Cheaper Packages to Promote Domestic Tourism

Many Ugandans find it hard to tour most tourist destinations in the country. The major reason for this is that the services are costly for an ordinary Ugandan. Now, the Uganda Wildlife Authority is soon launching cheaper service options for domestic tourists.

When Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) announced plan to introduce cheaper options for transport and packages to national game parks a few months ago, it sparked off a heated debate. Many tour operators thought that the semi-autonomous government agency was acting beyond its jurisdiction.

According to UWA executive director Andrew Seguya they are starting a campaign to promote domestic tourism focusing on Ugandans and East Africans, targeting organized groups such as corporate companies, families and friends looking at exploring Uganda’s national parks.

“It will not be just about providing cheaper transport options but a whole service package. We are acquiring 10 game drive vehicles and three double-decker boats. The boats will be stationed in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park and Lake Mburo National Park. We will concentrate on weekend gate-aways,” Seguya says.

The current costs
Tourism packages are determined by three factors, according to Steven Waswa of Kakungulu Safaris which probably explains the high figures. He outlines factors such as the number of people on the trip, where more means cheaper rates, the destination that will depend on the nature of accommodation and activities one will engage in as well as duration of the trip.

“Of course, if you are alone the cost will almost shoot through the roof but if you are 5 to 8 people it gets fairly cheaper per person. Actually a group of 6 people to Murchison falls would cost about $500 (about Shs1.6 million) budget, mid-range $1,200 and luxury $1,600,” he explains. Abiaz Rwamwiri, director of Africa Wild Explorations attributes the high prices to high costs.

“A trip to Kidepo in luxury is for a minimum of eight days with a fly out of Kidepo costing between $2810 and $3,200. This covers for full board, all meals and accommodation. Accommodation at Kidepo is $370 per person per night. Accommodation and vehicle used determine the high prices. Using a land cruiser is different from the van,” he illustrates.

Weighing the options
UWA’s buses, looking to reduce transportation costs will set off on a Friday afternoon or evening and return on Sunday evening. The government-funded project will, according to Jossy Muhangi, the UWA spokes person, work with hotels and service providers to provide affordable accommodation and catering services plus the itinerary.

“UWA is soon recruiting sales officers to sell the packages to potential tourists. The same project will provide game-drive vehicles to ease game viewing within the parks,” Muhangi says.

UWA will thus work hand-in-hand with tour operators, facilitating the process of taking the tourists to parks and negotiating cheaper accommodation. “We are still in negotiations on how much we will be charging for transport to the different destinations,” says Seguya.

Tour operator, Amos Wekesa, isn’t keen on the development, arguing that by acquiring cars, UWA is missing the point. “Most of the resources should be dedicated towards improving the numbers (of tourists) coming into the country at the airport.

If you have one airport that handles 1.3 million passengers per year and compare it with others in the region, for example, Kenya, which handles 8.8 million passengers a year, Kilimanjaro – four million passengers, let alone Dar es Salaam, we still have a lot to do to improve,” Wekesa argues.

Currently, the tourism budget stands at Shs188.8 billion, however, the specific allocation to this project hasn’t been revealed.

Boost tour operators
Wekesa stresses that the role of government should be to create an enabling environment for the private sector to survive and it should focus its energies on making sure all the tour companies closing have business. He believes that UWA’s initiative is not sustainable and contends that the vehicles will not be existent in 10 years.

“You don’t find Kenya Wildlife Society doing business in Kenya. It is important that resources used to buy vehicles go towards marketing the tourism potential of this country and attractions to the population for private sector to take them to the national parks because it is sustainable,” Wekesa contends.

Abiaz Rwamwiri, the director of Africa Wild Explorations, however, points out that a tour operator has a completely different market.

“Mweya has a lodge, UWA has banda’s. Each has their market. It would be selfish of tour operators to fight UWA. There is a talk about UWA diverting from their mandate, but ask one of them to mention when they ever contributed to addressing human wildlife conflict,” Rwamwiri argues.

He adds that Ugandan tourism is evolving and cannot be satisfied by one effort. “I welcome any strategy to have an extra person in our parks. For UWA, any extra dollar they can earn is good for conservation,” he says.

