitors would be able to view the Source of the Nile using an observation tower or see-through deck, among other interesting things,” he said.
On the Njeru side, My Kigozi says there will be the Nile Civilised Village representing different cultures and activities carried on River Nile because of the many ethnic groups living on the shores.
The Source of Nile, which is a key tourism attraction is being claimed by both Jinja and Njeru Municipality authorities.
Last month, leaders in Njeru Municipality protested the current arrangement in which revenue generated from the Source of the Nile goes to Jinja.
But now Mr Kigozi says: “The proposed project is expected to resolve the conflict between leaders from both towns over revenue generated from the Source of the Nile.”
To access the Source of the Nile, Jinja authorities charge students Shs2,000, adults pay Shs5,000, while tourists from East Africa part with Shs10,000 and other countries Shs30,000.
On average, authorities collect close to Shs1b annually from the tourist visits and other activities.
Tourism Revenue
Uganda’s tourism sector has continued to generate more revenue than all other sectors, posting $1.63b (Shs6.1 trillion) in 2018, up from $1.4b (Shs5.2 trillion) in 2017.
The country has also witnessed increased foreign tourism numbers, registering 734,388 visitors, up from 622,295 in 2017.
