How Ebola stories cost Uganda billions in tourism revenue

Players in the media have been urged to do responsible reporting about Uganda’s tourism sector if Uganda is to benefit from her natural endowments.

Speaking during a week-long training and retreat for journalists reporting on tourism on Monday in Mbarara City, the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Principal Public Relations Officer, Ms Eunice Kansiime Tworekirwe, said that irresponsible reporting comes with its challenges that end up retarding development and sinking the economy.

Giving an example, Ms Tworekirwe told journalists that in 2022, the tourism sector made a significant loss because of hurried reports and stories on Ebola outbreak, something she said should have been well thought after.

“Last year after the Ebola outbreak story, a number of tourists that had booked to visit us cancelled their trips. About 8000 visits were cancelled and we lost a lot as a sector. Up to today, some people don’t come to Uganda because they still think we have Ebola. If the person who broke the Ebola story had first looked at its impact, we wouldn’t have lost visitors,” she said.

Ebola virus disease broke out in September last year, and the country registered 142 cases and 55 deaths. The country was however declared Ebola-free on January 11, 2023.

“As journalists, you need to report responsibly about Uganda for the sake of our tourism sector and economy. When you portray Uganda well in the media, visitors will appreciate this country and come here in huge numbers and that's to our benefit,” Ms Tworekirwe added.

Mr Alex Bagyenzire Atuhaire, a media visibility consultant urged players in the media industry to always do their work with a sense of accuracy, objectivity, and fairness so that the reports they make do not turn out to tarnish the image of Uganda and cause injury to the economy.

"Yes, it is nobel to tell a good story but if it can stop tourists from coming to your country, you need to think through this properly because it is going to affect the economy. It is not that you shouldn’t be independent and do objective reporting, but you need to look at the different contexts,” he remarked.

Also speaking during the training, Mr Muhereza Kyamutetera, a veteran journalist called for stories that promote Uganda as opposed to negative reporting.

“We need to be mindful that whatever we are doing as journalists, we are doing it for our country. We all want to break stories but when your mother-in-law is seated badly, do you write that story? We need to have it at the back of our minds that there are some things that are fine to report, but for the love of our country, can we first look at the impact?” he urged.

The training and retreat were aimed at helping journalists gain more knowledge on tourism reporting and writing, learn techniques in tourism reporting and enhance interactions and relations, among other things.