GORILLA HIGHLANDS SET FOR NEW MARKETING INITIATIVE
(Posted 23rd March 2013)
The initiators of the Gorilla Highlands campaign, who have over the past two years successfully put the South West of Uganda on the map, both locally as well as internationally, with the introduction of a range of novel tourism products ranging from canoe safaris over the launch of hiking trails to homestays with Ugandan farmers, are now planning to take the concept to the next level.
Miha Logar, the brain behind the Gorilla Highlands campaign and passionate activist to bring more tourists to the area to benefit the local people directly, is presently working on a new marketing action plan with Garret Nash and several other members of his team, which, when complete, will seek to brand Gorilla Highlands as both an attractive tourism region in Uganda but also promote the various eco-friendly activities the group has put together in recent months. Among those are among others Hiking, Unique Rift Valley landscapes (volcanoes, lakes, rain forests), Dugout canoes, Rich history (Nyabingi and the Rasta connection, Katuregye and other anticolonial rebellions, Dr Sharp’s leprosy colony, Idi Amin’s legacy), Cultural variety (Batwa aka Pygmies, Bakiga, Bafumbira), Birding and of course the prized Mountain Gorillas besides other primates which are found in the region.
In information received from Gorilla Highlands, their concept has been outlined as follows:
‘We are marketing the Gorilla Highlands (GH), the southwestern tip of Uganda comprised of Kabale, Kanungu and Kisoro Districts, from the perspective of pro poor tourism. Our mission is to successfully brand and promote the region in a manner that brings an increase in responsible, sustainable, culturally sensitive tourism that will work to have a direct positive benefit on the bottom of the pyramid inhabitants of the Gorilla Highlands.
(For an eight slide summary of the GH initiative and GH products please see
Miha went on to mention the objectives of the new marketing campaign, incidentally all financed by local fundraising activities and the support of a growing number of sponsors who wish to be associated with this novel way of promoting this part of the country:
Objectives
? To position the term “Gorilla Highlands” as a universally accepted name for the region
? To expand the perception of the region beyond mountain gorillas
? To reach a level of tourism appeal comparable to Kilimanjaro at the African level or the Himalayas at the global level
Find out more about the Gorilla Highlands by clicking on www.gorillahighlands.com (or alternatively click on www.facebook.com/gorillahighlands) from where it is possible to access parts of the organization’s award winning e-book, see the e-version of their pocket guide booklet, a video map or the area and outlines of the hiking trails which lead from Kabale over Lake Bunyonyi all the way to Kisoro and Lake Mutanda.
Gorilla Highlands is meanwhile also putting together a Chef’s Competition due to be held in Kabale sometime in April, where local talent from this part of Uganda can show off their skills and produce meals using predominately local ingredients. Expect to read more about that however nearer to the time when the competition is being held.
