The 5th Annual Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) 2020 opened on February 4,2020, kicking off three days of business-to-business and business-to-customer engagements among key Ugandan and regional tourism players with selected tourism wholesalers from Africa and other overseas tourism markets.<\/p>\n
POATE, which is taking place at the Speke Resort in Munyonyo on the shores of Lake Victoria, has attracted over 57 international\u00a0hosted\u00a0buyers and 140 domestic and regional\u00a0tourism\u00a0operators, as well as international and domestic media.<\/p>\n
The expo is running under the theme, \u201cPromoting Intra-Africa\u00a0Travel\u201d in a bid to raise awareness about the untapped potential presented by emerging African travel markets.Gen Rtd Moses Ali,\u00a0Uganda\u00a0first deputy Prime Minister represented President Yoweri Museveni at the events official opening ceremony.<\/p>\n
Museveni thanked the\u00a0Uganda\u00a0Tourism\u00a0Board (UTB) for organizing the\u00a0Pearl\u00a0of\u00a0Africa\u00a0Tourism\u00a0Expo, saying that it would go a long way in \u201cexpanding business opportunities in the\u00a0tourism\u00a0sector in\u00a0Uganda\u00a0and the entire East African region.\u201dPresident Museveni told delegates to the expo that\u00a0Uganda\u00a0had significantly invested in creating \u201cpeace and stability, good road networks, enough electricity supply, better telecommunications networks and internet\u201d and these investments would enable\u00a0Uganda\u2019s\u00a0tourism\u00a0sector to be competitive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout investment in this critical infrastructure,\u00a0tourism\u00a0cannot flourish,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cThe government has restored\u00a0Uganda\u00a0Airlines to attract tourists to\u00a0Uganda, because [with] the many planned direct routes to\u00a0Uganda, tourists and business people alike will have faster and more affordable travel to\u00a0Uganda, making us a competitive destination.\u201d<\/p>\n
Museveni also commended UTB for the intra-African outlook saying that since the Ugandan government had \u201cachieved commendable progress in addressing some of the strategic bottlenecks\u201d which hindered\u00a0Uganda\u2019s\u00a0prosperity, it was time to focus on intra-African business.<\/p>\n
Ms Lilly Ajarova, the Chief Executive Officer of the\u00a0Uganda\u00a0Tourism\u00a0Board said that\u00a0Uganda\u00a0was full of abundant\u00a0tourism\u00a0opportunities characterized by the richest\u00a0tourism\u00a0attractions portfolio and best value for money for investors and tourists alike, and, therefore, healthy returns on investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the richest and most diverse range of human, natural, cultural, religious, and historical attractions complemented by a warm tropical climate, warm people, great accommodations, and great food,\u201d she said.She also said that the healthy growth in visitor arrivals coupled with a vast array of\u00a0tourism\u00a0assets presented big returns on\u00a0tourism\u00a0investment and that the recent government investments in transport infrastructure had made the country more accessible both from the outside and inland.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is now easier to get into\u00a0Uganda\u00a0by air from virtually anywhere around the world [with] 32,735 flights in and out of\u00a0Uganda\u00a0in financial year 2019. With\u00a0Uganda\u00a0Airlines, there will be faster and more convenient direct routes especially from\u00a0Africa.<\/p>\n
Today, it is also easier to get around by air, road, and water,\u201d she said.Explaining the theme of the\u00a0Pearl\u00a0of\u00a0Africa\u00a0Tourism\u00a0Expo and the special focus on\u00a0Africa, Ajarova said that\u00a0Africa\u2019s\u00a0economic prospects were on the rise and that the continent was emerging as one of the fastest-growing\u00a0tourism\u00a0markets after Asia and the Pacific with outbound traffic reaching 42 million in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe theme mirrors our strategy to rebalance and segment our\u00a0tourism\u00a0portfolio into 4 key segments, namely: existing overseas markets, emerging overseas markets, regional\/African market, and the domestic Ugandan market,\u201d she said.Col. (rtd) Tom Butime, the newly appointed Minister of\u00a0Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, also invited the delegates to explore the immense potential presented by Destination\u00a0Uganda.\u201cNumbers don\u2019t lie,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He told the\u00a0tourism\u00a0operators, \u201cWe do offer probably the best value for money per dollar spent, and there is something for everyone regardless of age, gender, budget, and preferences,” Butime said.<\/p>\n
Butime, said that on top of healthy visitor numbers and the richest attractions portfolio on the continent,\u00a0Uganda\u00a0offered one of most abundant investment incentive regimes in the\u00a0tourism\u00a0sector.Alain St. Ange, the President of the African\u00a0Tourism\u00a0Board, lauded\u00a0Uganda\u00a0for creating peace and stability and also challenged the African continent to rise up and tell its own positive story.<\/p>\n
\u201cUganda\u00a0has something that few countries in\u00a0Africa\u00a0can talk about \u2013 stability, safety,\u201d he said, emphasizing that such positive stories as this need to be told about\u00a0Africa.St Ange who served as former Minister for\u00a0Tourism, Ports and Harbours for Seychelles said that\u00a0Africa\u00a0must work together to rewrite its own narrative.<\/p>\n
”It cannot continue to let the world ride on the back of\u00a0Africa, writing what they want, and often, looking at all the mishaps, all the mistakes, and for everything else that is not good about\u00a0Africa. Our successes are not written about. This is something that\u00a0Africa\u00a0must do for\u00a0Africa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 5th Annual Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) 2020 opened on February 4,2020, kicking off three days of business-to-business and business-to-customer engagements among key Ugandan and regional tourism players with selected tourism wholesalers from Africa and other overseas tourism markets. POATE, which is taking place at the Speke Resort in Munyonyo on the shores […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":2080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,8],"tags":[1185,1184,294],"class_list":["post-2079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-homepage-english","tag-pearl-of-africa-tourism-expo","tag-poate","tag-tourism"],"yoast_head":"\n