Turkish Tour Operators Thrilled By Uganda's Tourist Attractions

Kenneth Kazibwe

A group of 20 guests from the Republic of Turkiye are currently on familiarisation trip to Uganda to visit the country's tourist attractions.

The 20 who are led by the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB) are part of the trip coordinated by Uganda's Ambassador to Turkiye, Nusura Tiperu in collaboration with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ministry of Tourism and the Uganda Tourism.

According to the group, they have been mesmerized by the Equator, long stretches of greenery, Uganda's warm-hearted people and the beautiful animals especially in Queen Elizabeth national park among the attractions they have so far visited and have since shared photos to show their excitement.

Commenting about the trip, Tiperu said the trip is meant to foster closer collaboration and create synergies between Uganda and Turkish tour operators and agencies.

"This is also an opportunity to showcase Uganda's abundant tourism potential to the Turkish market. They are here to see what is unique about Uganda so that they can attract some of their clients to come and see what we have to offer," Tiperu said.

She said the tour operators from Turkiye will later meet their counterparts from Uganda for collaboration as the beginning of bringing tourists from Turkiye to Uganda.

"Turkiye has almost 15000 travel agencies and every year they rake 15million tourists into the country. We may not be able to get the 15 million but this can be the beginning of many Turkish tourists to Uganda. Now that the team is here, they will look at the nature, scenery, the beautiful animals and everything that Uganda can offer for tourists to come here."

A 2017 Expert Insider survey and published by the BBC described Uganda as the friendliest country in the world following the survey conducted among expatriates globally.

Uganda is home to an array of bucket list experiences that in combination can't be experienced in any other one country on earth.

These include the Big 5 + 2 (Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, Gorilla and Chimpanzee) safari and primate experiences, boat cruises on the Nile River and fresh water bodies and a myriad of adventure activities such as white-water rafting, bungee jumping and mountaineering among others.

Uganda's capital, Kampala has also been branded by tourists as the East African nightlife capital due to an array of activities one can do at night in Kampala and Entebbe.

A phrase, 'Kampala doesn't sleep' has since been coined out of this state of affairs.

September 29, 2023