CEO’s Welcoming Remarks to the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo – 2023 26th April 2023 – Commonwealth Resort

SALUTATION

• The Minister of Tourism, Wildlife & Antiquities.
• The Minster of State
• Permanent Secretary – MTWA
• The Members of the Diplomatic Corp
• The Secretary General – East African Community
• The Development Partners – UNDP, GIZ, CEDP.
• Board of Directors, UTB, UWA, UWEC
• Executive Directors of MDAs
• Distinguished Guests,
• Ladies & Gentlemen

Avery warm Welcome to you all.

Today, we have assembled here at the Commonwealth Resort Hotel to celebrate Uganda’s tourism industry and the future that the sector holds for this beautiful country. For the last few days, the Uganda Tourism Board has worked tirelessly to ensure that the expo comes to life despite the hiccups.

POATE is a gathering of minds, business persons and investors and everyone else in the value chain to ponder on the benefits of tourism, its future but also to assess our position and readiness as a destination, region and even the continent.

For the last six years, the expo has brought immense rewards for the sector through lobbying, government participation and the convergence of minds in regards to tourism development and promotion in the country.

A few months ago, in 2020, we were joined together in the same room, around the same dates, discussing the opportunities available for sector layers in the global market place. 24 months later, we are here again. One of the highlights from the last POATE included conversations on infrastructure development and intra African travel.

I’m not surprised that post pandemic, the African region continues to contribute over 70% of all the tourism arrivals in the country. And that we have the East African member states under the support of GIZ, here today to reiterate the need to promote and support each other through intraregional trade. I hope that the pipeline projects of brand development, content creation and product development in the sector.

But I want to introduce a new direction on sustainability and responsible tourism as the next emerging trends for tourism development in the Uganda. It is time to align all our interventions to these tenets or emerging trends.

Rt Hon Speaker and Colleagues, it’s into that these ideas are new. Not at all. It is just draw attention to the tourism practice and management that minimizes the negative, social, economic and environmental impacts that also generate greater economic benefits for people and the host communities.

On the other hand, Sustainable tourism has been defined by the UN World Tourism Organization/UNWTO as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.

Over the next few months, the Uganda Tourism Board will align to the practices that enshrine the two facets in the promotion of Uganda’s tourism industry. We will promote the use of recyclable materials, reduction of waste but also promote the conservation of the environment while respecting the host communities. Our sector players will be trained on the standard destination certifications to ensure compliance and global recognition.

Cycling back to POATE, I’m happy to note that the event has grown in leaps. This year, we are delighted to welcome over 150 exhibitors including tourism boards and associations from the region to interact with our local suppliers for the benefit of tourism. While the World Tourism & Travel Council (WTTC), projects that the global tourism sector is at 65% of the pre-pandemic arrivals, full recovery of the sector is expected in 2023 and beyond. Therefore, this year’s Expo will not point to our recovery, but also highlight our readiness to host the tourism community once again.

I also take this opportunity to welcome the 100 Africa specialist tour operators (hosted buyers) in our core source markets of Africa (South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt), Germany speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), United Kingdom, and Spain to explore Uganda – the Pearl of Africa and include our beautiful destination in their Africa itineraries in the next few months. that way, Uganda will receive more travelers and its associated benefits including increased tourism revenue and employment.

But the event, would not be a success without the support of Hon Tom Butime and technical staff at MTWA, the sponsors including GIZ, UNDP, CEDP and all the MDAs that contributed to this noble cause. POATE has now grown to become a signature event for Uganda ‘s tourism. I take this opportunity to invite the public sector to consider supporting the Uganda Tourism Board to explore the destination though POATE. I hope that the all agencies whose functions, intertwine with the Uganda Tourism Board allocate suficient budgets to support the activation of POATE 2023.

With these few remarks, I welcome you members to POATE 2023.