Uganda is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies to expand tourism earnings and diversify the sector beyond its traditional reliance on wildlife and national parks, as preparations intensify for this year’s World Tourism Day celebrations in Mbale City.
The national celebrations, scheduled for September 27, will be held under the theme “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism”, putting technology at the centre of efforts to make Ugandan destinations more visible and competitive.
At the launch of the Tourism Month at Marriott Kampala on Thursday, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Ms Doreen Katusiime, said Uganda received 793,815 international visitors between January and June this year, a 3.7 per cent increase from the same period in 2025.
More significantly, tourism receipts increased by 25.6 per cent to about Shs2.30 trillion, while the average length of stay rose from 7.4 to 8.3 nights.
“These figures demonstrate that tourism continues to make an important contribution to our economy,” Ms Katusiime said, adding that government now wants visitors to stay longer, explore more destinations and spend more across the tourism value chain.
She said digital technology and AI could help achieve this by improving marketing, customer engagement, visitor experiences, data analysis and business decision-making.
“The modern traveller increasingly discovers destinations online, compares experiences, makes bookings and payments digitally, reads reviews and shares experiences through social media and other digital platforms,” Ms Katusiime said.
She, however, warned that some small tourism businesses remain behind in adopting digital technologies and called on established enterprises to share knowledge and develop affordable solutions for smaller operators.
“Our digital transformation must be inclusive. No tourism business should be left behind,” she said.
The technology push comes as the government seeks to change how Uganda markets itself as a destination by reducing its dependence on the traditional wildlife and safari offering.
Uganda Tourism Board chief executive officer Juliana Kagwa said taking the celebrations to Mbale is part of a deliberate effort to decentralise tourism promotion and expose the country to attractions beyond the conventional national parks and wildlife destinations.
“We are actually on a very serious and intentional journey of decentralising tourism from the usual traditional national parks, wildlife, Rift Valley, over-reliance on just landscape and wildlife,” Ms Kagwa said.
“We’re now going into the culture, the heritage, the provenance of our people.”
The Elgon region provides an example of this approach, with government seeking to promote attractions including Wanale Hills, Sipi Falls, Mount Elgon National Park, coffee tourism and cultural heritage.
Ms Kagwa urged communities in the region to use the month-long campaign to tell their own story, particularly through digital and traditional media.
“Is it the coffee? Is it the Imbalu? Is it everything about Mbale that makes you special? This is your time,” she said.
For Mbale City, hosting the national celebrations is also an opportunity to attract investment and develop tourism products, according to Mayor Joyce Matuka Kidulu.
She said regional destinations require greater support if government wants to spread tourism beyond established attractions.
“If we are going to promote other regions for tourism, then we need to see how much we can be supported, how much we can do so that we can attract more people to come and see what is in the other regions,” Ms Matuka said.
She said the city has been preparing for the celebrations and appealed to government agencies and other stakeholders to work with the city so that the event generates lasting benefits.
“We need your support. We need to work together to make sure that this will be beautiful, celebrated, and all of us will benefit,” she said.
The World Tourism Day celebrations are expected to provide a national platform for promoting Mbale and the wider Elgon region, while linking tourism promotion to technology, cultural heritage and local economic opportunities.
