An ecosystem approach is key for the Uganda-Kenya coast tourism initiative
Kenya and Uganda have an arrangement where tourists arriving in Kenya can go on to visit Uganda on the same visa while using Uganda Airlines as a connecting carrier.
What you need to know:
- Africa as a whole lags behind all regions in terms of both international tourist arrivals and receipts.
Last month, Uganda hosted a big conference that brought together tourism stakeholders from Kenya and Uganda. In particular, the event brought together over 700 participants, discussing and sharing ideas on how the tourism actors of both countries can work together! Such a step is welcome and was long overdue. I will explain why.
Africa as a whole lags behind all regions in terms of both international tourist arrivals and receipts. Although the continent is endowed with vast tourism assets, it receives only about 5percent of global tourist arrivals and earns about 3 percent of global tourism income. This performance is unacceptable. Moreover, the top ten countries share about 70 percent of the total tourism revenue to the continent. East Africa is one of the regions earning small from tourism. The whole of East Africa earns less than half of the money that Egypt earns from tourism. Countries such as Tunisia, Morocco and South Africa earn way more than the entire East African community.
Given the dismal regional performance, it should be in the best interest of all East African countries to work together as a single destination. Positioning the region as a single destination offers East Africa the best chance to compete globally. This simply means that there is no need to compete but to partner and collaborate! Indeed, this co-opetition was echoed by several speakers during the conference. Each country has unique resources which can be promoted by the other. The idea should be to keep the visitor in the region for as long as possible. Increased length of translates into revenue, jobs and foreign exchange. For instance, if a tourist comes to enjoy the Kenyan coast, they can be enticed to also visit the source of the Nile, and extend further to see the gorillas or ice in the Rwenzori Mountains. Likewise, a visitor to Uganda can be enticed to travel to the Kenyan coast and enjoy the beautiful beaches and the vast marine activities. For this to work, tour operators have to come up with packages that promote complementarity.
In a broader context, both countries need to take an ecosystem approach. This approach is common in business, and a lot of scholarly work supports its adoption. In a natural setting, an ecosystem means a dynamic and complex community of organisms which interact in a given environment. The environment could be a water body, forest, mountain system, etc. In such an environment, there are producers, consumers, waste managers, and regulators. The regulators can be the rains, temperatures, light, and soil types among others. In a typical ecosystem there’s diversity of actors, and serious differences in productivity levels of the individuals. Some members are lazy while others are hard workers; some are simply smart, others are stupid; some love peace while others like conflict; some are friendly while others are in constant battles for power. But at the end of the day, all the actors are interconnected, each playing a role that helps the other.
If the Uganda -Kenya Coast partnership is to learn lessons from the natural ecosystem, all actors must play their roles. They must ensure interconnectedness, where every actor plays their role and with appropriate rewards. There has to be space for all players to make a contribution, and for this to happen the regulators have to set the right tone. For instance, the initiative will not work if the actors do not make tourism attractive, accessible and enjoyable to all. Local communities must be afforded space and resources to also participate, and earn income and jobs from tourism. Ideally, tourism has to be built in such a way that it’s inclusive, allowing everyone to thrive.
As members of the ecosystem, domestic and regional travelers should be afforded the opportunity to also enjoy their countries. This calls for lowering travel costs, investing in affordable accommodation and coming up with experiences that our people can enjoy. An ecosystem can only thrive if it’s dynamic and inclusive, allowing all members of the community to enjoy! As MUBS, we are also ready to play our part of research and training to enable the ecosystem to thrive!
Celestine Katongole, PhD Senior Lecturer Makerere University Business School
