Uganda’s tourism sector is experiencing a robust resurgence, marked by a notable increase in both international tourist arrivals and revenue, according to the recent Tourism Trends and Statistics Report 2025 released by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities (MTWA).
In 2024, Uganda welcomed 1,371,895 international tourists, reflecting a 7.7% increase compared to the 1,274,210 visitors in 2023. This growth signals a strong recovery and heightened interest in Uganda as a preferred tourism destination.
This indicates that the sector is closer to recovery, with 2019 as the benchmark, where a total of 1,542,620 inbound visitors were recorded.
The rise in arrivals is attributed to aggressive marketing and promotion efforts, infrastructural developments, and conservation initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, and other stakeholders.
The surge in tourist arrivals has translated into significant economic gains for Uganda. International tourist receipts grew by an impressive 25.9%, reaching USD 1.280 billion in 2024, up from USD 1.025 billion in 2023. This substantial increase in revenue underscores the sector’s growing contribution to Uganda’s economy.
Tourism’s direct contribution to Uganda’s GDP stood at 3.2% (UGX 6.06 trillion), and the sector supported over 803,000 jobs, representing 7.2% of total employment. These figures highlight the pivotal role of tourism as an anchor sector for job creation, economic growth, and inclusive development across the country.
This growth can be attributed to tourists staying longer, with the average stay increasing to 8.7 nights, and higher daily spending, averaging USD 125 per day.
In 2024, international tourists predominantly allocated their spending towards accommodation, food and beverage, passenger transport, and travel agency services, which collectively accounted for 79.8% of their expenditure. This highlights the importance of these direct service sectors to the tourism industry.
While arrivals have seen growth, there’s a notable strategic shift towards attracting higher-spending tourists, enhancing the value derived from each visitor.
India, the USA, and China emerged as Uganda’s key overseas markets, with growing interest from Canada and Bangladesh. Notably, there has been a positive trend in leisure tourism, with the share of leisure visitors increasing from 16% to 19% in 2024, indicating the effectiveness of promotional efforts. This growth in leisure travel underscores Uganda’s increasing allure as a destination for holidaymakers.
The accommodation sector maintained stability in 2024, with the national average hotel room occupancy rate at 53.2%. Kampala led with the highest average occupancy rate at 68.3%, driven by increases in domestic tourism, particularly for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions), business, and leisure travel.
Domestic tourism also played a crucial role, with approximately 2.8 million Ugandans participating in domestic travel. There was a notable 15.7% increase in domestic tourism within National Parks. In terms of wildlife tourism, visitor entries into the National Parks increased by 12.6%, and gorilla permit sales rose by 6.8%, signalling a strong interest in Uganda’s natural attractions.
The Director of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities at MTWA, Mr. Basil Ajer, stated, “Our goal is to increase Uganda’s attractiveness as a different tourism destination. And I’m sure we are partners, having the same objectives. We have five objectives under the Tourism Development Program, which talk about promoting domestically born tourism, improving the skills and capacities of personnel, conservation and diversification of the different tourism products, increasing the quality of infrastructure, and enhancing regulation in the sector.
Speaking on the report, MTWA Permanent Secretary, Doreen Katusiime, highlighted the sector’s importance in the national development agenda. “The upcoming fourth national government plan, as most of you may be aware, tourism is identified as one of the anchor sectors to create jobs, to grow standards of living and to promote inclusive development across the country. We have since witnessed a powerful rebound in the past four years. So 2024 was defined by continued recovery, strategic transformation, and renewed global interest in Uganda as a preferred destination to its destination, international.”
Uganda Tourism Board Chairperson, Pearl Hoareau Kakooza, emphasized the need for improved connectivity, particularly air transport. “Uganda Airlines must be aware that within the next six months, they must think about London, Gatwick, and Kabalega International Airport, which has been given an IATA name (KLA), and we’re expecting flights.
Uganda Airlines must think about flights between London Gatwick and Kabalega to satisfy the Western sector of where most of our tourism products are, the premium tourism product being mountain gorillas. So we pray that this will be a game changer. This flight will be a game changer.”
Aisha Nabwanika, the proprietor of Ewaffe Cultural Village, called for better communication strategies regarding disease outbreaks to minimize negative impacts on tourism. “But I think the main thing is, how do we mitigate the negative information that goes out to the public and our potential international visitors?
Because the way of reporting matters… to me, I think our reporting as the tourism stakeholders it is very key, actually, as a country, to have the same kind of communication across… not to scare away tourists, but then to identify it as an isolated guest. That is one, but then also two. It could be more like people having SOPs, you know, in hotels, in cultural tourism enterprises, the visitors come to visit, to have streamlined SOPs that people follow,” she suggested.
Buhweju County Legislator Hon Francis Mwijukye stressed the importance of infrastructure development for the sector’s growth. “Uganda’s gorillas are closer to Kigali than Kampala, Some tourists will not stay long enough as they prefer to come through Rwanda, which is closer to Bwindi. We end up losing revenue as they spend less. We need a robust network of roads and aviation to grow the arrival numbers.”
Uganda aims to grow its tourism sector to USD 50 billion by 2040 through a strategy that focuses on marketing the nation as a high-value destination, upgrading tourism infrastructure, and enhancing conservation, with strong private sector involvement.