Uganda tourism board (UTB) is set to maximise the forthcoming Africa cup of nations (AFCON 2027) next year to market and promote Uganda through the Explore Uganda campaign.
This is after the Uganda tourism agency signed a strategic partnership to promote Uganda as Africa’s premier tourism destination during next year’s CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2027).
The partnership was sealed by the Uganda tourism board (UTB) chief executive officer (CEO) Juliana Kagwa and CAF General Secretary Samson Adamu.
“By partnering with CAF, we are essentially exploring Uganda through football. So, we are going to use the brand AFCON 2027 through his new partnership to expose and demonstrate that Uganda is ready to welcome tourists from all over the world. People will come for football, but will stay for Uganda,” noted Kagwa.
According to Adamu, Uganda will use football to their its story of beauty to the world.
“What UTB is doing is simply not just to sponsor a football tournament, you have decided to use football to tell a story to the world. Uganda has a beautiful story to tell the world and AFCON is the best platform,” he noted.
Uganda will take the AFCON 2027 opportunity beyond the stadium and according to the deputy speaker of parliament Thomas Tayebwa, this is a significant moment for Uganda’s tourism sector.
“AFCON offers us a valuable opportunity to showcase our tourism potential to millions of football fans and attract high-level tourists. The CAF-UTB partnership presents an enormous opportunity to market Uganda to the global audience and translate that visibility into increased tourism arrivals,” he said, as he witnessed the partnership announced at Marriott hotel in Kampala.
Tayebwa says that this is what global marketing of the tourism sector needs.
“Sports and tourism are natural partners. Football fans can become tourists during and after the games. With such partnerships, we can be confident of moving closer to our target of attracting five million tourists by 20230 and contributing to Uganda’s 10-fold growth,” he added.
The state minister for tourism Susan Nakawuki challenged the sector to focus on converting global visibility into actual visits.
“The bigger question is how many of those people we can inspire to visit, explore, and experience Uganda firsthand.” She called on hotels, tour operators, transporters, restaurants and other businesses to develop packages that combine football with Uganda’s tourism experiences,” she earmarked.
Uganda will co-host the AFCON 2020 alongside Kenya and Tanzania.
