{"id":58347,"date":"2023-10-26T14:47:22","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T14:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?p=58347"},"modified":"2023-10-26T14:35:52","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T14:35:52","slug":"tourism-sector-players-decry-booking-cancellations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/tourism-sector-players-decry-booking-cancellations","title":{"rendered":"Tourism sector players decry booking cancellations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>A section of tourism industry players have raised concern over the recent cancellation of bookings by tourists.<\/b><\/p>\n

This follows last week\u2019s brutal killing of two foreign tourists and their Ugandan guide in the Queen Elizabeth National Park at Nyamunuka on the Katwe-Katunguru Road in Kasese District by suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels. The vehicle that the trio was travelling in on was set on fire.<\/p>\n

Industry players say they have suffered a huge setback as a result of this attack.<\/p>\n

Mr Godfrey Byaruhanga, the managing director of Kagando Friends Rangers Limited in Kisinga Town Council, says they have so far cancelled three of their bookings for the months of October and November.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe count a loss of $300 (Shs1.1m) for the three cancelled bookings. We charge $100 (Shs372,000) per trip; therefore, the cancellations mean a loss to both us as a company and the government,\u201d Byaruhanga says.<\/p>\n

Mr Benon Isuka, the chief executive officer at Rwenzori Mountaineering Services (RMS), says: \u201cIt is very unfortunate that the incident happened. As tour operators, we are now being affected because some of our clients have cancelled their bookings.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds: \u201cSo far, three bookings for six clients have been cancelled, including for one client who had already deposited $1,600 (Shs6 million) and he is now asking for a refund.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isuka says the six clients would have paid in total of $7,600 (Shs28.3m) to cater for accommodation in the park, meals, transport, mountain climbing and guides, among others.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery group of two tourists is supported by 10 people, especially the potters and guides. That means about 30 people, who would have been the direct beneficiaries of these trips, have been affected,\u201d Isuka adds.<\/p>\n

Mr William Bwambale, a tour guide, says one of his clients, who was set to visit the country in January, has cancelled the booking while three others are now having doubts about coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis incident has caused fear, especially among tourists who have not been to the country before. The tourists are now saying they will observe the security of the country in the next two months and then take a decision,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He adds: \u201cI have assured them that business is normal in the country but also in Queen Elizabeth National Park particularly. I am telling them that what happened here has happened in other countries as well and that, that does not necessarily mean that the country is insecure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Robert Centenary, the managing director of Rwefuma Safaris, says although he did not register any cancellations, the incident has created scepticism about the security of the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now when potential clients are making inquiries, on the end note they ask if it is safe for someone to come to Uganda. That means that tourists want to be sure that they are safe when they travel to the country,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Mr Centenary, a former Kasese Municipality Member of Parliament, urged the government to beef up security in the national parks since tourism is Uganda\u2019s biggest foreign exchange earner.<\/p>\n

\u201cQueen Elizabeth is the second largest park in the country bringing in a lot of resources in the form of foreign exchange. If the security in the park is compromised, then the entire tourism sector will be heavily affected,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Efforts to get a comment on the matter from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) were futile by press time.<\/p>\n

However, last Friday, Mr Sam Mwandha, the executive director of UWA, said the Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area, which comprises the national park and Mt Rwenzori National Park, is safe.<\/p>\n

Mwandha revealed that the wildlife body had engaged other security agencies to ensure protection for all guests within the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have held several meetings with various security agencies that are in the region including Uganda People\u2019s Defence Forces (UPDF), Uganda Police Force, Kasese Resident District Commissioner, and UWA staff and we have developed a programme that will ensure all our guests are safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

About kasese tourism<\/p>\n

In 2019, the Kasese District Council passed a motion designating Kasese as a tourism district. The area is home to water bodies such as lakes Edward, George, Katwe and Kasenyi, the Kazinga Channel, as well as other tourist destinations such as the Queen Elizabeth National Park and Mt Rwenzori, among others.<\/p>\n

The district is also about 70 kilometres away from the Fort Portal City.<\/p>\n

Last month, Kasese hosted the Rwenzori Theluji Festival, an annual event aimed at showcasing the district\u2019s untapped tourism potential.<\/p>\n

Five of Africa\u2019s seven tallest points seat on the Rwenzori Mountain.<\/p>\n

Source: Monitor<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. A section of tourism industry players have raised concern over the recent cancellation of bookings by tourists. This follows last week\u2019s brutal killing of two foreign tourists and their Ugandan guide in the Queen Elizabeth National Park at Nyamunuka on the Katwe-Katunguru Road in Kasese District by suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":58346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,258],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-58347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-to-homepage","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nTourism sector players decry booking cancellations - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A section of tourism industry players have raised concern over the recent cancellation of bookings by tourists. ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/tourism-sector-players-decry-booking-cancellations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tourism sector players decry booking cancellations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A section of tourism industry players have raised concern over the recent cancellation of bookings by tourists. ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/tourism-sector-players-decry-booking-cancellations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-26T14:47:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2023\/10\/sm_1698318263.480076.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/tourism-sector-players-decry-booking-cancellations#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/tourism-sector-players-decry-booking-cancellations\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Tourism sector players decry booking cancellations\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-26T14:47:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/tourism-sector-players-decry-booking-cancellations\"},\"wordCount\":773,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/tourism-sector-players-decry-booking-cancellations#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2023\/10\/sm_1698318263.480076.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/tourism-sector-players-decry-booking-cancellations#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/tourism-sector-players-decry-booking-cancellations\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/tourism-sector-players-decry-booking-cancellations\",\"name\":\"Tourism sector players decry booking cancellations - 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