RUKARARWE: ANOTHER COMMUNITY TOURISM INITIATIVE IN UGANDA

Positioned in Nyakabirizi Division in the municipality of Ishaka-Bushenyi 4km off the highway connecting Bushenyi and Kasese, the Rukararwe Centre enjoys the fascinating raised vantage points of Irembeezi hills along with various tree species canopies making it a perfect Uganda safari stop point for the travelers to the western Uganda destinations.
The Rukararwe Partnership Workshop for Rural Development (RPWRD) presents a diversified experience with great aspect of ecotourism which is currently one of the niches in the Uganda tour products. The centre was founded by the late Samson Nyine Bitahwa in the year 1986 with the intention of promoting self reliance among the community members to minimize donor dependency which would be achieved through undertaking a myriad of projects.
Among these projects included; Crafts Against Poverty (CAP) featuring Women that make handicrafts and sell them at the site thus stimulating them to make use of their skills and earn a living. The products include; bracelets, necklaces, earrings, drums, glass beads, shakers, harp among others.
The second project of the centre is Bushenyi Medical and Traditional Healers Association that came into being in the year 1988 joining together western-trained and traditional healers and this group features a count of 75 healers with a functioning clinic and a laboratory with 30 herbal medicine categories as viewed by the interested travelers on safaris in Uganda.
 The Rukararwe Centre also features a four (4) acre forest providing a rich habitat to myriad of bird species among which include; the Paradise Fly catcher, Crested Crane, Sunbirds, Common bulu-bulu, Hammer kop, Sparrow, Wood pecker, Rose Taracho and the nocturnal like Owl. This makes the centre of interest to the birders on birding safaris and tours in Uganda.
The Irembeezi Hills present a remarkable nature walk which is also spiced up by the community interaction that offers the guests with a courteous welcome with Ekitaguriro – the traditional dance of the Banyankole. The hike itself is a therapeutic encounter for the High blood pressure and diabetes patients as it helps to exercise the body. The visitors can as well be treated to local experiential encounters like making of local brew from bananas, traditional food preparation like Matooke, Eshabwe from Cow Ghee and the mingling of millet bread.
Besides the impressive activities, the Rukararwe center features accommodation in twelve (12) Cottages with traditional architecture configured as Single and double and are named after the common African animals like lions, Zebras, Elephants, Monkey among others. The accommodation is affordable at 50,000/= (about $15) for a double and 30,000/= (about $10) for Single rooms.

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIAL FOR JOB CREATION

The investment in tourism development is still seen as a viable venture that should be at the center of the Government along with the private sector to ensure the creation of jobs that would in turn reduce the nation’s percentage of unemployment and spur national development.
It can be noted that tourism and travel industry is listed among the expansive and vibrant industries thriving in the global economy.  The apparent developments on the continent of Africa indicate that tourism continues to attract investment both at regional and international level and the returns on the tourism investment still stand on top of others at global scale.
The development of niche tourism has proved successful such as gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda and the rate at which tourism investment has been increasing in the gorilla highlands is considerably high. The range of safari lodges have been constructed, park rangers recruited, tour companies opened, stop centers developed among other aspects that have in turn created god number of jobs for the natives and the foreigners as well.
Fortunately, tourism is an open sector that is actually more private sector driven than public. In this case, a harmonious investment climate needs to be created by the government to stimulate rapid investment by the private companies and individuals. Essentials like favorable road network, peace and security, favourable taxes, communication infrastructure along with other required infrastructure and incentives need to be put in place to enable the private sector thrive successfully. Aspects like promotion of viable business models, new technologies, legislation, institutional mechanisms, policies and regulation are still considered very significant in leveling the ground for tourism investment other than the finances themselves.
The 2011 report of World Bank indicated that the tourism sector accounted for one of every 20 jobs whether direct or indirect in the Africa’s Sub Sahara and notably among the very few global industries where women feature very well as managers and employees. This therefore gives tourism as an all inclusive sector that can favour the development of the community as a whole.
Uganda still features an investment gap in her tourism sector. The up country accommodation is not enough evidenced by total absence in the peak season which requires the Uganda safari undertakers to book far in advance meaning that the later can easily lose out. Besides accommodation, tourist transportation is still inadequate with absence of standard buses to operate transfers on long routes and coach tours. The stop centers along the major routes to various destinations are still not enough to the travelers on safaris and tours in Uganda. All these are areas worth investing in and enhance job creation.

