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Visitors to Taga Nuwagaba’s exhibition opening at DCI Gallery (772 Brookhaven Circle East) tonight from 6 to 8 will see plenty of wildlife from the artist’s native Uganda.

The artist, born in 1968, has spent this academic year as Fulbright Scholar in Residence at Christian Brothers University, teaching drawing and painting to students he described as “great.” He returns to Kampala in May.

Nuwagaba, who lives in the capital, Kampala, is one of that country’s foremost portrayers of animals, specializing in threatened and endangered species.

The exhibition will promote uganda as a tourism destination,increase and enlarge the tourism market to uganda by portraying Uganda’s natural endowments.

Uganda is a small, land-locked African country lying on the Equator and bounded by Kenya on the east, Sudan on the north and Zaire on the west. Much of its southern border marks the shore of Lake Victoria.The country boosts of its wide range of wildlife like birds, Gorrillas and dirrerent national parks.

Uganda tourism news

Passing of a newly debated Bill into law by Parliament, that seeks to introduce a tourism development levy will take Uganda’s tourism to another level.

Government officials said this would help the country aggressively market the tourism potential. It would also spur tourism players including the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), Uganda Tourist Board (UTB), tour operators and the expanding hotel industry.

UTB’s John Babihunguza said development partners’ support would expire in December.

“We need to have mechanisms for funding to promote tourism,” he said, adding that the tourism levy is part of the proposed tourism bill.

Damian Akankwasa, the acting head of UWA, said without funding from the Government, UTB had been asking partners to pay and meet the costs during the international exhibitions.

Uganda tourism news

The tourism sector in Uganda has been growing lately, with the government
supporting tourism growth. Uganda’s beauty was recently advertised on CNN which cost $1 million.

Uganda boosts of tourism attractions like wildlife, including gorillas and chimpanzees, adventure tourism, like kayaking, mountaineering (Rwenzori mountain ranges ) and water rafting.

Tourism industry is being promoted by both the private and the public sectors through marketing their places in other countries (China is being looked at as a potential market for Uganda’s tourism sites) increase in Airlines, therefore increase in the number of tourists to the country and benefiting the tourism industry. (According to Uganda Bureau of Statistics, tourists coming into the country has increased from 192,790 in 2000 to 512,378 in 2004.)

The recent preparations for the hosting of the commonwealth meeting in 2007 (CHOGM) has led to the increase in number of hotels, which offers an opportunity and a challenge to the hotel sector and have attracted more tourists. As numbers go up, the demand also goes up.

Despite of some negative events late last year which affected the image of the country, tourism in Uganda continues to grow and benefit since the country offers exactly what the tourists are looking for like Adventure, good infrasture and comfort.

Uganda Tourism News

Uganda Tourist Board (UTB), the Tourism information center has been renovated and refurbished.

The UTB offices located on Kimathi Avenue, Impala house have been renovated and upgraded to exhibit Tourism in Uganda. The new face of the tourism board includes the acquisition of a new logo ” Uganda Tourism” which is to portray the center as both an information center and a Uganda tourist Board. The offices have been furnished with new furniture, a “Tourism Uganda” sighn Board and wall furnishings depicting wildlife, culture, vegetation and all aspects of Uganda’s tourism features and attractions.

The renovations have come shortly after the appointment of the new board of governors with Roni Madhvani as the new chairman, and in the period of upgrading facilities due to the 2007 commonwealth summit to be hosted in uganda.

The new UTB offices depict tourism and will now surely exhibit Uganda as a source of pride and surely the “Pearl of Africa”.

Uganda Tourism News