Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) and the Ugandan Embassy in Egypt hosted a total of 200 outbound Egyptian Tour and Travel operators to a cruise on the River Nile.
On board the M/S Nile Smart Cruise Liner were Uganda Tourism Board officials, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Football Club chairman Aggrey Ashaba, Members of Parliament, businessmen and journalists from different media houses.
The cruise that was dubbed “AFCON 2019 Ugandan Night on the Nile” aimed at showcasing Uganda’s unique attractions, culture and cuisine to the Egyptian market as well as attending African Cup of Nations delegates from various countries.
Mr. Eddy Kirya, a UTB board member and Director at Travel 256 Ltd noted that the Ugandan night was meant to foster tourism, provide a networking platform as well as further cement the existing tourism relations between Uganda and Egypt.
“As you may all be aware, Uganda and Egypt share a longstanding relationship that has thrived for decades. We share the River Nile with Uganda having the source. Today, we are here to showcase to you, several other tourist attractions that Uganda is well-known for. Currently we get an average of only 3500 Egyptian tourists and we are positive about the potential for these numbers to go up,” he said.
“Like Egypt, Uganda has a unique culture with kingdoms spanning a history from hundreds of years. Ours is a unique Ugandan tale by a warm and welcoming people. We hope that you can come to Uganda to not only experience this, but our unique wildlife and the source of the River Nile.”
Uganda’s Ambassador to Egypt, H.E Sam Male in his remarks emphasized the significance of healthy bi-lateral relations as a key component to image building and luring as many tourists and investors to the country.
“I am happy that we have been able to host so many dignitaries to this Uganda Tourism Night. This is a very important step in opening up Uganda’s tourism potential to the Egyptian and continental market. We have several other opportunities that you can take advantage of in Uganda. My office is open to helping you in whatever way,” he said.
On behalf of UTB, Kirya presented a painting of life size Mountain Gorilla to the ambassador and urged him to place it at the Ugandan Embassy in Cairo so as to continue showcasing Uganda’s Tourist attractions.
Maha Gamil, a renowned female painter from Egypt also did live canvas paintings of Uganda’s tourist attractions.
There were testimonies of the Ugandan tourism experience, testimonies about Uganda – unquestionably the “Pearl of Africa”, sharing of AFCON 2019 moments, sampling of the different Ugandan cuisines and cake cutting.
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Stalls had also been set up aboard the ship and were selling traditional and cultural Uganda merchandise.
A team from the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities and Uganda Tourism Board, are in Egypt to not only promote and market destination Uganda, but also rally support for the national team.