Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) launched a new drive to promote wildlife conservation and local tourism. The campaign is targeting the youth mainly and is aimed at popularizing Uganda’s rich wildlife heritage among students.

Eunice Nyiramahoro, the director of tourism and business development, declared last week that the authority is hoping to reach the more than 30,000 students at Makerere University alone. She said this while speaking during the close of a two-week sensitization outreach at the institution.
Nyiramahoro said UWA has already put incentives in place to attract students to Uganda’s national parks. She said some of the incentives include free entry for students with valid identity cards.

During the function, more than 2,500 students, visited the stalls and got copies of Uganda games posters and CDs.
The climax of the day was a raffle won by Judith Dushimimana, a second year student of Psychology for a three-day tour of Murchison Falls Game Park.
Nyiramahoro asked the Government to give incentives to the industry to allow easy access to the parks.

She noted out that people are constrained because they believe that the tour companies are expensive and meant for only white tourists or foreigners, the tourism ministry should work on ways to make the national parks accessible to the locals. This will help[ develop tourism in Uganda and the neighbouring communities around the parks and other tourism sites at large.

There is need to put more infrastructure in tourism sites such as lodges in the national parks that are not too expensive to attract more local tourists. She regretted that many locals believe that the national parks were only for white tourists and they are frequently visited by the whites.
Source, The New Vision 21st September
By Joseph Kariuki
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