Tour operators have asked the tourism ministry to finance development of heritage sites in Busoga sub region, which are its main tourist attractions. Busoga kingdom is composed of 11 chiefdoms, with each hosting a number of heritage sites, both known and undocumented alike.
Some of the tourism sites include; Bishop Hannington site, The Luba-Thurston fort, Walumbe caves, Bukaleeba hill, The channel at Kityerera, Nduwa beach and hill, Buswikira shrines, Bukaleeba peninsula, among others are located in Bunya chiefdom, the modern day Mayuge district.
These sites lack access roads, utilities like water and electricity, which has deterred investment in recreational facilities, a major driver in attracting tourists.
Rose Namukose, a tour operator says that most of Busoga’s tourism sites carry modern civilization aspects in terms of religion, trade and the academia, but little is written about them.
This she says frustrates efforts of selling their stories to the world and emphasizing the relevance of the same for generations to come.
Namukose says that, she registers an estimated of 40 tourists interested in nature tourism monthly, during peak seasons but, due to poor roads challenges, most of them neither return nor recommend other tourists.
These she says comprise international visitors from theological circles, who travel in groups of lecturers, students and researchers. Others she says are students of African history, tracing the impact of slave trade and other societal evils on local communities, from the 19th century todate.
Allen Nabugodi, another tour operator, says that some tourism sites can be traced via google maps, but they are physically covered in gardens, making them less attractive to tourists.
She says that the sites equally lack tour guides, making it hard for tourists to rebuild interesting stories from the already ruined sites overtime.
She also complains of hills and rocks, which have been destroyed by unregulated quarrying activities, yet they possess a wealth of ancient traces of archealogy, which interest tourists from the academia.
Nabugodi argues that reluctance in preserving these historic sites is overly frustrating the diversification of heritage tourism, as a key product in marketing destination Busoga.
On her part, the permanent secretary of the tourism ministry, Doreen Kansiime says that, they have invested in the modernization of the Source of River Nile, which is a key international tourist attraction located in Jinja city.
This, she says, will improve on the tourism experience and increase their stay in not only Jinja city, but also other tourist attractions across Busoga sub region.
She says that, the ministry has also supported the development of Bishop Hannington site, Thurston site, Kagulu rock in Buyende district, among others. She adds that the ministry is committed towards diversification of different tourism products and marketing them across the world-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
