On January 21, Uganda hosted the inaugural Uganda-China Tourism and Cultural Symposium, a one-day event aimed at promoting tourism development and reinforcing cultural exchange between the two states.
Themed “Bridging Cultures, Enhancing Cooperation: Unlocking Uganda-China Tourism Potential,” the event drew in various participants including government officials from Uganda and the Chinese Embassy, tourism stakeholders like tour operators from both Uganda and China as well as tourism enthusiasts who partook in the numerous activities of the day – seminars, product/service exhibition, cultural and culinary engagements.
Speaking during the symposium, the Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities (MTWA) Hon. Tom Butime noted that Uganda immensely values the Chinese market, “which represents a valuable opportunity to grow our tourism sector.”
The Minister added, “China’s rich cultural heritage and rapidly growing outbound tourism make it a natural partner for us as we strive to develop new tourism products.”
The Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong reiterated China’s willingness to work with Uganda to “deepen tourism cooperation, tap the potentials of tourism in promoting social economic transformation, and encourage more Chinese tourists to visit Uganda to further enhance cultural and people-to-people exchanges.”
This was re-echoed by the Head of China Delegation in Uganda, Dai Bin who is also the President of the China Tourism Academy, while presenting a paper on creating a bespoke Ugandan model for China-Africa Tourism cooperation citing the recovery of the industry globally and the need to harness the existing ties between Uganda and China.
Bin emphasized that for Uganda to tap into the growing Chinese tourist source market, the country needs to bolster her tourism promotion efforts and policy coordination. The tourism expert highlighted areas of focus including participating in promotional events in China, conducting tourism seminars and exhibitions as well as capitalizing on the existing notion of China’s and Uganda’s friendly cities to drum up interest for destination Uganda.
CSR at Toro Babies Home, Fort Portal
Following the day’s successful symposium, tourism and cultural exhibition, and dinner, the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities organized a 3-day tour to Western Uganda for the Chinese delegation aimed at giving the tour operators a glimpse into Uganda’s bountiful attractions.
Apart from Fort Portal’s scenic crater lakes trail, the mesmerizing wild encounters of Queen Elizabeth National Park in Kasese and the highly anticipated sundowner boat cruise on Kazinga Channel, the Chinese delegation also participated in a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) drive at Toro Babies Home in Fort Portal on Jan 22.
The Tourism Ministry has made CSR a vital element geared towards directly impacting and bettering needy communities in tourist destinations.
From supporting schools with scholastic and structural resources, aiding individuals and private entities like babies’ homes, the Ministry brings the much-needed relief to recipients through direct donations while also enabling partnering private entities to widen their scope for CSR in the tourism sphere.
Toro Babies Home was inaugurated on September 19th 1970, founded by the Diocese of Rwenzori -Church of Uganda and the Catholic Diocese of Fort Portal, emulating the ideals of Sanyu Babies Home in Kampala which was under the Namirembe Diocese Church of Uganda (Anglican).
Toro Babies home currently has 51 children, 26 females and 25 males, including 11 who are under six months.
The entity takes care of abandoned children whose biological parents aren’t known. Some of the children’s parents are deceased while others are mentally impaired and not in position to take care of them. Some of the children are the physically disabled who were neglected by their parents.
Some of the donated items include diapers, TVs, Food Stuffs, playing items and monetary contributions.
Speaking at the event, Fr. Joseph Musana, the Chairman of the Board Toro Babies Home noted that the entity needs daily supplies such as food, formula for the babies under 6 months, clothes, toiletries, medicine among others.
“Then we have the monthly utility bills including electricity, water, salaries for the workers and purchases of equipment such as wheel chairs whenever need arises. We rely on donations and charities from individuals and groups of people abroad, the Ugandan community and other NGOs to meet our costs. We appreciate this grand donation because it covers a good weeks-supply. This will go along way in reducing our burden,” Fr. Musana said.
In his remarks, Minister Tom Butime emphasized that children abandoned by their parents are still part of the community and need to be looked after, highlighting the importance of incorporating CSR in travel itineraries.
“If children can find solace and comfort in a community, it shows the responsiveness of that particular community to society needs. I am happy that the Ambassador chose to visit this community, in addition to visiting the tourist attractions in the region,” he said.
To this end, Ambassador Lizhong noted that Uganda and China share a brotherhood that dates back to the 1970s and the fates of the two countries are interwoven. He stated that the cooperation between China and Uganda stretches to various sectors including infrastructural developments and that tourism is another venture that is being pursued.
“What people need most is development because that helps them live a better life. Fort Portal has positioned itself as a tourism city although it still lacks some resources in capacity building, technology and general funding. Our input today is just a minor part of what Fort Portal can gain by positioning itself in the tourism sector,” Ambassador Lizhong said.
He added, “Some of these gifts were provided by Chinese enterprises operating in Uganda such as the diapers from Softcare and the two TV sets provided by the Embassy. We always encourage the Chinese companies to carry out Corporate Social Responsibility and we are glad that most of them are adhering to the call. They understand that because of the enabling business environment, they come here and make money so we encourage them to give part of the profits to the local communities. I thank the Minister and the Tourism Ministry for giving us the opportunity to meet the babies.”
He stated that the visit to the babies home gave the delegation a better understanding of Fort Portal as a City where tourism thrives but also a community that still struggles with issues that are not unique to it but affect other areas even in China.
The CSR event climaxed with the reveal of a hand-painted picture of the Babies’ Home outlook by the Ambassador’s wife Lin Yagun who joined other painters from the community for an abstract art session.
The delegation thereafter headed to Kasese to continue the familiarization trip for China’s top tour operators from top ranking tour agencies such as Shanghai Spring International Travel Services among others.