Tourism stakeholders from Uganda arrive in Mombasa ahead of Kenya -Uganda Summit /HANDOUT

More than 50 Ugandan tourism stakeholders are in Kenya for a familiarisation trip aimed at boosting cross-border travel and developing joint holiday packages ahead of the fifth Uganda–Kenya Coast Tourism and Innovation Summit.

The delegation, comprising tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers and travel influencers are at the Coast for a programme organised by the Consulate General of Uganda in Mombasa and local tourism stakeholders.

The visit precedes the summit scheduled for October 26 and 27 at Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort & Spa in Mombasa.

Delegates will tour beaches, marine parks, heritage sites, hotels and resorts across Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale and Taita Taveta counties.

The objective is to give Ugandan operators first-hand experience of Kenya’s coastal attractions so they can market the destination more effectively and develop travel packages with Kenyan partners.

Some delegates will also participate in the Uganda–Kenya Coast Open golf tournament at Vipingo Ridge on October 24 before attending the summit.

The initiative comes as tourism flows between the two neighbouring countries gather momentum, creating opportunities for operators to combine Uganda’s wildlife and adventure experiences with Kenya’s beaches and marine attractions.

According to the Kenya Tourism Board, arrivals from Uganda increased by 16 per cent, from 201,623 in 2024 to 234,556 in 2025, making Uganda Kenya’s second-largest source market.

Meanwhile, Uganda Tourism Board figures show that Kenyan visitors to Uganda rose by 11 per cent, from 466,902 to 519,041 over the same period.

Together, the countries recorded more than 750,000 cross-border visitor trips in 2025, underscoring the potential of regional tourism as both destinations seek to expand visitor numbers and spending.

“Regional integration becomes real when a Ugandan tour operator can stand on a Kenyan beach, meet the hotelier, and go home ready to sell,” said Uganda’s Consul General in Mombasa, Ambassador Herbert Kiguli.

He said the delegation would return as ambassadors for the Kenya Coast, helping promote the destination in Uganda while building partnerships that benefit businesses on both sides of the border.

Kisuule Sulaiman, director of Karibu Adventure Safaris in Uganda, said travellers were increasingly interested in combining gorilla trekking with beach holidays.

“Seeing these products ourselves, and meeting the people behind them, means we can sell the Coast with real knowledge and build lasting partnerships with Kenyan operators,” he said.

The summit comes against a backdrop of stronger tourism performance in both countries.

Kenya earned a record Sh501.3 billion from tourism in 2025, up from Sh452.2 billion in 2024, while Uganda’s tourism receipts climbed 21.3 per cent to 5.83 trillion Ugandan shillings ($1.62 billion).

Uganda recorded 1.64 million international tourist arrivals in 2025, a 19.7 per cent increase from the previous year, highlighting the growing potential for regional travel packages.

The fifth summit builds on discussions at the previous edition, held in Malindi in October 2025, which focused on youth entrepreneurship, digital marketing, technology adoption, hospitality standards, sustainable marine tourism and cultural heritage preservation.

At the conference, Uganda’s then Consul General, Ambassador Paul Mukumbya, stressed the complementary nature of the two destinations, arguing that joint marketing could combine Kenya’s beaches with Uganda’s gorilla trekking and wildlife experiences.

This year’s meeting is expected to move beyond discussions towards formal cooperation frameworks between tourism associations in the two countries, building on a tourism cooperation memorandum signed by Presidents William Ruto and Yoweri Museveni on July 30, 2025.

The agreement was among eight memoranda intended to deepen bilateral cooperation across several economic sectors.

The summit’s theme, Unlocking Tourism Opportunities: Resolving Policy Bottlenecks through Technology, Youth and Seamless Mobility across East Africa, reflects the challenges facing regional tourism, including costly air travel and barriers to movement.

Organisers also plan to showcase digital tourism products developed by youth-led ventures and push for practical measures to ease travel across the region.

Since 2022, the familiarisation programme has exposed more than 450 tourism stakeholders to attractions and hospitality products across the two countries.

A reciprocal trip for Kenyan stakeholders to Uganda is scheduled for November, with visits planned to gorilla and chimpanzee tracking sites, the Source of the Nile, Jinja’s adventure attractions, cultural sites and national parks.

The longer-term objective is to turn rising visitor numbers into sustained business for tour operators, hotels, airlines and other tourism enterprises through joint marketing and easier regional travel.