HISTORY

Hotel growth in Uganda started in the 19th century, a decade after independence during the colonial period. This saw the growth of accommodation, transport and infrastructure in Uganda (tourism.) The political instability during the 1970’s and 1980’s led to the decline in the hotel industry as well as tourism. Hotels were closed, destroyed and made into police barracks like the Nile mansions.

The taking over of power in 1986 by the National Resistance movement (NRM) led to the revival of the tourism industry. Uganda has consistently worn foreign and international relations, support of large international organizations like World Tourism Organization, and has attracted internal and external investors. This has led to the rehabilitation of leisure and tourism facilities like hotels.

Visitor arrivals have grown due to the increase in tourism demand from the 512,000 in 2004 to about 700,000 in 2005.Uganda’s tourism sector has continued to grow and is expected to earn the country over $500m (about sh905b) this year from $360m (sh651.6b) last year.

HOTELS/ACCOMMODATION

Uganda has a wide range of excellent hotels and accommodation facilities located in all regions of the country. These are mainly located in the main towns of Kampala (Capital City), Jinja, Entebbe, Gulu, Mbarara, Mbale, Fortportal, Arua.
Uganda is well known for its hospitality and the welcoming nature of the local people, which has promoted the growth and development of hotels and other accommodation facilities.

Upmarket, low budget and more affordable hotels and accommodation include Sheraton Kampala hotel, Serena hotel (formerly Nile hotel), Speke hotel, Grand Imperial hotel, Emin pasha hotel, Hotel Equatoria, hotel Africana, Tourist hotel, Hotel Diplomate, Holiday Express hotel. Imperial Resort beach hotel, Botanical beach hotel, Hotel Tria
ngle, Crested crane hotel, Windsor lake Victoria hotel, Mbale resort hotel, Mt.Elgon hotel, to mention but a few.

Other accommodation facilities include hostels, lodges, campsites, guesthouses and apartments, which are located in the city center, suburbs and in all regions of the country. Lodges include Mweya safari lodge, Speke resort Munyonyo, Red chili rest camp and hideaway, Gorilla forest camp, Volcanoes, Arra fishing lodge, Jacana safari lodge etc. Apartments include Acacia apartments, Windsor apartments, Kabira club, Dolphin suites, Mosa courts, golden leaves, Royal suites, Salama springs, Speke resort, etc. Campsites and hostels include Adrift/Nile high camp, Red chili hideaway, Backpackers, Bigodi wetland sanctuary, Bunyonyi overland camp, Ishasha wilderness camp, Sambiya river lodge Bandas, Hornbill, The crows nest, Lake Nabugabo campsite, etc. Guesthouses include Rwenzori guesthouse, Mamba point, palm tree guesthouse, 2 friends guesthouse, Palm tree guesthouse, etc and Islands like nature’s prime island, Ssese Island, Bulago island.

HOTEL DEVELOPMENTS IN UGANDA.


The latest hotel developments in Uganda are a sure indication of tourism growth in Uganda and EastAfrica as a whole.
The development of tourism has been enhanced by effective promotion, of both the destination and products offered by specific businesses. Establishment of awareness programes, qualified, trained and skilled human resources, improved and stronger tourism administration, investment in the tourism plant and associated products (attractions, entertainment, shopping, etc), enhancing marketing methods and development of basic facilities, social services and proper infrastructure.

The hotels and other accommodation facilities have developed to offer distinguished ambience, panoramic views, and tranquil surroundings. They are uniquely refurbished to offer comfortable accommodations for a relaxing business or holiday trip. Hotels are perfectly situated for visitors with a welcoming atmosphere, friendly and hospitable services, with excellent facilities as well as comfortable guestrooms and public areas.

Business centers with boardrooms and equipment, Bars and restaurants serving intercontinental cuisine with wines and cocktails, Services like massage, sauna, Internet facilities, private lounges, gyms, swimming pools, shopping malls, Recreation courtyards, open spaces, pergolas, terraces and entertainment centers are offered by Uganda’s hotels and accommodation facilities.

The hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled for 2007 in Uganda has also enhanced hotel development and refurbishment, and Hotel Owners have put their facilities together necessary to host the summit in 2007.

Hotels are on the increase in the country like Emin pasha, which opened at the end of March 2004. Kampala Sheraton Hotel, Bwebajja on Entebbe Road, Garden City, Golf Course and Kampala Serena hotels are undergoing construction and refurbishment. Buhoma Homestead, mantana-tented camps and the Volcanoes lodges are undergoing upgrading and expanding, and the most luxurious hotels used by business travellers and upmarket tourists have prices set in dollars.

There are plenty of budget hotels and accommodation facilities in Uganda, and the accommodation sector is growing consistently, with remarkable staff offering hospitable décor in hotels and all accommodation facilities.

About the Author: Jackie Kisibo is an author in Africa, and her articles can be found on Uganda Hotels, Kampala Hotels and Accommodation, Uganda travel guide and directory, Restaurants Uganda - Kati Kati Africa Ltd.

