AUTO-UWA – Uganda tour operator – Uganda safaris and tours.
A consultation meeting was organized by AUTO-UWA and the Uganda tourist Board to address and resolve issues pertaining to the Ugandan tourist business. On January 18, 2016, the Uganda Museum hosted this AUTO-UWA conference.
The group included over fifty travel providers. On hand to address tourist-related topics were the Uganda Tourism Association president, UWA’s head of tourism development, and the association’s deputy executive director.
AUTO-UWA – Uganda tour operator – Uganda safaris and tours.
According to the Director of Tourism Development at the Uganda Wildlife Authority, AUTO-UWA inked a pact stipulating that for every 30 permits purchased by AUTO members, the organization would get a certain number of gorilla permits. He assured us that everything was OK and that the second batch was still in the works. That negotiation, rather than arguing, has built connections between AUTO and UWA.
Additionally, the head of tourism business and development brought attention to recent advancements that might be advantageous to AUTO-UWA. He informed us that the national park’s roads had been upgraded with the help of road equipment purchased with funds from the UNDP. According to him, the roads in Lake Mburo and Murchison Falls National Parks were almost finished.
Additionally, he apprised the assembled members that UWA had constructed a trail in the southern section of Murchison Falls National Park, close to the falls’ peak, to facilitate tourism on that side of the park. At the AUTO-UWA consultative meeting, participants were informed that UWA has begun moving giraffes from the northern bank to the southern banks.
This move aims to increase activity on the southern banks and lessen the impact of oil extraction on the northern banks, according to the meeting. The relocation of giraffes from Murchison Falls to Lake Mburo earlier this year has increased tourist to Lake Mburo, the park nearest to Kampala, thanks to the giraffes’ relocation.
AUTO-UWA Problems
The introduction of fees for night game drives was another factor impacting the relationship between AUTO and UWA. Uganda Tour operators are not happy with the new tariffs since they require them to register their cars at a price of USD300.00 per vehicle if they want to perform night wildlife drives in Uganda National Parks.
Additionally, UWA has bought buses to take visitors to the national park, which has strained ties between AUTO and UWA, according to tour operators, who believe that the public agency should focus on conservation rather than business.
