Uganda’s Beauty is Unmatched, Says Museveni

President Museveni has made a case for visiting Uganda, noting that few countries around the globe can match the beauty that the East African nation is.

“Uganda is unique. There are only three points on the globe which are like this — Uganda and two others. Why is Uganda unique? It is unique because we are right on the equator.

That airport(Entebbe Aiprot) where you landed is 200 meters north of the Equator. The Equator passes 200 meters from the end of the runway on the southern side. So we get sunshine all year round. But our altitude is high. Normally when I travel around the world, I get very worried. When I land in New York, I look at the computer on my plane and they say I am 18 feet above sea level. I don’t sleep in the hotel because I get worried that the ocean may come and swallow me. But here where you are, you are 1,000 something, maybe 1,200 meters above sea level. And this is middle level,” Museveni said.

“Therefore, all year round, our temperatures are very mild. In some parts of Uganda, during the afternoon, it even freezes. Don’t think those are the Alps in Europe — that’s Uganda.”

The President was on Thursday opening the 10th edition of the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo(POATE) at Speke Resort Hotel in Munyonyo.

Organised by the Uganda Tourism Board, the three-day event will run until Saturday, May, 23 under the theme "Wanderlust – It's Your Time to Thrive" with a heavy focus on B2B commercial bookings and sustainable community-led tourism.

Speaking during the ceremony, Museveni said being situated right on the Equator gives Uganda an added advantage, that not many other destinations in the world enjoy.

“This is what amazed one of the first Europeans who came here, Henry Morton Stanley. He was amazed. He could not believe there was snow right on the equator. And this is the uniqueness of Uganda: being on the equator with high altitude. So when you come to Uganda, unlike those places where people have put you in a furnace (air conditioner) — whatever they call it — here you don’t have to warm the air or cool it. You just enjoy it the way it is,” he said.

Museveni added, “If you come to State House, there is air conditioning in the government houses, but I have never used it. I don’t think the machines are even working because I never use air conditioning. So when our friend Winston Churchill wrote in 1907 that Uganda was the “Pearl of Africa,” he was amazed. He had never seen anything like this in his life, and Churchill was a great traveller.”

The president told delegates that Uganda’s climate enables a variety of crops to be grown locally and served fresh, unlike other countries.

“Then you come to food. This African continent saved the world from bad food. When I went to Washington, they grow something called pineapple. But when I put it in my mouth, I could feel the chemicals. But here, the foods are so rich and natural. I am now going to be 80 years old. I only eat our indigenous food. I don’t eat rice. I eat our own food.

Take millet for example. Millet is one of the richest foods in life, apart from milk, of course, because millet has protein, carbohydrates, and iron. If you compare it with rice or wheat, I don’t think they have that combination.”

“So when we are talking about Uganda as a tourism destination, it is about comfort. If you want to live comfortably, the only challenge used to be mosquitoes, but we know how to control them. I’m sure you don’t see any mosquitoes here because we can kill them. Otherwise, it is very comfortable to live here.”

The President however urged authorities on tourist visas to Uganda, noting that they should at least be for three years, instead of the current three months given.

He said he would discuss with concerned authorities over the matter.

“Give them three-year multiple-entry visas. Let them come and go as they wish. As long as they spend money here, why should you worry about their pockets? These short visas — I don’t know why people insist on them. We are going to discuss that.”

The Ministry of Tourism Permanent Secretary, Doreen S. Katusiime said Uganda’s tourism sector has registered remarkable recovery and growth following the Covid pandemic slow down.

“Tourism has recovered strongly and has now surprised the pre-pandemic performance. The sector is on the right trajectory towards contributing meaningfully towards Uganda’s socio-economic transformation by creating jobs, especially for our young people, empower communities to generate foreign exchange, stimulate investment, conserve the environment and support multiple sectors of the economy through its multiplier effect,” Katusiime said.

She said the expo has brought together exhibitors, hosted buyers, media and tourism professionals across the world.

The UTB board chairperson, Pearl Kakooza hailed tourism as a driver of economic force in Uganda, noting that the sector is among the pillars that create wealth for Ugandans.

She said last year, international tourist arrivals reached over 1.64 million visitors after increasing by 19.7%, while tourism earnings climbed to a historic high of approximately shs5.83 trillion (USD 1.62 billion)

The Uganda Tourism Board CEO, Juliana Kagwa hailed government for its continued support and investment into the tourism sector