The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) has launched the Rwenzori Tourism Destination Management Plan intending to improve visitor experiences, build local capacity, support conservation, and strengthen the region’s competitiveness in both domestic and international markets.
The plan covers all major tourism zones within the Rwenzori Region and is designed to guide planning from now through 2030, with the main objective being to provide a roadmap for better coordination and decision-making, enabling effective destination management and marketing while fostering stronger stakeholder ownership.
Speaking at the launch at the UTB offices in Kampala, Juliana Kagwa the UTB’s CEO emphasized that the Rwenzori Mountains famously known as the “Mountains of the Moon” offer unique attractions, from snow-capped peaks and diverse wildlife to rich cultural heritage.
“We have several national parks within the Rwenzori region, and we believe that if we enhance those packaged experiences and integrate safari, climbing, hiking and more recently, running as a sport, we believe we’ll start to attract the right number of volume value visitors,” she said.
Kagwa further remarked that the plan will provide a structured framework to harness these resources, improve visitor experiences, and ensure that local communities benefit from tourism growth.
The private sector representative from Kasese Alex Kiiza commended UTB and its partners for prioritizing the region.
He said that the plan is a welcome intervention that will address persistent challenges such as limited infrastructure, inadequate promotion, and fragmented stakeholder coordination.
“This plan has an ambitious target that looks at training and skilling 3000 community members along the tourism Valley chain, by 2030 expanding jobs in mountaineering, guiding festivals and midlife service, ensuring that women, youth and the marginalized groups are central to tourism growth and also improve access to education, health and livelihood through the tourism multiplier effect for the private sector,” he said.
He further stressed that local operators and communities are ready to play their role in ensuring sustainable development of the tourism sector.
On behalf of CBI, Martjin Harlaar the Country Lead highlighted the organization’s role in supporting capacity development, product diversification, and market access for the region.
“It’s a very joyful moment and another milestone in the multi-annual partnership that we have going on with UTB, specifically focusing on supporting the further development and enhancement of Uganda as a sustainable tourism destination,” he highlighted.
Harlaar underscored that the plan is aligned with global best practices and provides a blueprint for unlocking the Rwenzori’s potential in eco-tourism, adventure tourism, and community based tourism.
He further explained that UTB and CBI share a conviction that in the long run, and in effect, a lot of the tourism that happens in Uganda, does not take shape in Kampala or in the offices, but actually take shape in the in the regions, and that in those regions, there’s a great opportunity to further shape sustainable tourism and sustainable tourism products.
The launch attracted extensive media attention, with journalists engaging the panel on how the plan will directly improve accessibility, service quality, and safety for visitors.
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