Elong’s blog

The Ministry of Tourism in Uganda together the Uganda Wildlife Authority launched a tourism campaign aimed at marketing the enormous potential of the local tourism industry even in these difficult economic times.

The campaign which was dubbed “Friend A Gorilla” focuses mainly on the marketing of gorilla tours online. It mainly focuses on the use of social networks like Twitter and Facebook to promote Uganda’s tourism potential. It involves tracking Uganda mountain gorillas online and other related tourism activities.

The new innovation involves subscribers via the social networks doing tourism activities like gorilla trekking as well as following other tourism related activities in Uganda online. It is a shift from the traditional brochures way of marketing to the use of internet technology in a quest to boost the local tourism potential in Uganda.

The launch of the campaign involved Hollywood actors and international celebrities like Nicholas Brendon, Jason Biggs, Kristy Wu, Simon Curtis and Eddie Kay in a event which many conservationists and the Uganda Wildlife Authority expected to bring the Country’s tourism potential to the fore.

This is something the Minister of Tourism Mr. Sarapio Rukundo hopes will not only help in fundraising money. “I wish to congratulate UWA for coming up with such an innovative strategy for fund-raising and marketing Uganda as a gorilla tourism destination,” the minister said.

“The Ministry of Tourism is supportive of new and modern ways of marketing and our future strategy will be to provide funding for this.”
According to UWA the project is expected to raise more than $100 million (approximately Shs220 billion) - which would be used in implementing conservation programmes of the wildlife conservation body.

The programme offers the tourism sector an opportunity to take advantage of the currently growing Information Communications Technology (ICT) industry to transition to international levels. Although the initiative has been given a nod locally, the achievements of the campaign may be realized in the long-run given the still low levels of internet connectivity both locally, regionally and in Africa - Uganda national parks

Africa, the second most populated continent has one of the least numbers of internet users and some analysts say the low numbers could bar majority Africans in supporting such online campaigns.

The launch comes in the wake of a revelation by Uganda Bureau of Statistics that the tourism industry was picking up after a slow in the last two years.
Quarterly tourist arrival figures indicated the sector had registered a 29.7 percent growth - Masai Mara tour

Kenya is one of the best safari destinations in the whole World. With its tour packages like the Masai Mara safari packages millions of tourists flock the Country to come see the greatest wildlife spectacle on Earth. Mega-herds of wildebeest numbering over 1.5 wildebeest, 200,000 zebras and a large number of gazelle move in their droves to and from the Serengeti national park in Tanzania and the Masai Mara national park in Kenya. A safari package to the Masai Mara national park is the great African safari Kenya itinerary for any tourist visiting Africa besides the Kruger and Serengeti.

It is common for most tourists visiting the Country to do a Masai Mara tour and gorilla trekking tour either in Uganda or Rwanda. This has become East Africa's major safari attractions. There are other Kenya safari attractions like Tsavo East and Tsavo West national parks; Amboseli safari, Aberdares national park.

Kenya also has Kenya beach holiday packages to the major tour destinations like Mombasa at the coast which is also doubled with honeymoon safaris that usually extends to Zanzibar.

For a true African Safaris, Tanzania is one of the places to visit. These include tour attractions like Serengeti safari whose main strength is the wildebeest migration consisting of over 1.5 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebras and other gazelles. The largest number of tourists visiting Tanzania come to visit the Serengeti national park which forms part of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. The annual wildebeest migration is due to the search of food and water due to the seasonal rainfall in the region. The vast plains of the Serengeti and Masai Mara national is often a spectacle to behold as millions of wildebeest and Zebras storm through the plains from one region to another with the movement of the rains.

The other major tour attraction to Tanzania is the Ngorongoro crater conservation area. The Ngorongoro crater is the largest caldera with a radius of approximately 15 kilometers. Its geographical location makes it ideal for wildlife conservation. For a Ngorongoro safari there are a number of Tanzania tour operators that you can find online to arrange for you a safari package to the region.

