Uganda Tourism Board gets new leadership
Ms Ajarova gets her appointment letter from Mr Kiwanda on Thursday.
Ms Lilly Ajarova has been appointed as the chief executive officer of the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB).
Ms Ajarova, who has been the executive director of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust, replaces Mr Stephen Asiimwe who served the agency for about seven years.
UTB is the government agency responsible for promotion and marketing of the country as the preferred tourism destination.
Mr Asiimwe recently resigned to pursue further studies.
The State Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Mr Kiwanda Godfrey Ssubi also announced the appointment of Mr Ochieng Bradford, the Director Corporate Affairs at Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority, as the UTB deputy chief executive officer, replacing Mr John Ssempebwa.
“I expect the two principals to hit the road running,” Mr Kiwanda told the Daily Monitor Thursday evening after making the announcement at the ministry’s headquarters in Kampala.
He said: “By next year, we expect them [new bosses] to increase the number of tourists visiting the country by two million. At the moment, we get about two million arrivals. So, we expect to have four million tourists by the year 2020. They must make that happen.”
Who is Ajarova
Ms Ajarova is a conservationist.
She attained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Sciences at Makerere University with a major in Psychology which enabled her kick-start community outreaches and rejuvenate the chimpanzee rehabilitation programme at Ngamba Island Sanctuary.
Previously, Ms Ajarova worked as a tourism product manager at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) where she spearheaded the development and marketing of tourism products in Uganda’s national parks.
Since 2012, the Rotarian has been sustainably involved with the Women in Conservation Leadership Training Programme as a mentor. She ensures that female wardens, rangers, and Safari guides understand natural resource management and conservation.
Ms Ajarova is the recipient of the prestigious National Golden Jubilee Award 2015, Tourism Excellence Award 2017 and Wildlife Conservation Award 2017
Last year, she was selected among Africa’s top travel 100 women as a leader, pioneer and innovator.
Ochieng’s profile
He has been the Director Corporate Affairs at the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority
He is a Makerere University trained economist.
He had a stint with Uganda Investment Authority, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
