UGANDA BUILDS ON PRESENCE AT AFRICA SUMMIT TO PROMOTE THE COUNTRY
(Posted 06th August 2014)
The Africa Travel Association, which is due to hold its annual world congress in Uganda from the 11th to the 16th of November at the Commonwealth Resort in Munyonyo / Kampala, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Uganda North America Association to promote the country and the congress. The new partnership will gain extra prominence when UNAA is holding its own annual meeting later this month, starting from the 29th of August to the 01st of September in San Diego / California, where no doubt the ATA Congress will be featured as one of the country’s main tourism events in 2014.
With President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni now in Washington for the upcoming Africa Summit which is hosted by the Obama administration, this will be an added prime opportunity to showcase Uganda’s variety of tourism attractions, besides promoting trade and investment, the latter boosted by an announcement that US companies have committed to invest some 14 billion US Dollars on the continent.
In a media release received yesterday from the Africa Travel Association did ATA and UNAA outline the key areas of cooperation:
Start quote:
NEW YORK, N.Y. August 5, 2014 – The Africa Travel Association (ATA) and the Ugandan
North American Association announced today that they have entered a partnership to promote
Destination Uganda alongside ATA’s 39th Annual World Congress, to be held from November 11-
16, 2014 in Kampala. ATA’s signature event on the African continent will be hosted by the Uganda
Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities under the auspices of Honorable Minister Maria
Mutagamba, with the theme “Tourism is Everyone’s Business.”
The ATA-UNAA partnership strives to advocate, market, and promote Uganda as a world-class
tourism destination; showcase the destination’s diverse travel products, services, cultural and
natural attractions, and investment opportunities; and to encourage and advocate for the engagement
of the Ugandan Diaspora community in North America in the promotion and investment of travel
and tourism.
ATA and UNAA will coordinate efforts to ensure the most comprehensive participation of the
Ugandan Diaspora in ATA’s 39th Annual World Congress and UNAA’s 26th Annual Convention.
“Members of the African Diaspora are an incredibly valuable resource for countries to promote
travel and tourism. At ATA, we are always looking for opportunities to engage members of the
African Diaspora to foster tourism development and growth on the continent and are delighted to
partner with UNAA,” said ATA Executive Director Edward Bergman.
“As an organization we are so proud of this partnership with the Africa Travel Association. It is in
line with our mission of creating relationships and partnerships with the private sector, the public
sector and colleagues from the civil society. This is great for UNAA and great for Ugandan
American businesses,” said UNAA President Brian Kwesiga.
To launch promotions for the congress, a high-level tourism delegation from Uganda will
participate in a North America promotional road show commencing at the 26th Annual UNAA
Convention and Trade Exposition in San Diego, CA from August 29-31, 2014. Known as the
“premier global networking event for the Ugandan Diaspora,” the UNAA Convention will bring
together more than 3,000 Ugandan Americans and friends. The program includes meetings,
discussion groups, forums on various topics affecting Uganda and the Ugandan Diaspora; such as
the Trade & Investment Forum, Technology Forum, Political Forum, as well as forum on
Intergenerational relationships between immigrants and their children born in the Diaspora.
End quote
Uganda, while best known for gorilla tracking, incidentally in two national parks, Bwindi and Mgahinga, has a range of other attractions including 8 more national parks, dozens of game, bird, forest and nature reserves and a thriving adventure tourism segment where among many other adrenaline raising sports White Water Rafting on the Nile, Bungee Jumping, Quad Biking, Horse Back Safaris, Paragliding, Fishing, Mountaineering and Hiking plenty of activities await tourists. Click on www.gorillahighlands.com, www.visituganda.com or www.ugandawildlife.org for added information on Destination Uganda.
