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Parliament pledges more support to the Tourism sector PDF Print E-mail
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Wednesday, 02 May 2012 00:00
Parliament pledges more support to the Tourism sector


The recent international recognition of Uganda as top tourist destination has started paying off. The speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga led the way by dedicating the  first week of Parliamentary business to the Tourism sector to show case  its achievements and potential during the week of 7th – 10th February 2012.

Through this rare opportunity, the private sector along with semi autonomous agencies promoting wildlife conservation and tourism were able to  engage the parliamentarians on issues dealing with tourism, seek recognition for the many accolades the sector has achieved in the past year especially the Destination of Choice Award for 2012 and advocate for more priority to the industry.

Uganda Wildlife Authority and the private sector participated in a peaceful awareness march to the Parliament with the minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage Professor Ephraim Kamuntu as the chief walker after Rt. Hon. Kadaga flagged off the march led by the Uganda Police Brass band through prominent streets of Kampala.
 
A Parliamentary commissioner and MP for Kinkiizi East, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi  represented the speaker to receive the Tourism fraternity at Parliament which comprised of Uganda Tourism Association (UTA)members, Association of Uganda Tour Operators(AUTO)representatives, Tour and Travel companies, Uganda Hotel Owners Association, Uganda Community Tourism Association(UCOTA), Uganda Tourism Board and UWA staff.

At the CHOGM Gardens, Dr. Baryomunsi assured the tourism fraternity that Parliament was produce to be associated with Tourism industry and the role it plays in economic transformation. He observed that in many countries Tourism supports the economy and promised to support the debate on leveraging on tourism to accelerate economic growth.

He however challenged the private sector to review the prohibitive costs that deter the locals from visiting and appreciating the tourism attractions. He also called for ways of linking tourism to aviation so that visitors can easily reach their destinations for Uganda to have a competitive edge over the regional neighbours.

Dr. Baryomunsi flanked by Mr. Kasaija Kagwera the chairperson of the Natural Resources and Tourism Committee also stressed that the industry had gone down in the 70s and now it was the time focus on more resource allocation to enable it play its rightful role. “It is good that this Tourism awareness week has come at a time when we are in preliminary stages of budgeting”, he said.
Mr. Mike Sebalu, a representative of Uganda in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) urged the legislators to take more interest in the tourism sector and support it in a better way.

Mr. Stephen Kagwera the committee chairman stressed that Uganda needs to harness the tourism areas where we have a competitive advantage and praised the new minister for being creative and turning the sector around.

During the same week, a number of presentations were made to the Parliamentarians and the public on the role of air travel in promoting tourism, engaging communities to participate in tourism gainfully and how Uganda can benefit better from the recent recognitions that might cause a visitor influx in 2012.
Last Updated on Thursday, 03 May 2012 12:51