Over the years, Uganda’s tourism sector has facilitated regional tourism growth majorly strategizing on culture and history of the different regions across the country. This has been through regional tourist trips and organizations targeting regional tourism potentials. Recently, the European Union ambassador, also head of delegation to Uganda, Attilio Pacifici, commented that the Eastern region is endowed with numerous tourist attractions.
However, while speaking at a recent retreat for European heads of missions in Uganda in Mbale town, Pacifici noted that deliberate marketing and infrastructural developments have not been prioritized for the eastern region.
He further commented that there are shortages in terms of accommodation that the private sector needs to tap into. “Let’s make this area easy for tourists because there’s room to bring more businesses here – a reason we chose it for the 2019 retreat.”
“We have so many people that come to Kampala and then go north-west and leave a lot of wealth to the private sector that side. In the East, despite its beauty, it’s been neglected and we should all think about it,” Pacifici said.
Reacting to this, the Mbale district LC V chairman Bernard Elly Mujaasi said the region lacks development partners to help advance its tourism potential.
“Unfortunately, most of the ‘middle-class of the East’ are concentrated in Kampala which is giving us a problem. They need to come back and invest in accommodation facilities especially in areas near Mount Elgon,” he said while citing Mbale’s premium big hotels, Mount Elgon hotel, Wash and Wills and Mbale Resort.
After one of the closed-door meetings with the envoys, Mujaasi intimated that the Austrian government had offered to set up a cable car unit system that will join Bududa to Mount Elgon and Sipi falls. “If we can pull off that investment (of cable cars), we can attract more tourists to the East,” Mujaasi said.
The European heads of missions in Uganda inspected different projects supported by the EU and also toured the area’s attractions.
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