Parliamentary Committee on Tourism to inspect UHTTI

MPs on the Committee of Tourism, Trade and Industry will on Thursday, May 15^th and Friday, May 16^th, 2025 inspect three major tourism projects in Eastern Uganda, including the Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (UHTTI), the Source of the Nile Modern Pier and the Mbale Regional Zoo.

The MPs, who will be accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities (MTWA), are on a two-day oversight field visit aimed at appraising the state of major government projects in the region. The legislators will arrive in Jinja at 10am and will be taken on a guided tour of the Source of the Nile Modern Pier before proceeding to UHTTI where they will receive a status report on the ongoing works at the institute before inspecting the multi-billion facility.

The institute Principal, Richard Kawere, said the MPs will assess the infrastructure development UHTTI has undergone and the impact of the development on the lone government hospitality and tourism training institution in the country.

“The legislators are interested in assessing the current developments at the institute and how they align with the nation’s strategic direction and vision,” Kawere said.

Kawere will brief the legislators on the enhanced capacity the development has given the institute as well as the critical gaps that need to be addressed to allow the institution achieve its vision of becoming a Centre of Excellence in hospitality and tourism training in the country and the region.

“We will deliberate on other key investments we need government to take on and present a report on the funding gaps that we need to plug to sustain the current development and achieve the institute vision,” Kawere said.

He said the institute expects to grow to 1,500 students by the 2025/2026 academic year thanks to the adequate space and modern training equipment.

Mr Kawere said the institute’s enhanced capacity has enabled it secure local, regional and international collaborations with reputable hospitality institutions across the globe, including Kenya’s famous Utalii College, American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute and Austria’s Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (ITH), among others.

The UHTTI project is a $11.5 million World Bank funded project that is intended to upgrade the institute and turn it into a centre of excellence for hospitality and tourism training. The project involves the construction of a Shs24.5 billion application hotel and a Shs19 billion modern institute to boost tourism and hospitality training in the country.