The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) through its Tourism product development and diversification programme, partnered with Uganda’s Agribusiness enterprises to support the development and promotion of Agro-Tourism in the country.
So as to boost the tourism sector and cushion it through multi-sectoral collaborations, the board will focus on the development of Agro-Tourism products and services, support, create awareness and facilitate Agribusiness and Tourism stakeholders.
The board opted to tap into opportunities availed by other sectors such as Agriculture, Health, Manufacturing having analyzed the impact of the pandemic on the country’s tourism sector so as to boost tourism as it co-exists with almost every sector of the economy.
Uganda Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer Lilly Ajarova praised the merge saying that it will be a great breakthrough towards exploring possible opportunities for developing Agro-tourism in Uganda and also to raise extra income for people involved in tourism.
‘’Tourism and Agriculture both work hand in hand and employ a big number of the population in the Country, therefore merging the two sectors presents a unique opportunity for economic development and also bring about an improvement in peoples livelihoods and incomes for sustainable growth.” she added.
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‘’We have also committed to working with partners such as; Uganda Tourism Board, Gofan Safaris, Travel Neza, Agro-Tourism Association among others towards the development of Agriculture and Tourism in the Country.’’ said Alex Abiho, the director-general Excel Hort Consult Agribusiness Incubator Limited (EHCAI).
He added that EHCAI in the next five years aims to nurture up to 27,000 start-ups that are willing to join the sector through training of Youth and Women in collaboration with the Uganda Tourism Board for support and facilitation.
He further applauded the new relations with UTB towards fulfilling the African Union Agenda 2023 aimed at developing Agriculture and Tourism.
Abiho, who also serves as the CEO of African Incubation Centre which supports the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in East and Central Africa working closely with different partners praised UTB for the background visit and pledged to liaise with the Tourism board so as to support Agribusiness SME’s across 18 regions and 51 districts in Uganda.
Original article on The Exchange