(Ecofin Agency) - Tourism is one of the main money-making sectors in Uganda. Before the pandemic, the sector contributed 7.7% to the country’s GDP and 6.3% of all formal employment, according to official data.

To get back and even exceed the pre-pandemic level, the government has launched a new project to attract visitors to the country. “Explore Uganda, The Pearl of Africa" is the new brand launched last January 28 following a partnership between the Ministry of Tourism and the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB).

It aims to strengthen Uganda's competitiveness as a nation. According to Colonel Tom Butime, the Minister of Tourism, the project will serve to increase the contribution of tourism to national development and increase the number of visitors to the country. It also aims to boost the sector's contribution to the GDP, and the protection and conservation of natural habitats, flora, and fauna.

President Museveni, for his part, insisted that emphasis be placed on the promotion of community and cultural tourism. This initiative comes at a time when Uganda is experiencing a drop in visitor numbers, mainly due to covid-19. Tourism revenue has declined from $1.45 billion before the pandemic to $450 million in 2020, down nearly 69%. As a reminder, Uganda previously launched the "Visit Uganda" brand. But this brand’s campaigns had difficulty appropriately capturing “the uniqueness of Uganda's attractions," according to Lilly Ajarova, CEO of UTB.

Uganda aims to increase tourism profits to $1.86 billion by 2024-25, revenue per visitor from $1,036 to $1,500, and reach pre-pandemic levels of employment and average tourist arrivals from the United States, Europe, the Middle East, China, and Japan. The country also aims to increase the proportion of leisure tourists from 20.1% to 30% and to increase the number of direct airlines to Europe and Asia from 6 to 30.

In recent years, the trend of tourist arrivals in Uganda has been steadily increasing until 2020 when the number dropped from 1,542,620 to 473,085, according to figures from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

Jean Marc Gogbeu, intern