Tourism stakeholders have urged journalists to interest themselves in reporting about community-driven tourism initiatives noting that these are tourism products which have been ignored and yet if they are given the prominence they deserve, not only will local communities benefit but also the economy as a whole will, from increased tourism revenue.
Among such community-driven tourism initiatives are homestays where tourists decide to experience the ordinary lives of Ugandans by residing in the homes of the communities adjacent to tourist sites instead of lodges and hotels.
Other initiatives are local cuisines and community walks where tourists decide to walk around communities and pay up to $80 to the communities and homesteads, they visit.
Bashir Hangi, the head of communications and public relations at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), told journalists that given the power of media, if journalists highlight some of these products, tourists will begin rushing for them.
“As the media, you have the power to amplify community voices and catalyze community-driven tourism products to tourists and then the tour operators will also take them up, develop them and sell them to their clients. The effect of your interventions is critical because it will not only cause economic development in the communities where we are having these initiatives but also demonstrate that Ugandan communities are not dangerous to go to,” he said.
This plea was made during a media breakfast meeting organized by the Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO) to discuss how tourism reporting can be enhanced to shape Uganda’s global image.
The meeting was attended by journalists from different media houses as well as spokespersons of government agencies such as UWA, Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), ministry of Health and the army.
The general secretary of AUTO Dennis Ntege said they wished to foster responsible tourism reporting through highlighting the importance of ethical reporting, sustainability and community-driven tourism initiatives which in turn they believe will strengthen the relationship between Uganda’s tourism professionals and the media to ensure that the communication is always accurate, inspiring and responsible but most importantly to have destination Uganda visible to everyone.
“In the tourism space, a lot of cancel trips are often as a result of news of a crisis in the country. Therefore, it is essential that these communications in regard to crises that affect the economy and livelihoods of people are made with just cause rather than sensationalized messaging or fear,” Ntege said.
However, Muhereza Kyamutetera, the CEO of the Uganda Tourism Association noted that the tourism story is too important to be left to the journalists alone and therefore it is also the obligation of the tour operatives and regulators to assist journalists in telling these stories better and always make themselves available to journalists when they reach out to them for information.
“As tour operators should strengthen their own media platforms such as websites and social media pages by updating them regularly so that we make it easier for journalists to get the information they want. We should also produce high-quality pictures and videos on these platforms, have facts and figures because they can quickly help journalists shape our narrative,” he said.
He further implored journalists reporting tourism stories to make stories which help drive knowledge about destination Uganda, distinguish Uganda from the other competitors and stimulate desire among tourists.
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