Africa-Press – Uganda. Veteran Tour Guide Lilian Kamusiime has urged tour guides working in Uganda to harness the country’s vast beauty and develop new tourism products.
Ms Kamusiime, a member of the Uganda Women Birders (UWB) and vice chairperson of the Uganda Safari Guides Association (USGA), was addressing close to 50 apprentices who are undergoing tour guide training at the Jinja-based Hotel and Tourism Training College (HTTC).
“Uganda is a buffet with lots of tourist attractions and all you need to do is to think critically about the country’s tourism products and how best you can present them to the tourists,” Kamusiime said.
Kamusiime tasked the trainees, who were drawn from across the country, to list the tourist attractions in their areas of origin and how best they can be harnessed to propel the country’s burgeoning tourism sector.
David Asyep, one of the apprentices hailing from Tororo, said the training had opened his eyes about his district’s tourism potential.
“We have 10 tourist attractions, including Tororo Rock, Hima and Simba Cement, Sukulu hills, among others and these have a lot of potential to attract tourists,” Asyep said.
Ms Kamusiime said marketing the country and turning it into a preferred tourism destination lies on the shoulders of professional and passionate tour guides capable of telling compelling stories about the country’s tourism potential.
She cited an example of a friend she studied with who made it a habit to heap praise on her home area, Kalugutu, something that raised her (Kamusiime) curiosity to visit the place.
“You need to furnish yourself with accurate and reliable information about tourism products for example who started abseiling? who started tubing and when did it start?” she said.
The college Dean of Academics, Mr Emmanuel Kaweesi, emphasized the role of storytelling in tourism development.
“Compelling storytelling can create memorable experiences and make a tourist return to the site,” Kaweesi said.
The close to 50 Tour Guides are part of the 150 apprentices currently undergoing a six-week long training in different tourism and hospitality fields, including Tour Guiding, Bakery, Food Production, Front Office and House Keeping at HTTC courtesy of the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities.
The apprenticeship program aims at providing an opportunity for young graduates to attain relevant skills, combine work and learning and reduce the school to work transition gap while improving productivity and employability of young people.
This particular program targets young unemployed graduates in the tourism and hospitality sector that have graduated in the field of Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality.
The trainees get the opportunity to interact with seasoned and grounded industry professionals who usually come in to share experiences and help horn the skills of the apprentices.
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