Uganda Ranked 5th best Exhibitor in the African Category at ITB Berlin Tourism Expo
To most tourists who have experienced the beauty of Uganda before, it is never a surprise that this magical African country can emerge as one of the best exhibitors at the 2018 ITB Berlin Tourism Expo.
With Participants from 5 Continents (America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia-Oceania), Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin (ITB Berlin) is known as the World’s largest Tourism Trade Fair but also one of the World’s four main International tourism Expos where tourism service providers inform of Hotels, Tour Operators, Tourist Boards, Airlines, system providers and Car rental companies participate in exhibiting the unique products that they offer. It also brings together tourism actors from all over the World with over 10,000 businesses from more than 180 countries taking part in 2018.
Out of over 800 participants from the large African Continent, Uganda dubbed the Pearl of Africa was ranked the 5th best exhibitor in the African category at the Expo that took place from 7th to 11th March 2018 in Berlin. Uganda’s participation at the annual Expo was organized by the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), the National Tourism Marketing agency where about 30 Ugandan tourism Businesses (Operators) took part in the Expo and are expected to reap big after the event. This Fair is also vital for Companies or Organizations in the country because of the profile of participants and new opportunities for emerging business.
During last year’s exhibition (2017), more than 40 students from Cologne Business School (CBS) in Germany assessed the 10,000 Exhibition Halls and also rated Exhibitors in eleven different categories in terms of originality, design and service offered, and the top fifteen in each category were also closely scrutinized by another team of students in the second round of evaluation to ensure maximum transparency and fairness.
With the goal of achieving four million tourist arrivals by 2020, it was a fantastic move by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities in partnership with the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) as well as other tourism Stakeholders to organize so as to take part in exhibiting the country at the ITB Berlin Tourism Expo in German. Nonetheless, the agency earlier estimated that this year Expo would see Ugandan Companies make important business deal worth about $840,000 (Shs 3 billion) for the few days’ stay in German.
Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin (ITB Berlin), the World’s largest and most popular Tourism exhibition was this year opened by Dr. Angela Dorothea Merkel, Chancellor of Germany and leader of the Center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who in her opening remarks welcomed participants and elaborated on the need for tourism sustainability, the opportunity that tourism offers in fighting prejudices and the challenges of tourism overcrowding. During the few days of the Expo, over 109,000 Trade visitors and possible travelers looking for business opportunities in addition to inspiration for their next trips were also present. One of the notable guests was Dr. Michael Frenzel, the President of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry and he indicated that the number of Global travelers is anticipated to increase by 4.5%. It should also be noted that even with the terror attacks and threats, negative travel bans and political unrest, the tourism sector is continuing to boom due to the fact that visitors have not been discourages because they always have alternative sources of information on the worldwide web.
When it comes to Uganda, the tourism industry has so far become the country’s top foreign exchange earner bringing in foreign remittances a few years ago and bringing an excess of Shs seven billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Government through Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) normally expedites and assists local tourism businesses to participate in such International Expos by offering Exhibition Stalls and Space, providing Visa support and organizing business meetings where necessary.
According to Mr. Stephen Asiimwe the Executive Director of Uganda Tourism Board, such Expos are very important for Uganda and puts her at a greater advantage than other destinations due to the cultural diversity in a way that you will always get a new experience every 100 kilometers in any direction of the country as well as other numerous attractions including the mountain gorillas, adventurous activities, Big five animals and bird species among others that await tourists. This is the best chance for Ugandan businesses to attend ITB Berlin Tourism Expo with the Ugandan team led by Hon Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, the Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities and Ms. Doreen Silver Katusiime. However, participating in some of these Travel Exhibitions is usually costly and prohibitive for Ugandan Companies thus the reason why few always take part but with Government interventions, more companies will get exposed and get the opportunity to bring back business into the country.
In conclusion, with the diversity in culture, wide range of wildlife species such as big five animals and mountain gorillas, numerous bird species, it is not a surprise that Uganda always shines when it comes to tourism and appearing among the top five exhibitors during the ITB Berlin Tourism Expo under the African category is an affirmation that the country is indeed the Pearl of Africa.
