Feature: Ugandan travel agents opt for agritourism to boost arrivals
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Xinhua, January 23, 2019
LUWERO, Uganda, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- About 75 km north of the Ugandan capital Kampala, tour operators and bloggers armed with knives go on a hunt for ripe pineapples in a four-acre garden in Luwero district.
It is an experience that the operators are packaging to interest tourists, especially those from Asia.
Uganda is gifted by nature with rich fauna and flora, sprawling hills, magnificent landscapes, the world's biggest mountain gorilla population, national parks with wildlife gems, some 1, 200 bird species, friendly people, beautiful weather and diverse culture.
Besides these attractions, tour operators believe using the ripe, sweet pineapples as an agritourist delicacy can attract more visitors.
Samuel Mugisha, the director of Bic Tours, told Xinhua in a recent interview that when tourists come, they are interested to visit pineapple gardens in order to partake of the experience farmers go through in growing the sweet yellow fruit.
"We are introducing tourists to the idea of appreciating how pineapple are farmed. We take them to the garden where they get to learn about the process of planting the pineapples, how they are harvested and get to go on a 'hunting' expedition before enjoying the pineapple," Mugisha said.
When the tourists arrive, they are guided on going to the garden. They are given a knife or machete. Each of the participants will go out to hunt for the biggest and most ripe pineapple. A garden may have up to 20,000 pineapples depending on the acreage.
When they return, the farm manager assess all pineapples harvested and the person with the biggest or most ripe pineapple will be rewarded with a gift of their harvest.
This part of the country grows the most number of pineapples. From the gardens here the sweet fruit is exported to Europe and Asia.
CHINESE TOURISTS
Uganda is keen on growing tourist numbers from China as a source market for its growing sector.
The country's tourism officials told Xinhua in a recent interview that they must take advantage of China's increased interest in Africa to boost tourism arrivals from the Asian country.
"The Chinese have toured all the other continents in the world and now they have special interest in Africa," said Daudi Migereko, chairperson Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), a government agency charged with the promotion of tourism.
"They come as tourists but also as investors. So we need to up our game and ensure that we market Uganda as special country within Africa where they can come and enjoy their holidays," said Migereko.
Migereko said the government is in the process of hiring a public relations firm that is expected to liaise with tour operators in China, airlines and other companies to promote Uganda's tourism potential.
He said already Uganda's embassy in China and its consulate in Guangzhou are doing some work to market the country.
UTB has also held a number of promotional initiatives, including road shows in some of China's major cities, such as Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai.
Uganda also uses public relations firms to market the country in Europe and the United States.
Mugisha said when the promotional efforts start bearing fruit, private operators should be able to offer Chinese tourists a variety of experiences apart from visiting national parks and other tourist destinations.
He said farmers also benefit when tourists visit their gardens for an experience that lets them appreciate the process of farming the sweet fruit.
The country earns about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars annually from tourism and expects the figure to double by 2020. Enditem
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)