Hello

Your subscription is almost coming to an end. Don’t miss out on the great content on Nation.Africa

Ready to continue your informative journey with us?

Hello

Your premium access has ended, but the best of Nation.Africa is still within reach. Renew now to unlock exclusive stories and in-depth features.

Reclaim your full access. Click below to renew.

Uganda named most promising tourism destination at Bombay expo

Uganda High Commissioner to New Delh, Prof Joyce K Kikafunda receiving the Excellence award and a certificate of JLO World Convention Center in Mumbai, India with the Uganda delegation at the weekend. Photo credit/ Foreign Affairs Ministry 

What you need to know:

  • The award was presented to Joyce Kakuramatsi Kikafunda, the Ugandan High Commissioner to India, by Mr. Sanjav Agarwal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fair Fest Media Ltd, and the chief organisers at the weekend in India.
  • At the expo, Uganda emerged as the most visited and highly rated stand by the outbound and inbound Tourism Market sellers and buyers, which is a testament that Uganda achieved its set objective at this event to position herself as an alternative tourism destination in the heart of Africa.

Uganda has been named the most promising new tourism destination at the just-concluded Outbound Travel Market (OTM), a leading Asia Tourism expo held in Bombay, India.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday morning, Uganda was to that effect, recognized with an Excellency Award.

The award was presented to Joyce Kakuramatsi Kikafunda, the Ugandan High Commissioner to India, by Mr. Sanjav Agarwal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fair Fest Media Ltd, and the chief organisers at the weekend in India.

“The joint organizers of Uganda’s participation (Uganda High Commission New Delhi and Uganda Airlines partnering with all relevant MDAs namely; Foreign Affairs; Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities; Uganda Tourism Board; Uganda Wildlife Authority; and the Uganda Tour Operators), believe this event has undoubtedly placed destination Uganda at the doorsteps of the potentially World’s largest Tourism and Travel market,” the statement read in part
The leading Indo – Asia Tourism Expo, opened on 30th January and ended on 1st February 2025.

This prestigious travel market show is an annual event and attracts many sellers and buyers of tourism products.  
At the expo, Uganda emerged as the most visited and highly rated stand by the outbound and inbound Tourism Market sellers and buyers, which is a testament that Uganda achieved its set objective at this event to position herself as an alternative tourism destination in the heart of Africa.

This was through showcasing the unique products it has to offer ranging from primate tracking (Gorilla and Chimpanzee); Bird watching with over 1200 species; culture and heritage; safaris, fresh water lakes, rivers, adventure tourism, etc.

“In the next two months, the Uganda High Commission in New Delhi working with the relevant stakeholders is scheduled to organize a FAM trip for leading and major Tour Operators from India to Uganda to purposely, provide the latter with the “experiential” of the product which, thereafter, they should be able to recommend to their clientele,” the ministry said.

Adding: “Moving forward, Uganda must leverage this award and continually participate in this prestigious annual event, as well as utilize other similar platforms to establish partnerships with the major Tourism players in this market to position Uganda as the ultimate destination. This will guarantee New Delhi Mission makes a significant contribution in ensuring Tourism contributes towards the Country’s ambition to grow the economy 10-fold to USD 500 billion within the next 15 years.”

The ministry was opportunistic in that with the launch of the Uganda Airlines direct flights between Entebbe and Mumbai (3x a week) since October 2023, it will incentivize travel to the Pearl of Africa for tourism, trade, and investment.
[email protected]