UGANDA TOURISM DURING A PANDEMIC

The world is still overwhelmed by the great pandemic of the corona virus. The outbreak of this pandemic has caused a great shake in many sectors of the country ,and the Uganda tourism sector being among the top on the lists.

With the announcement of the first COVID-19 case in Uganda on 21^st march 2020, from a Ugandan who was travelling from Dubai. This brought a stroke in fear of the population health.

AFTERMATH OF COVID

With the increased virus cases over time, this led to the total lock down of the country. As boarders were closed, curfew time was set, limited public and private transport, education institutes were closed as well. This led to the closure  and limited access to the different touristic destinations in Uganda.

There was a limitation to the access of the national parks, especially for the primate parks of Uganda. This was introduced as a measure to protect the wild life from attracting the virus.

As time went on, all the protected areas of Uganda were once again re opened for tourism activities. Together with putting the standard operations procedures in place to be follow by the tourists. All this was made possible as the Uganda borders, were now in access by regional and international travelers, the public means whereas well per now in operation.

Travelling during the pandemic is to say one the scariest things for most tourists, for fear of Health hazards, like contracting the corona virus, and still some countries are still under lock down, this made access to some tourist Countries difficult.

Most countries are trying to recovery and bridge the gap the was created by the virus in the tourism sector. For Uganda, many stalk holders have resulted to domestic tourism and with open hands giving chance to the international travelers too.

In the pearl of Africa, tourism is still taking place within the different protected areas, as some incentives have been developed to attract more tourists to the destinations by the regulatory bodies.

Discounted offers have been made for park entrances, tourist’s activities and hotel discounts all to attract different tourists to the destinations. A number of guide’s lines are also led up to be followed while enjoying the different experiences in the protected areas.

The following are the discounts that have been made for the protection areas valid till 31^st march 2021

• Foreign Non –residents chimpanzee tracking permits reduced to 150 USD from 200 USD
• Foreign residents chimpanzee tracking reduced to 100 USD from 150 USD
• East African community residents chimpanzee tracking reduced to UGX 100,000 from UGX 150,000
• Foreign nonresidents gorilla tracking reduced to USD 400 from USD 700
• Foreign residents gorilla tracking permits reduced to USD 300 to USD 600
• East African community citizens gorilla tracking permits reduced to UGX 150,000 from UGX 250,000
• 50 % reduction of the birding species in the protected areas
• 50 % discount on the park entrance fees for Pian upe wildlife reserve, Kabwoya reserve katonga wildlife reserve, Toro Semuliki wildlife reserve, Murchison falls national park , Queen Elizabeth national park, Kidepo valley national park, Semuliki national park , lake Mburo national park.

These discounted fees have greatly encouraged the restart of tourism in Uganda, more especially for the domestic tourists but, all are enjoyed by the international tourists too.

A few standard procedures

A number of standard operation procedures have been put in place as measures to prevent the spread of corona virus among the tourists as they visit these destinations.

The regulatory body of tourism , the Uganda wildlife authority issued out a document that outlines the different procedures to be under taken while at the tourist destinations and while participating in the different touristic activities .

Regular washing of hands, social distancing and wearing of a face mask is a must for tourists that visit the protected areas of Uganda.

And for international travelers, a negative COVID – 19 test results is required for entry together with the other travel documents that include a valid passport, visa, yellow favor card among others.

With the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines in Uganda from AstraZeneca on march 4^th 2021; this gives more hope for the full restart of tourism in the pearl for mostly the international tourists and for the domestic market

Tourism in the pearl of Africa , is still enchanting with the mesmerizing wildlife species, that were recently topped up with the two tiger species a the  Uganda wildlife educational center,  roaring waters of the Nile, beautiful mountains, authentic tribes and welcoming people , Uganda is  the one destination that should be included on every tourists bucket list.