UGANDA AND KENYA SUMMIT TO CURB THE POACHING OF ELEPHANTS IN AFRICA

The leaders of Africa along with other wildlife enthusiasts are crafting a new path which the African people will be at the forefront of saving elephants - one of the famous Uganda Safari products from poaching and eventual extinction in the wild.
The coalition also known as the Giants Club stands as a selection of African leaders joined by the entertainment and business gurus aimed at preventing the extinction of African elephant. The Giants Club consists of countries of Uganda, Gabon, Kenya and Botswana which are among the main elephant dwelling areas in Africa prompting the world travelers to plan travels to them including safaris to Uganda.
In a bid to take this conservation move forward, the Presidents of these mentioned countries have arranged a two day meeting which has commenced today 29^th April 2016 in Nairobi Kenya.  President Museveni is noted to have been the first leader in the East African Community to second the initiative of the Giants Club in the month of July 2015 and has since then been at the conservation forefront. The elephant population in Uganda is noted to have risen from 700 - 800 in 1980s to about 6,000 elephants according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) noted that in the year 2013, over 20,000 African elephants were hunted down for ivory tusks and even in the year 2014, the figure is almost the same. The range of 60% of the elephant carcasses that were surveyed across the continent of Africa in the year 2014 indicated that these elephants had lost their lives in the poachers’ hands.
Cites notes that the figure above the 50% is considerably high and definitely creates decline in the elephant population and the conservation advocates anticipate that if the poaching is not put to the end, the African elephants might encounter extinction in the few decades ahead.
The Abstract Report released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics in the year 2015 puts the elephant population in Kenya at 38,000 while the report asserts that the destination Uganda is registering a success story globally when other countries are fighting with the decreasing counts. This keeps Uganda positive on the continuity of this species which form a considerable component of travel products sought after by travelers on safaris and tours in Uganda.  However, Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) shows that killed elephants form the biggest part of Uganda’s illegal wildlife trade and most of this ivory is taken to China.

.

UGANDA TOURISM BOARD RESUMES THE HOTEL RATINGS

The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) the lead marketing agency of the Uganda Safari tour products along with ensuring their standards has embarked on another move to classify and grade hotels along with the related accommodation facilities.
The exercise conducted by the Quality Assurance Department under the Uganda Tourism Board commenced operation on 21^st March with the aim of verifying the hotels on whether they meet the minimum requirements to serve the guests including those on safari in Uganda.
The classification will follow the minimum requirements and as a result, no hotel would receive any classification without an independent assessment according to the Quality Assurance coordinator Mr. James Ssebagala.
This rating exercise is the second of its kind following the 2014 hotel rating and classification which was conducted by the same body under the Ministry of Tourism Wildlife and Antiquities. According the Uganda Tourism Board Chief Executive Director Mr. Stephen Asiimwe, the ongoing exercise is an inventory taking process that would definitely generate a guiding list in assessing and standardizing Uganda’s accommodation facilities.  Asiimwe further notes that hotel classification arrangement follows similar standards set by the members of the East African Community as it is stipulated in the tourism sector agenda of the integration scheme. This aims at enhancing uniformity and creating ease in selling of East Africa as a single tourist destination.
The ongoing grading covers both intangible and physical service that is expected for a hotel or any other accommodation facility in the respective category and the classification level.  The region of East Africa follows the star rating criteria with one (1) star standing for the lowest while the highest is marked by five (5) stars. However, the Restaurants and Motels differ with three (3) to five (5) and one (1) to three (3) respectively. Generally the one star facility features basic facilities with the minimum to ensure guest comfort including budget travelers on Uganda tours while the five star hotel would feature complete luxury and lush amenities considered at International level.
The East African criteria for the purposes of categorization groups hotels under the following forms; Town Hotels which are near or within town centers, Vacation hotels positioned near a holiday resort, Motels positioned along highways, Villas Cottages and Service Apartments which are commercial but located in holiday resort areas suitable for self catering clientele and Lodges and Tented Camps positioned near or within wilderness areas with plenty of fauna and flora.

SERENA HOTELS; THE LEADING HOTEL BRAND IN AFRICA

The Serena Hotels spread in the region of East and Southern Africa provide upmarket accommodation services to the world travelers including those on safaris in Uganda.  This service has made them famous and their quality of environment, facilities and service continue to elevate their chain to greater heights.
Hosted by the Diamonds La Gemma dell'Est on the extreme north of Zanzibar, the recently concluded red carpet event had counts of hundred industry leaders present when the Serena Hotels scooped a myriad of twelve (12) awards in various categories. These awards included the top award as leading Africa hotel brand at the World Travel Awards 2016 which acknowledges rewards and celebrates excellence across the tourism and travel industry globally.
The individual hotels scooped the honors with Nairobi Serena Hotel for the second time announced as the leading green hotel in Africa commemorating the chain’s commitment to environmental sustainability.  In the destination Uganda, Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort and Spa scooped the award of having the best Presidential suite in Uganda which comes on top of many other rooms enjoyed by the travelers on holiday Uganda Safaris.  The yet to open state of the art 9 – 18 hole golf course overlooking Lake Victoria will be another remarkable addition to Serena Lake Victoria Hotel.
Serena Tanzania amazingly took a count of four (4) awards with the Dar es Salam Hotel standing as the leading business hotel in Tanzania along with it having the leading hotel suite. The Zanzibar Serena Hotel positioned in the historical Stone town is the leading hotel on Zanzibar Island the best Boutique hotel in Tanzania.
In destination Rwanda, the Kigali Serena Hotel which is among the top notch accommodation facilities for travelers on safaris in Rwanda stood as the leading hotel in Rwanda for the fifth (5^th) time while Polana Serena Hotel n Mozambique became leading hotel in Mozambique and the one with leading Presidential suite in Mozambique.
Serena Hotels have indeed positioned themselves to tap into the hearts and minds of the affluent travelers including those on business, political mission and leisure. The Kampala Serena Hotel and Lake Victoria Serena Hotel are top notch facilities that provide accommodation, conferences and workshops and bouquet functions to the affluent market. The similar category on Uganda safaris and tours have always found them rewarding.