UWA Launches Open Park Days For Ugandans

In a quest to promote domestic tourism and fostering a deeper connection with Uganda’s natural heritage, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has launched the Open Park Days initiative. This is the first time Uganda wildlife Authority has launched the open park days. Unlike South Africa that offers a week long open park experience to South Africans, Uganda wildlife Authority only offered two days. It is not clear why they only offered two days but there is a likelihood that it is an attempt to see how people will respond.

The promotion goes on between 17th to 18th October 2024. Among the parks that this offer applies include Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park and Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve. This implies that you will have to plan for probably one national park.

However, the promotion has received several negative reactions. It is only fitting to people who already had travel plans to these national parks. A Ugandan pays less than $10 per 24 hours but for a Ugandan to get to any of these national parks, they will need a minimum of $30. For the open park day to make better sense, there would have been a collaboration with Uganda Tourism Board to arrange free or discounted transport means to the national parks.

According to Stephen Masaba; the Director of Tourism and Business Development at Uganda wildlife Authority, the open park days initiative is part of Uganda wildlife Authority to efforts to boost domestic tourism.

Domestic tourism has for a long time been affected by the transportation and accommodation. Unless someone considers camping, what is considered budget accommodation is still way above the budget of most Ugandans. Even when this promotion is expected to be received with open hands, it is unclear whether many Ugandans are in position to embrace it. Local tour operator who specialize in local tours are likely to put out promotions to tap into this offer that will last for two days.

It is important to note that the offer does not apply to mountainous national park as well as the primate national parks. Park entrances for Kibale forest national park, Bwindi impenetrable national park, Rwenzori mountains national park, Semuliki national park, Mgahinga national park and Mountain Elgon national park still stand.

In conclusion, the Open Park Days initiative is more than just a promotional campaign; it is an experiment for Uganda wildlife Authority to better understand how to connect the Ugandan citizens to their natural heritage. As Uganda continues to recover from the challenges of recent years, initiatives like this will play a crucial role in driving the tourism sector forward and building a more resilient, sustainable economy.