Tour operators demand regional UTB, UWA offices

Tour operators in major towns with tourism sites have demanded for regional Uganda Wild Authority (UWA) and Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) offices, which they say are only restricted to Kampala.

The group also seeks tax exemption of some of their items used to run their businesses like vehicles, speed and rafting boats, among other things, which they say are heavily taxed by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), leaving the business into hands of rich people and individuals.

Lincoln Myeera, who operates Buutu Safaris in Jinja City, said he faces challenges of booking tickets for gorilla and chimpanzee permits for tourists who would love to track the animals.

“I call upon UWA and UTB to consider opening up branches across the country where there are prominent tourism sites, especially in Eastern and Western Uganda, to ease the high transport costs of booking tickets in Kampala,” he said during the weekend.

Joyce Mary Nalukenge, who works at Orogu Tour and Travel, said booking tickets and access to information online is challenging, adding that sometimes, the network is not available, which prompts one to travel to Kampala. 

 She added: “We request for regional offices to enable us access information at a convenient time.”

Statistics from UTB suggest that out of 1,859 registered tour operators, 982 have renewed their operation licenses. There are 1,334 registered tour guides, 2,475 registered accommodation facilities (hotels), out of which only 34 are graded and classified by the East African Community (EAC) Hotel Standards.

Busoga Kingdom tourism minister Hellen Namutamba says Eastern Ugandan is blessed with a number of tourism sites including some that have been newly-unveiled to the public.

But she says she has “noticed that some of the tour operators are not benefiting from some of the government funds under the tourism sector because they are not registered by the UTB for recommendations.”

“There is need to extend services nearer to these tourism sites for these tour operators,” she said.

On her part, Uganda Tour Operators’ Association chief executive officer Matilda Iremera decried briefcase tour companies which do not have physical addresses and are defrauding many clients.

In response, UTB Quality Assurance Registration, Inspection and Licensing Officer Godfrey Okumu urged the tour operators to register and renew their licenses to avoid legal consequences and closure.

“Plans are underway to open branches in some regions, but such an undertaking comes with logistical and human resource challenges,” he remarked.

UWA head of reservations Leslie Muhindo disclosed that the Authority has stopped issuing gorilla and chimpanzee tracking permits at park entries or gates, noting that they are only being issued at the reservation centre in Kampala.

Gorilla tracking permits have been increased for international visitors from $700 (about Shs2.5m) to $800 (about Shs2.9m), while chimpanzee tracking permits have risen from $200 (about Shs720,000) to $250 (approximately Shs900,000).