UWA lures Ugandans into tourism with sculptures
Mr Tom Butime cuts the tape while unveiling some of the sculptures in Kampala last week. PHOTO /JUSTUS LYATUU
What you need to know:
- For years, government had relied on foreigners to grow Uganda’s tourism numbers but the coming of Covid-19 has presented challenges and threatens to hurt one of the country’s largest foreign exchange earners.
- Ms Dorothy Kisaka, the KCCA executive director, says it is nice to bring some wild in the city because it is a source of knowledge and education to many Ugandans.
- Mr Sam Mwandha, the UWA executive director, said they had chosen representative images that depict nature to showcase the country’s rich and diverse endowment.
Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has completed assembling 11 sculptures in Kampala as part of the larger plan in which it is seeking to hasten domestic tourism. The sculptures, which were procured by UWA from Passion Events, represent wildlife animals in Uganda’s national parks and wildlife reserves.
The sculptures, which have been assembled along Kira Road include Grant’s Zebra from Lake Mburo National Park, Nubian Giraffe from Murchison Falls National Park, Eastern Chimpanzee from Kibale Forest National Park, Grey, Crowned Crane from Katonga Wildlife Reserve and Lake Mburo National Park and African Elephant from Kidepo and Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Others include the hippopotamus from Murchison Falls and Queen National Park, African Leopard from Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve, African Lion from Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Kidepo Valley National Park, Shoebill Stork from Tooro Semuliki Wildlife and Murchison Falls National Park.
The sculptures, among others factors, will also seek to bring Uganda’s wildlife close to Ugandans as well beatifying Kampala.
The exercise follows a partnership signed between UWA and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) in October 2016 to jointly promote Kampala City as a tourism gateway
Mr Tom Butime, the Minister of Tourism, said the initiative, which mainly seeks to make Ugandans appreciate wildlife and tourism, is expected to showcase the beauty that is Uganda as well as tap into exiting potential among Ugandans to supplement dwindling returns from foreign tourism.
Tourism stakeholders, among them government, Uganda Tourism Board and UWA have since last month been seeking to push different tourism products among them cultural and religious and agro tourism as a means to contribute to the growth of local tourism in Uganda.
For years, government had relied on foreigners to grow Uganda’s tourism numbers but the coming of Covid-19 has presented challenges and threatens to hurt one of the country’s largest foreign exchange earners.
Government had said that will, by 2020, seek to at least attract four million tourist arrivals in Uganda. However, this might not be realised due to Covid-19.
Mr Butime said the sculptures are expected to entice Ugandans into associating with the country’s wildlife, adding that they will interest people into specifically visiting national parks.