The other tour attractions include Tarangire national park, Selous national park, Mikumi etc. Tanzania offers mainly wildlife safaris although there are also hunting safari packages. With a coastline, there are a number of beach holiday packages for honeymoon safaris. The island of Zanzibar which is part of Tanzania is also a great place for any tourist in the region to visit. Zanzibar safaris are mainly for honeymooners with its crystal clear waters and white sand beaches.

Mountain gorillas are an endangered species of primates numbering just over 700 in the wild. The are found in the rain forest regions of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These gentle giants have become such a huge tourist attractions to these three African countries with Uganda and Rwanda benefiting the most from gorilla trekking as the region in the Democratic Republic of Congo is still facing pockets of armed resistant.
In Uganda alone the country earns a foreign exchange of hundreds of millions of dollars annually as a result of tourists visiting the country to tracking these endangered mountain gorillas.

Rwanda has however benefited the most as it realized early the importance of using tourism to highlight the plight of these mountain gorillas. The conservation efforts in the three countries have yielded fruit has the number of mountain gorillas which had dwindled as a result of massive poaching is slowing beginning to raise again.

Of all the tour packages to Uganda and Rwanda, mountain gorilla trekking features prominently as this is what attracts tourists the most. Mountain gorillas live in large families with a dominant male silver back gorilla as the alpha male. It is some of these families that have been habituated to offer the tourists a chance of seeing these creatures in the wild. A group of no more than 8 or 10 tourists are allowed to track these mountain gorillas families per day. Although Bwindi impenetrable forest has over 6 habituated families, the gorilla trekking permits are often booked well in advanced and attempts to book them a couple of days to the tracking date can be futile.

There are rules and regulations governing the the trekking of mountain gorillas some of which include;

• No tourist is allowed to track the gorillas when he or she is suffering from a bout of flu or cough as this leaves the mountain gorillas susceptible to attack. (the have 99% of our genes)
• When easing oneself in the jungles, you are required to dig a hole a couples of inches deep and cover it immediately after.
• No camera flash lights are allowed as this can be taken as a threat by the gorillas
• You are required to keep a reason distance between you and the gorillas when you finally encounter these majestic creatures.
• when approached by any of the gorillas, do not run or make a sudden movements.
• As earlier mentioned the groups are not to exceed the stipulated number

East Africa has plenty of tour attractions to offer, ranging from the beautiful and varied cultures to the landscapes and terrain. From the coastal towns of Mombasa and Dar es salaam in Kenya and Tanzania respectively to the Western Rift valley running through Tanzania, Rwanda and ending in the northern shores of Lake Albert in Uganda.

With respect to wildlife, East Africa has plenty of safari attractions to offer; these include;

1. Uganda safari Packages: Uganda though landlocked is teeming with wildlife and beautiful scenery. With over 10 national parks and game reserves Uganda is definitely fast becoming one of the top tour destinations in Africa. These include:
   
   •  Bwindi national park offering mainly gorilla tours , the park contains about 5 habituated mountain gorilla families that offer gorilla tracking opportunities to those wishing to view these endangered species of apes. There are currently about 720 mountain gorillas left in the wild, half of which can be found in this small national park consisting of mainly rainforest jungle.
     For more about mountain gorillas
   • Queen Elizabeth national park: this is one of the most popular safari parks in Uganda offering wildlife tour packages such as game viewing, game drives, birding tours etc. Some of the game to expect are elephants, buffaloes, leopards, lions, giraffes, antelopes, hippos, elands etc
     
2. Kenya Safari Packages: Kenya is where the world safari originated from. There are a number of Kenya tour packages to offer such as;
   
   • Masai Mara tour
   • Wildebeest migration
   • Aboseli national park tour
3. Rwanda Safari Packages: Rwanda also known as the Land of a Thousand Hills was once a addon destination to Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania but has now gained recognition as a travel destination by its own right. The major tour attractions are:
   
   • Mountain gorilla tour
   • Birding tour
   • Chimpanzee tour at Nyungwe national park
   • Golden monkey tour
4. Tanzania Safari packages: Tanzania has long been a safari tour destination attracting people from all over the world. Some of the Tanzania tours packages to expect are;
   
   • Tanzania vacations
   • Serengeti safari
   • Ngorongoro safari
   • Wildebeest migration