Uganda Uses Facebook and Twitter to promote Tourism

The ministry of tourism has launched a Champaign to promote tourism sector online.

The social media Champaign on Facebook and twitter, ‘dubbed My Uganda’, which was launched last week by tourism minister Ephraim Kamuntu, gives residents and International visitors an opportunity to share their experiences of the country.

Through My Uganda people can share impressions, experiences and memories of the country, its people, wildlife, scenary and culture through social media channels Facebook and twitter.

Contributors will load videos and photographs and publish their written reflections onto a dedicated face book page (www.facebook.com/MyUganda).

Those with Twitter accounts can use hashtag#myuganda.

“I hope that as we celebrated the 50^th anniversary of our Independence, Ugandans and our International friends will embrace My Uganda as a way in which we can tell the world about our great country. Through this Champaign we will show that Lonely Planet was correct to declare Uganda as the world’s best country to visit in 2012,” said the Minister.

“I am very proud to say that the very first video contribution has been submitted by the Prime Minister, Rt, Hon, Amama Mbabazi. In it he celebrates the ‘great, fascinating and captivating beauty’ of his Uganda and remarks that the country is ‘poised to take off’ in a way which will bring out a ‘new and prosperous nation,’ Prof. Kamuntu added. However 24 per cent of the total national budget revenue, is still one of the most poorly funded, receiving only 0.8 per cent of the total national budget that stands at Shs10 trillion.

More Tourists

Despite the financial constraints, the number of tourists coming into the country increased by 7 percent from 10 per cent in 2009/2010 to 17 per cent in 2010/2011.

The foreign exchange earnings from the sector for the year 2011/2012 increased to $662m(Shs1.6 trillion) up from the previous year’s $90m (229b).

In a recent cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi said the problem should be addressed urgently.

“the December 2010 Retreat’s proposal to increase the resources for the Uganda Tourism Board has not been acted upon. Worse still, the sector received only Shs1.88b of an approved budget of Shs2.05b for the year,” Mr. Mbabazi said.

Tourism Ministry spokesperson Vivian Lyazi Mr. Lyazi recently said an improvement in the sector’s budget will ease marketing of Uganda’s natural endowment to virgin markets in the European countries like Spain and UK.

By: Bruce Amp