Over 500 local, regional and foreign tourists attended the first day of the four-day Uganda’s culinary and cultural festival at the Diani Reef Beach Resort in Kwale.
Uganda is holding the festival across four counties along the Kenyan coast, aiming to attract both Kenyan and international visitors to their nation.
The country has organized an array of cultural events at Diani Reef in Kwale, Ocean Beach in Malindi, Vipingo Ridge in Kilifi, and Fort Jesus in Mombasa.
On Saturday, a golf tournament will also be held at Vipingo Ridge, Kilifi County, as part of the festival.
The major aim of the festival is to expose the unique Ugandan products to a wider number of corporate Kenyans, the youth and other regional and international tourists in the Kenya coast.
On Wednesday evening, the Uganda Festival Kwale Edition was held at the magnificent Diani Reef Beach Resort in Diani.
Uganda Consul General in Mombasa, Ambassador Paul Mukumbya, said Kenya and Uganda cross-border tourism has very big potential, which is yet to be fully exploited.
Last year, Kenya received about 200,000 Ugandan visitors, and at least 500,000 Kenyans crossed the border to Uganda for tourism and business.
“Kenya is the number one source market for visitors to Uganda. Last year, the figures that were recently released by our Ministry of Tourism indicated that almost 500,000 Kenyans visited Uganda,” said Mukumbya.
He added, “And for Kenya, Uganda is the number two source market for visitors. And last year, about 200,000 Ugandans visited Kenya.”
He said this year’s Uganda Festival is mainly targeting the wider corporate Kenya community.
“This is because we want more Kenyans to travel to Uganda,” he said.
He said travelling to Uganda is easier and cheaper because Kenyans only need national identity cards (IDs) to cross the border.
“Whereas to go anywhere else, you need a visa and maybe an air ticket, for a Kenyan to go to Uganda, you don’t need any of those. You don’t need a visa. You don’t even need a passport. All you need is your national identity card,” said Mukumbya.
According to Mukumbya, Kenya and Uganda need to focus on the regional markets to promote growth in the tourism sector in the region.
“That is why we are sensitizing more Kenyans and more international visitors to come and sample products in Uganda,” he said.
During the Kwale edition, the guests were treated to a two-hour cultural dance and entertainment from the Ndere Troupe, and Ugandan comedian Anne Kansiime.
The guests also had an opportunity to sample Uganda’s cuisines.
Kwale Deputy Governor Chirema Kombo said they will continue working together with Uganda to improve the tourism products available in the Kenya coast.
He said Kwale has investment opportunities in tourism, real estate, agriculture, livestock, and mining, among others.
“We welcome you to these opportunities and feel free to discuss with us your areas of interest,” he said.
He added that the Kwale County government is cognizant of the importance of culture in inspiring socio-economic development.
Last December, Kwale organized the first Kwale County Cultural Festival that brought together various communities in Kwale to showcase their culture.
“We have deliberately supported various cultural groups to improve on their traditional song and dance performance,” he said.
