By KT Reporter
The Acholi business community has been urged to raise their standards of customer care in preparation for more than 30,000 local and international guests expected to attend the inaugural Oktoberfest in Gulu City.
Walter Okidi Ladwar, the chairperson of the local organizing committee, emphasized the festival’s potential to boost tourism and stimulate the local economy, if matched with excellent hospitality.
Talking to journalists about the progress of preparations for the event on Friday, Ladwar expressed concerns about how business owners handle clients poorly in Acholi and asked them to start preparing in basic customer care skills such as communication, time management, hygiene, and cultural sensitivity.
Alfred Okwonga, the mayor of Gulu City, said the upcoming event presents an opportunity for local entrepreneurs, hotel managers, boda boda riders, craft vendors, and restaurant owners.
Okwonga revealed that the festival organisers are contacting officials from the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, as well as the Uganda Tourism Board, to come and teach a few people in the hospitality sector.
He explained that the impression the sub-region makes on visitors at this inaugural event will determine its success in subsequent years, as it is expected to become an annual event.
Acholi sub-region boasts several tourism sites that remain underdeveloped and underutilized. Among them are the Amuru Hot Springs and Guru-Guru Hills in Amuru district, Fort Patiko in Gulu district, Aringa Falls and Agoro Hills in Lamwo district, Aruu Falls in Pader, and Aringa Blue Stream in Kitgum district.
It is believed that if popularized, these tourism cites can be an annual source of income for the administrative units they are found, as well as locals who provide services for the tourists.
Okwonga stressed that the sub-region, which is on record for being the poorest in the country, relies heavily on agriculture, and the population should think of developing the tourism and hospitality sectors to increase revenue to administrative units as well as households.
Christine Akello, a craft seller in Gulu City, acknowledged the concerns of the organisers of the festival.
Akello explained that while the sub-region is rich in culture and natural beauty, habits such as delayed food service, lack of clear pricing, and unprofessional conduct always paint the business community black and remain an obstacle to sustainable tourism.
Akello, who acknowledges that she wasn’t excellent in customer care, explained that she taught herself how to care for her clients after she noticed that some clients walked away in silence when she talked to them a certain way.
“You may have the best food and cleanest room, but if your waiter is rude or inattentive, the guest won’t return. We must treat every visitor or buyer as an ambassador for future business,” Akello said.
Pamela Akumu, a seller of shea butter, urged fellow business owners to see the event as a form of cultural diplomacy.
“When you treat a buyer or tourist with respect and excitement, you are not just serving a customer, you are telling the story of who the Acholi people are,” Akumu said, adding, “The best souvenir our visitors can carry home is the memory of being treated like family.”
Scheduled for October 6–14, 2025, the first cultural festival in Gulu is modeled after the famous German cultural event. It will feature a blend of German and Acholi traditions through music, food, dance, and art.
According to the chairperson local organizing committee, they are in contact with partners in Germany and at least 600 German nationals, are expected to participate in this year’s festivities.
Although it was inspired by the German Oktobertest, which is known as a beer festival- the organisers say the Gulu City Oktoberfest will be more than a beer festival, but a manifestation if the sub-regions’ journey through music, cuisine, performance, and storytelling, while bringing together local communities, cultural groups across the country and international partners.
Some of the activities lined up for the event include: cultural exhibitions featuring artifacts, traditional attire, and independence archives, music and dance performances from different regions of Uganda, poetry and storytelling night focusing on liberation struggles.
Others are; cultural fusion night featuring Ugandan and German Music Collaborations, intercultural dialogue on preserving indigenous traditions in a globalized world, and live performances by Ugandan legends and emerging artists, among others-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