Seguya explains that the buses, a cheaper option that is expected to commence this December, is likely to cost well under Shs1 million depending on packages and destinations to be visited.

The five buses will have WI-FI, coffee on board, flat screen for visual entertainment and information, electric sockets, and more.

With a timeline set for December, Ugandans can hope for the best.

Tour operators speak out
Mulembe Krazy Trekkers. Sheila Nabunya, the manager of Mulembe Krazy Trekkers, a tours and travel company, believes the initiative will create more options to promote tourism.

“They may reach more people than just UWA platforms and providing more affordable services to locals is even much better when locals get to experience the beauty of touring these places.

It will be easier for the bodies concerned to preach about conservation and protectionism so the animals are not poached and in case they are criminals, they are willingly reported.”

Some Uganda Tour operators believes that harnessing from the experience of tour operators will be essential for the success of this initiative. “It will increase our business and encourage domestic tourists, but of course UWA has to work with the tour operators as they have the experience in handling tourists,” he explains.

Engage Children in Conservation

Conservation Education Centre Act, 2015, effectively giving the centre mandate to be the lead agency for conservation education throughout Uganda. For the love of nature: The young generation are being encouraged to take an interest in nature and wildlife to boost conservation efforts.

Conservation education is at the centre of delivering the conservation message to the public to ensure that Uganda’s heritage is not destroyed, but rather used sustainably for socio-economic transformation. The message was carried in a speech by the Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Prof Ephraim Kamuntu at the launch of Uganda Wildlife Education Centre Act-2015 and Children Conservation Education Booklet for Uganda on July 15.

He said, “In recognition of the critical role UWEC will play in the transformation of Uganda, Government transformed UWEC from a trust institution into a fully-fledged statutory body through enactment of the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre Act, 2015, effectively giving the centre mandate to be the lead agency for conservation education throughout Uganda. ”He challenged the centre and called upon conservation partners for support in ensuring that conservation education reaches every corner of Uganda and beyond.

Project primary schools
Africa Wildlife Foundation (AWF) partnered with UWEC last year to engage primary school children around Murchison Falls National Park, targeting over 5000 primary school pupils in the 14 parishes of Koch, Goma and Alero sub-counties.
“The pupils in the targeted schools undertook several projects, including environment essay writing, debates and 35 best performers were selected and hosted for three nights at Uganda Wildlife Education Centre for a conservation awareness camp,” Chief of Party, Usaid-Uganda Biodiversity Programme, Sam Mwandha, explained.

The pupils followed the life of staff at the centre with the main focus on the elephants, which are the main cause of human-wildlife conflict in Murchison Falls National Park, especially in the targeted sub-counties of Alero and Koch-Goma, Nwoya district. The group was also joined by five teachers, a community wildlife scouts’ representative and UWA’s Community Conservation Ranger.
The conservation awareness programme aims at engaging the primary school children and their teachers around Murchison Falls Ntional Park in exploring and understanding elephant conservation and other environmental issues in depth and imparts.

Music dance and drama
At the launch, pupils from Green Hill Academy and other schools, performed skits about the importance of conservation. They also took part in a quiz during which they answered questions to test their knowledge about animals and their behaviour. Winners got signed copies of the books by the minister, as well as a handshake and photography opportunity.
From its earlier efforts, AWF noted that there was need for additional materials to engage the children in conservation activities and provide additional information on the wildlife they may observe in the parks and at the Centre.

Mwandha adds, “On Uwec’s request, AWF therefore, supported the development of the children’s activity book that will be launched by the US Ambassador and the Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities today. It is our belief that the activity book will go a long way in encouraging children to love nature and be its ambassadors even when they are grown up. The Holy Bible, indeed, teaches us to train children in the way they should go so that when they are old, they will not turn away.”
The 3,000 copies of a standard and engaging guidebook produced will be used by over 80,000 students that visit the centre annually.

