Busoga Kingdom is ready and anticipating to host tourists in the forthcoming Explore Busoga domestic tourism campaign, the Kingdom Tourism Minister, Hellen Namutamba has said.
“The King has accepted that people who are coming to visit Busoga also access the palace. I want to welcome you, those who wanted to have a physical look at our handsome king and the beautiful Inhebantu (the Queen). The King has okayed the visit to Igenge palace. He has also okayed the visit to the Kagulu Rock, the heart of Busoga,” Namutamba said.
She made these remarks on Thursday during the launch of the Explore Busoga campaign held at Emin Pasha Hotel in Kampala, presided over by the State Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Hon. Martin Mugarra Bahinduka.
The campaign is scheduled for February 13th to 17, 2024.
Speaking during the launch, Minister Mugarra noted that whereas travel enthusiasts have over the years flocked Jinja for adventure, there is still more discover in the region. He rallied people to embrace local travel and appreciate the natural beauty Busoga boosts.
“Apart from the adventure activities one can do in Jinja, it’s always good for someone to take a break from their routine, be somewhere and refresh the mind. Jinja is close to Kampala so I encourage people to join us as we extend the Explore Uganda message to Busoga,” he said.
This is the fifth edition of the explore Uganda series – domestic tourism promotional drives aimed at among others; creating awareness on what’s not known about Uganda’s tourism, spotlighting new attractions, further profiling existing sites, inspiring local travel, activating regional tourism clusters and introducing new itineraries.
These domestic tourism campaigns meant to traverse the different regions of the country kicked off in December 2022 with the inaugural edition dubbed Explore Elgon which drew in more than 300 domestic tourists for a 4-day expedition in Bugisu.
This would be followed by Explore West held in April 2023, Explore North (June 2023) and Explore Bunyoro (September 2023).
The launch was also graced by the Mayor of Jinja City Peter Kasolo who emphasized that the people of Busoga are privileged to be the hosts and are positioning themselves to benefit from the 5-day tour and tourism as a whole.
“Jinja City is one of the places in Uganda that has the most sought-after tourist attractions in the country an we are happy to host tourists and show them around during this Explore Busoga campaign. This is important because it will encourage other people, even the locals in Busoga to pick up the local travel interest and support the industry,” Mayor Kasolo said.
He added, “As Jinja City, we have an entire department that handles tourism. The Kingdom also has one. So, we are prepared to host people in a safe environment and have them explore the attractions that Busoga is richly blessed with.”
The itinerary has activities such as meetings with the tourism stakeholders in Busoga, visit to infrastructural sites such as the Nalubaale bridgr, Kakira Sugar Factory, CSR drives at some schools, visit to Bujagali for tubing, Bungee Jumping, horse riding, quad biking, Kagulu Hill hiking challenge, cultural immersion at the Igenge Palace among others.
The campaign, like all the others before it, has influencers including domestic tourism ambassador and renowned kickboxer Golola Moses, Jinja musical export John Blaq, Content Creator Derrick Ssenyonyi, Miss Tourism queens among others.