Sheraton Gardens to host Uganda’s annual tourism expo

UGANDA TOURISM EXPO SET FOR END SEPTEMBER

(Posted 08th September 2013)

Uganda’s annual ‘Tourism Expo’ is scheduled to take place later this month, with the opening night on the 27th September preceding the main exhibition which is scheduled from 28th to 20th September.

The location, strategically chosen as the Sheraton Gardens, is bound to attract scores of visitors again, who will be able to see the range of tourism attractions now available on the market.

Uganda has in recent years established herself as a key adventure destination, offering adrenaline junkies, hikers and mountain bikers a range of options, from paragliding to acrobatic flying, from white water rafting over grade 5 rapids to bungee jumps over the River Nile, from nature hikes across Uganda’s spectacular scenery and landscapes in the South West of the country to the country’s signature activity, gorilla tracking.

The organizers, in a media release sent to this correspondent yesterday emphasized: ‘According to the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife & Heritage sector statistical abstract 2012 a total of 1,151,356 tourists were registered in 2011 indicating a 21.6% increase from 945,899 in 2010.

However the abstract still goes ahead to emphasize that there was a 36.8% increase in the number of visitors from Europe and a 29% increase in number of visitors from Africa. The visitors to National Parks since 2007 have registered an increasing trend with 2011 having a 9.4% increase from 2010. Foreign non-residents dominated the visitors to National Parks for the year 2011 with 42% followed by students at 25%.

The tourism expo will showcase a wide variety of Uganda’s best tourism products, attracting visitors and media from all over the world. This event will double as a platform for creating and building awareness around the exhibitors’ products and services but also promote Ugandan tourism and will attract over 15,000 visitors’.

Entrance fees for the event were set at 5.000 Uganda Shillings, worth the cost to learn more about the tourism attractions in Uganda, the Pearl of Africa.