A mandate
“Today is very historic to Uwec because we are gathered here to launch the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Act and the Children Conservation Education Booklet for Uganda. UWEC more than 300, 000 visitors each year, 60% of whom are school children, a significant number that we are very proud of but also working hard to grow it,” James Musinguzi, the Uwec’s Executive Director, said at the launch.
The new law, among other mandates, bestows the responsibility of carrying out conservation education in Uganda on Uwec. Musinguzi observed that one of the greatest challenges of environment conservation in Uganda today is lack of awareness about conservation issues and sorting out this issue is an enormous challenge.

“Rescue, rehabilitation and release of injured and distressed wildlife is another mandate as well as captive breeding of endangered wildlife species. As Uwec, we are ready for the new challenges,” he added.
Uwec is a member of international bodies, including the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria (WAZA), where Musinguzi serves on the conservation and sustainability committee, a member of the Pan African Association of Zoos and Aquaria.

If you go
Special tourism products
• Cheetah walks, Giraffe feeding, Elephant walks, Shoe Bill Greeting, Rhino petting, Chimpanzee feeding, Fishing, Boat rides among others

Costs
Special tourism products
• Adults are charged
Shs10,000 while children are charged
Shs5,000.
• For education trips, on Mondays, Tuesday and Wednesday, a child pays Shs4,000 and teachers/adults pay
Shs10,000. For every 20 pupils, a teacher enters free of charge.
• Foreigners working in Uganda pay Shs20,000.
• Foreign tourists pay US$10 or Shs30,000.

The Airplane Gangster

Passengers were settling in their seats and using the overhead cabins to store their bags, the one on the next row took long looking for an item in his bag, so by the time he wanted to put his bag in the overhead compartment, they were all full. Caution. Whenever you travel, be careful that your luggage is intact and well-secured.

This is a true story that happened to me a few months ago. And I still get goose bumps when I remember it, is time to share it with you and you should share it with your friends too. In April 2016, we were traveling from Istanbul Ataturk International airport to Bahrain, our carrier was Turkish Airlines.

Passengers were settling in their seats and using the overhead cabins to store their bags, the one on the next row took long looking for an item in his bag, so by the time he wanted to put his bag in the overhead compartment, they were all full.
I saw an opening a few seats away and directed him to it, he placed it there and settled in his seat.

As soon as the flight was airborne, we were served dinner and lights were dimmed so people could sleep, and a few like me preferred to watch movies. One row ahead of me, on the right, sat a Chinese passenger. He did not seem settled and kept fidgeting on his seat, he did not eat or drink anything he was served, except a glass of water.

As soon as the lights were dimmed, I saw him get up and move down the aisle, opened the overhead and pulled a bag out, brought it to his seat and started looking inside it. For a moment, I thought this was the same bag my neighbour had put there, but I decided not to assume and went on to watch my movie. By now the lights were switched off and it was then that I saw the man getting up from his seat again and walking further down the aisle, this time he pulled out another bag and did the same thing as he did previously. My concern levels were now getting high and I had to wake up my husband to watch this drama unfold in front of us.

A robber?
A few minutes later, we both saw him get up again and repeated the same action to a third bag. You know that moment when you do not know what to do? The moment your mind gets stuck and refuses to accept the fact that an actual robbery is taking place, and at the same time, you cannot accuse someone because you do not know for a fact if these bags are his or not.

So we decided to monitor him upon arrival and check if the hand luggage he looked through were his or not. Lo and behold, all my doubts were confirmed he had one small carry on that was none of the ones he checked. As soon as we reached the arrival hall, I notified the immigration officers and left the matter in their hands.

Later, on I officially informed Turkish Airlines about this incident and it turned out that they had similar complaints before, and in one case the thief was also caught red handed.  It is interesting that whenever I am in any public transport mode, bus, train, and boat. I watch my belongings very carefully, but somehow never thought that this can happen in a plane, and now I understood why some passengers had locks on their carry on, they must have experienced what I experienced!

My lesson
Traveling is truly a joy that cannot be compared to any other; however, if you are not careful, it can turn into a nightmare that will not end soon. So keep safe, travel light and enjoy your trip, and remember that long gone are the days when a lost wallet was returned to the owner untouched.