Tourism brings Peace by Denise Hummel

It is staggering to think that elephants sought higher ground immediately before the Tsunami hit Asian shores on December 26th 2004, while no advanced technology existed in the form of an early warning detection system that could prevent the loss of human life ... or so said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Tourism of Sri Lanka. I can't say for sure. I wasn't there. I was safe and dry in Varese, Italy at the time, and a long way from Pound Ridge, New York, from where I hail.

I have been honored to be one of the many panelists at the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism Global Summit in Pattaya, Thailand, an organizational conference dedicated to exploring the ways in which tourism can and does promote peace. I was one of the only westerners there and was surrounded by Ministers, Members of Parliament and others dedicated to the concept of sustainable tourism and peaceful tourism.

While I spoke about the strategies that western tourism enterprise has utilized to confront terrorism and natural disaster in the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, my fellow panelists from Sri Lanka, Uganda, Cambodia and South Africa, to name a few, discussed the ways in which terrorism, internal armed-conflict, war and poverty have affected their lives and those of their families and countrymen. Among a group of co-panelists at breakfast one morning, I was the only person to not have held the status of refugee at some point in my life. To the extent I have changed houses or homeland, it has been entirely through choice and a quest for new experience and I know nothing of fleeing for my life or the lives of my children. My colleagues from across the sea, in contrast, have been counting the years, and in some instances, the months, days, hours and minutes of peace.

It is amazing to me that the more I am exposed to through travel and interaction with peoples of other countries, the more ignorant I feel. Like most people, I know that people living in other parts of the world do not share the same standard of living that I do, but I did not know that the single greatest killer of children world-wide is unclean water. I did not know that my colleagues in Jordan get water once a week, but that my female Jordanian colleagues have virtually no "glass ceiling" that prevents them from advancing professionally. I didn't know that there are still cold-storage containers on the shores of the Andaman coast in Thailand that contain the bodies of unidentified loved ones after the wave hit and I didn't know that police boats and huge fishing trawlers still lie kilometers from the sea where they lie against buildings, but otherwise upright, as if they are simply dry-docked in the wrong place at the wrong time.

What is sustainable tourism and how can we in the western world assist our brothers and sisters in less developed areas to face problems that affect fragile economies so dependent upon tourism? And how can we, as tourists, promote peace when we travel? So many of us, as individuals as well as public and private enterprise, donate money. Is that the way to assure that families and businesses post traumatic natural or terrorism-related episode continue to survive? It appears, based on what I have seen and heard here, that despite our display of compassion, exemplified by our overwhelming generosity, that this may not be the answer. Houses built with Tsunami donations, for example, but which failed to consult the cultural, physical and spiritual needs of the people, lay vacant. Boats built with Tsunami donations lay idle on the shores awaiting beurocratic clearance before they can be used by Thai fisherman. Tsunami money to Sri Lanka remains unutilized because the Sri Lankan administrative offices charged with administering the money, are located in an area of the country which is governed by a para-military entity not recognized by the U.S. or the United Kingdom.

The best answer seems to be exemplified in the request I heard time and again from His Excellency Akel Biltaji, Special Advisor to His Majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordon, His Excellency. Eng. Ziad Al-Bandak, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Palestine National Authority, Ibrahim Yusuf, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia, and James Lu, President of the International Hotel and Restaurant Association, to name a few. The way to be a part of sustainable tourism in each of these countries, is for the average tourist to "come back." This means -- to go back to Bali and to Jordan as soon as possible after the recent bombings, to frequent the hotels that were rebuilt after the Tsunami, but that are not yet at full occupancy, to eat the fish caught by local fisherman served in local restaurants and to buy the handicrafts of the indigenous peoples. The way to be part of the movement of "peace through tourism" is to be an ambassador of acceptance, traveling with an open heart and open mind, and demonstrating respect in our words, behavior, and interaction with peoples of all cultures. "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness," said Mark Twain. In this era of terrorism, a reality that Mr. Twain probably never contemplated, truer words were never spoken. As a general rule, we do not hate people we understand, and we have no reason to destroy what we do not hate.

As I walked around Khao Lak in Thailand, an area that was almost completely washed off the map by a wall of water, I was also reminded of the words of Francis Ford Coppola, "Time is the lens through which dreams are captured." As my lens captured the images of hotels, local businesses and homes in ruins, I feel that it was simultaneously capturing the ghosts of the people who walked in and out of these thresholds. But, it also captured the dreams of the Thai people to rebuild their land. It captured the dreams of lasting peace of the Sri Lankan people whose internal armed-conflict screamed to a halt because they lost almost all their weapons and ammunition in the wave. And it captured my dream for all of us in the Western world to revisit this world of smiles, elephants, pristine shores, Buddhist temples, limestone caves, blue skies and peaceful waters.

About the Author

Denise Hummel is a native of New York, who moved to Italy with her husband and children. She directs a public relations/ communications business focused on sustainable tourism called Imagine Communications.
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