Kenya: 2nd Kenya-Uganda Coast Tourism Convention Kicks Off in Diani

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Nairobi — Senior officers from Kenya and Uganda are assembly in Diani, Kwale County, to discover partnerships geared at selling tourism within the area.

The 2nd Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism Convention which kicked off on Monday may also discover strategic engagements between the 2 nations together with Uganda Airways’ bid to advertise the Entebbe-Mombasa route.

Uganda’s Minister of State for International Affairs, in Cost of Regional Cooperation Mulimba John and his Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities counterpart Bahinduka Mugarra led a delegation of over 200 Ugandan non-public and public sector gamers to the convention.

“On the first convention, our Minister of State really helpful that this be an annual occasion, so we had no selection. For us, we thought we have been organizing a one-off occasion, however the minister, in his knowledge, noticed a really massive alternative,” Ambassador Paul Mukumbya, the Consul Normal for Uganda’s Mombasa Consulate, noticed.

Ambassador Mukumbya emphasised that following the Minister’s directive the tourism gathering transitioned into an annual occasion.

The convention, a observe up of an inaugural conference held in Mombasa in November 2022, goals to consolidate networks, synergies, and variety to maximise the tourism potential between Uganda and Kenya’s Coastal Area.

Talking on the opening ceremony on Monday, Mulimba emphasised the strategic significance of the convention for each nations.

He underscored their untapped potential and highlighted how exploration and world showcasing, catalyzed by platforms such because the tourism convention can propel progress.

“As you’re conscious, Uganda is endowed with distinctive safaris, wealthy cultural and historic heritage, a wide range of sights of wildlife, together with the mountain gorillas, tree climbing lions and over 1063 fowl species in nationwide parks and guarded areas unfold throughout the nation,” Mulimba stated.

He added: “However, the Coastal area of Kenya is endowed a number of tourism sights from the historic Fort Jesus, Stunning Seashores and Resorts, Marine Nationwide Parks, Elephant sanctuary, the Dolphins, Wildlife Parks, slave caves and sacred forests, Vasco Da Gama Fort in Malindi, White sands, the Coral Reefs, diving and snorkeling amongst others.”

The State Minister, nevertheless, decried data gaps in so far as the tourism merchandise of the 2 nations are involved.

“A giant part of the inhabitants, together with tourism stakeholders, is just not conscious of the wealthy and various merchandise in one another’s nations, even when the 2 nations stay one another’s high vacationer supply markets,” stated Mulimba.

He known as on the tourism stakeholders to boost consciousness concerning the tourism merchandise in each nations to foster the rise of vacationer numbers between the 2 nations.

The convention will search to evaluate progress because the 2022 convention, consider vacation spot merchandise and improve synergies amongst key tourism gamers.

Members may also discover funding alternatives, enterprise networking, along with gaining a firsthand expertise to sights within the coastal area.

Ambassador Mukumbya defined that the tourism convention operates on a mannequin of complementary, not competitors.

He identified that each nations have distinctive tourism merchandise that can not be duplicated, however could be complemented to spice up tourism numbers in each Uganda and Kenya.

“Uganda would not have seashores like those we see right here. We even have some issues we name seashores, however they aren’t fairly corresponding to what we’ve right here.We do not have Fort Jesus, and we’re not about to create one. We do not have Vasco Da Gama’s pillar, and we’re not about to create one.

What do we’ve in Uganda? We’ve the mountain gorillas, and please, Kenyans, these monkeys and no matter they’re, usually are not about to show into mountain gorillas. Even with evolution, they won’t change into mountain gorillas,” stated Ambassador Mukumbya.

Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani emphasised on the necessity for collaboration amongst tourism gamers within the two nations.

“The convention theme depicts the significance of constructing synergies and complementarity based mostly on the completely different tourism merchandise purchased by Uganda and Kenya value,” she stated.

Ambassador Mukumbya highlighted key successes of the 2022 convention saying the 2023 gathering supplies a possibility to construct on beneficial properties made.

“Final 12 months after the convention, we took Ugandans who got here for the convention on excursions on the coast right here in Diani, in Mombasa and Malindi. Then, after the convention, we took some Kenyans to Uganda on a fam journey to expertise these merchandise, in order that when they’re promoting, they’re promoting one thing they’ve skilled.”