Poor Roads Affecting Tourism Sector

http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=56716

The poor road network in Rwenzori region could hurt the tourism industry there if nothing is done to repair them. The Rwenzori region is home to several tourist attractions such as National parks and crater lakes. However, the roads that lead to the tourist’s sites are in a very poor state, which hinders access to areas rich in wildlife.

Some of the affected roads are the Fort Portal-Kamwenge road, which tourists use to access Kibaale National Park and the Karugutu- Rwebisengo road in Ntoroko district, which leads to the main gate Tooro-Semuliki game reserve. Edward Asilu, the Kibaale conservation area manager, which includes Kibaale and Semuliki national parks, says some of the activities affected by the poor roads include chimpanzee tracking.

Asilu says during the rainy seasons in the morning and afternoon, when tourists are going to Kibaale national park the roads are slippery which makes it difficult to access areas where the chimpanzees are found.

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Richard Tooro, the executive director Kabarole Tours and Travel says the deteriorating state of the roads in the region will reduce the number of visitors to the park.

Tooro says during the rainy season, local and international tourists are reluctant to book with tour operators in the region, because they may not access the national park. He says on several occasions, cars carrying tourists have broken down and left the tourists stranded.

According to Tooro, the tour operators spend huge sums of money to take their cars for repair in order to keep them roadworthy. Maria Mutagamba, the Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities admits that the poor infrastructure is one of the challenges facing the tourism industry. She however says government will embark on rehabilitating roads in Kanugu and Rwenzori region to ease access to tourism destinations.

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Mutagamba also says that Kasese and Chobe airstrips will be renovated to fly tourists to destinations in the Rwenzori region and wildlife rich areas in the country.

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This World Tourism Day Celebrations for Uganda were held in Fort Portal under the theme ‘Tourism and Water, protecting our common future’.