East African Business Week

KAMPALA, UGANDA- Uganda has vigorously embarked on a campaign to train safari guides to ensure that they meet the East African Community tourist guiding standards.
According to Mr. Herbert Byaruhanga the president of the Uganda Safari Guides Association (USAGA), a grouping of all safari guides, the measure is aimed at ensuring that Ugandan guides can be able to acquire jobs anywhere in the EAC member countries as well be able to give the right information to tourists without any tasks.
"The song is now EAC. We cannot look on as our guides are being surpassed by guides from other EAC member countries. We have to build their capacity to meet the required standards," explained Byaruhanga who is also the president of East African Safari Guides Federation.
He noted that though there has been very little or no input from the government and its agencies regarding boosting the capacity of the guides, USAGA as a body took the mantle to ensure that members do not lag behind.
"These guides are the eye of the country tourism. What they tell a tourist may break or make the industry," he added.
Byaruhanga noted though it's very important to market Uganda's tourism abroad, it's also key that the government empower all stakeholders in the industry to wave away a bad image that can be created by some of the stakeholders.
"The bad image can be created knowingly or unknowingly," he noted.
Forty five safari guides from different tour companies sat the level one examination that would pass crowned with the bronze award that would ensure that they could guide anywhere in the EAC partner states.
Uganda last year recorded close to 840,000 tourists according to the government tourism marketing agency Uganda Tourism Board. It is anticipated that an increase in the number of tourists that flock Uganda could increase on the foreign exchange earned hence increasing on the availability of the dollars.
This can in turn lead the weakening Uganda Shilling to gain some weight against the dollar.