• There is potential to increase the number of tourists from both countries to over half a million.
• This year, the Uganda Consulate, in partnership with the tourism stakeholders on the Kenyan coast, has organized a four-day Ugandan culture and food festival.
Image: JOHN CHESOLI
Kenya and Uganda cross-border tourism has yet to be fully exploited, Uganda Consul General in Mombasa Ambassador Paul Mukumbya has said.
Last year, Kenya received about 200,000 visitors from Ugandan, while 350,000 Kenyans crossed the border to Uganda for tourism and business.
Mukumbya and Kenya coast tourism stakeholders said there is potential to increase the number of tourists from both countries to more than half a million.
The Ugandan Consulate in Mombasa has, for the past three years, been holding tourism conferences at the Coast to bring more Ugandans to Kenya for tourism and business.
This year, the Uganda Consulate and tourism stakeholders on the Kenyan Coast have organised a four-day Ugandan culture and food festival.
The main aim of the festival is to expose the unique Ugandan products to a wider number of corporate Kenyans, youth and regional and international tourists.
The festival will have an array of events to be held at Diani Reef in Kwale, Ocean Beach in Malindi, Vipingo Ridge in Kilifi and Fort Jesus in Mombasa.
A golf tournament will be held at Vipingo Ridge, Kilifi county.
The events will run from April 17-20.
At least 1,800 Kenyan and Ugandan tourists and businesspeople are expected to attend the festivals in Kwale, Kilifi and Mombasa counties.
Ambassador Mukumbya said the events will be about celebrating Ugandan culture and bringing Ugandans to the Kenya coast.
“We are trying to use culture and golf to grow the tourism numbers between our two countries. Uganda is the number two source market for Kenya in terms of visitors and Kenya is the number one source market for Uganda in terms of visitors,” he said.
“This is something on which we are building to grow the numbers to encourage regional tourism so we also stop that seasonality of relying so much on the international arrivals.”
Mukumbya spoke during the launch of the festival in Mombasa on Wednesday.
For three years in a row, the Uganda consulate in Mombasa has been organising these tourism and business events to bring Ugandans to tap into the available opportunities in Kenya.
“This partnership is built on the concept of complementarity between Uganda and the Kenyan Coast, whereas the Kenyan Coast has the very beautiful beaches and historical sites," he said.
"In Uganda, we have the mountain gorillas, the chimpanzees, the adventure tourism on River Nile, the Kampala nightlife, the cultural and religious tourism at the Uganda Martyrs Shrine.”
Mukumbya challenged the tourism stakeholders and investors to tap into the available investment opportunities.
“We want people who can invest in our tourism sector. We have a shortage of high-end lodges in our tourism sites. So, we are encouraging the Kenyans who have the money to go and open and build beautiful high-end lodges. And the return on investment I can assure you is quite high,” he said.
Others present during the Uganda Festival launch were Mombasa County Trade and Tourism executive Osman Mohammed, Kenya Coast Tourists Association chairperson Victor Shitakha and Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers-Coast executive Sam Ikwaye.
Shitakha said the conversation with the Ugandan consulate started in 2022 and it has grown into an annual event.
“We need to get our people and youth to get involved and see what culture is all about so we can grow. This is what we're looking for, numbers. The numbers coming into Kenya from Uganda grew from 137,000 to 200,000 after our two conferences,” he said.
“The numbers going from Kenya to Uganda grew up to about 350,000. We are the number one supplier of tourists. So, we are doing good for them, and we want them to come to Kenya as well. And that's why this is a fantastic opportunity for us to learn in matters of these cultural activities so we can attract a lot more of them into Kenya.”
Ikwaye said the number of tourists to the Coast this Easter holiday is quite low because of the school calendar and Ramadhan.
“However, with Ugandan cultural events that will be happening next month, we expect the number of tourists to increase,” he said.
Ikwaye said they are looking forward to making the event a signature product in Mombasa.