Tourism in Uganda

Tourism in Uganda is focused on Uganda's landscape and wildlife. Uganda has a very diverse culture, landscape, flora, and fauna.cite book |last=Lepp |first=Andrew |editor=Rob Harris, Tony Griffin, Peter Williams (eds.) |title=Sustainable Tourism: A Global Perspective |url=http://books.google.ie/books?id=cH0dKTAFsJsC |year=2002 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |isbn=0750689463 |pages=212-213 |chapter=Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park: meeting the challenges of conservation and community development through sustainable tourism ]

In the late 1960s, Uganda had a prosperous tourist industry with 100,000 visitors each year. Tourism was the country's fourth largest earner of foreign exchange. The tourist industry ended in the early 1970s because of political instability. By the late 1980s, Uganda's political climate had stabilised and conditions were suitable for reinvestment in Uganda's tourist industry. However, the loss of charismatic wildlife in previously popular safari parks such as Murchison Falls National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park prevented these parks from competing with similar tourist attractions in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda's tourist industry instead promoted its tropical forests. The keystone of the new industry became Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. With more than 300 Mountain Gorillas, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has approximately half of the world's population of Mountain Gorillas.

Tourist numbers

About three-quarters of Uganda's tourists are from other African countries. Kenya, which borders Uganda, is the biggest source of tourists to Uganda, making up almost half of all arrivals into the country. The amount of visitors from Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan is quite low. As Uganda is a landlocked country, it is very dependent on connections through Kenya for most of its transport. International travellers sometimes prefer to fly into Nairobi before connecting to Uganda's capital Kampala as this is often cheaper.

Tourism in Uganda is an important generator of foreign exchange, high-end employment, and investment. There has been increased investment in tourism, particularly in travel accommodation and related facilities. This has enhanced tourists' experience in the country. Adventure tourism, ecotourism and cultural tourism are being developed.

Internal and external security threats can cause issues for Uganda's tourism industry. The conflicts in neighbouring southern Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo often create cross border conflicts that have damaged the development of tourism in the country, such as the killing of tourists in the Rwenzori Mountains National Park.cite web |url=http://www.euromonitor.com/Travel_And_Tourism_in_Uganda |title=Travel and Tourism in Uganda |accessdate=2008-06-11 |publisher=Euromonitor |date=January 2007 ]

Tourist attractions

Uganda is one of only three countries where it is possible to visit mountain gorillas. The others are Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mountain gorillas are Uganda's prime tourist attraction.cite book |title=People and Wildlife: Conflict Or Coexistence? |last=Woodroffe |first=Rosie |coauthors=Simon Thirgood, Alan Rabinowitz |year=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=http://books.google.ie/books?id=7mN0uMG-hQUC&pg=PA150&vq=bwindi&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1&sig=kZGT9qAfhVV5jFcD-SSRDpHSIx0 |isbn=0521825059 |pages=150 ] cite web |url=http://www.visituganda.com/what.html |title=Gorillas and primates |accessdate=2008-06-11 |publisher=Uganda Tourist Board |date= ] The vast majority of these are in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, with a few others in Mgahinga National Park, both in southwestern Uganda.cite book |title=Against Extinction: The Story of Conservation |last=Adams |first=William Mark |year=2004 |publisher=Earthscan |isbn=1844070557 |pages=8 ] In Bwindi, visitors have been allowed to view the mountain gorillas since April 1993. The development of gorilla tourism and the habituation of gorillas to humans is proceeding very carefully because of the dangers to gorillas, such as contracting human diseases.cite book |title=East Africa handbook: The Travel Guide |last=Hodd |first=Mike |year=2002 |publisher=Footprint Travel Guides |isbn=1900949652 |pages=743 ]

References