In a bid to increase on the number of visitors to the destination Uganda, a number of marketing and promotional activities are undertaken. These include but not limited to tourism expos and shows.
The destination has been represented at numerous tourism expos including the World Travel Market in London.
The game is seen to have changed as the marketing trends have been seen to shift to tapping into what is already a ready market. And this opportunity is presented by the Kenya coast. In line with commercial diplomacy and in line with the tourism development program objective of increasing the visitor numbers, the Ugandan consulate
Mombasa under the leadership of HE Ambassador Mukumbya noticed the opportunity available and organized the inaugural Uganda Kenya Coast conference and excursions in November 2022. The aim of the event is to consolidate Networks, Synergies & Diversity maximize the tourism potential between Uganda and Kenya Coastal Region .This is also in line with the EAC Integration agenda that seeks to promote EA as a single destination.
The second Uganda Kenya coast conference and excursions is made possible by the succeses of the previous year that saw numbers sore between the two destinations.
The specific objectives of the second Uganda Kenya Coast conference and excursions running from 13 to 18 November 2023 in Mombasa County with subsequent visits to Uganda thereafter are;
- To assess the progress made in the cooperation between Uganda and Kenya Coast since the 2022 Conference;
- To create more awareness about the two destinations and the tourism products they offer,
3• To enhance the synergies and complementarity between key tourism players from Uganda and the Kenya coastal region;
- To explore investment opportunities in the tourism sector in Uganda; To provide a platform for B2B networking, leaning and information sharing:
- To equip the key tourism players from Uganda and the Kenya coastal region with first-hand experience of the key tourism attractions so that they are in better position to market these attractions; and
6 • To promote and popularize the Entebbe-Mombasa route operated by the Uganda
A team from Uganda comprising of mostly tourism private sector through their umbrella associations in the Uganda Tourism Association, UHOA, TUGATA, HOGMAU, independent tour operators, media and government representatives from the MTWA, MOFA, MFPED, UTB, UWA to mention but a few set out on 12th November 2023 to Mombasa Kenya in loads aboard Uganda Airlines for the conference. It’s suffice to note that Uganda Airlines runs direct flights between Mombasa and entebbe three times a week.
Key expectations from the team is creating synergies with their Kenya Coast counterparts especially in how to compliment the product offering at the Coast of sun, Sea and Sand with the nature based product from uganda.
A line up of events have been scheduled happen during this week including key note Speeches from Government, private sector and business to business engagements as well as a showcase of what the two destinations can present in terms of Tourism offerings.