Uganda seeks help to increase the annual volume of tourists from China
China is home to 150 million global tourists on a yearly basis, and PR consultancy PHG Consulting is supporting Uganda with a strategy to reap some of the benefits from that vast pool of tourists. The firm was appointed by the Ugandan government with hopes of introducing greater variety in its pool of tourists.
Uganda has been part of the East African growth story, which has been benefitting from a mixture of political stability and foreign investment. Much like a number of other growing African economies, the country is now looking to boost its profile in the international arena by promoting international tourism.
Where tourists to Uganda have traditionally hailed from the UK, the US and Europe, the country is now looking to draw visitors from emerging markets such as China. As a result, the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) has appointed a Chinese public relations consultancy to help facilitate this process.
PHG Consulting will essentially develop marketing strategies that will make Uganda an appealing destination for tourists in China. The firm will also support stakeholders in the Ugandan tourism sector with understanding the interests, broadly speaking, of Chinese tourists.
Sales Director at PHG Consulting Catherine Mei gave a presentation to the UTB, detailing the transformations that need to be implemented for the initiative to be successful. Examples of suggested changes include free internet connectivity, Chinese-speaking staff and currency flexibility in payments.
Commenting on the initiative, Board Chairman of UTB Daudi Migereko said, “We are currently receiving 1.8 million tourists but our target is 4 million. We have a gap and if we go to China, India and the Middle East, we shall get more people visiting Uganda who will help us get foreign exchange.”
Catherine Mei added, “ China is a rising market and we are sure we can bring more tourists to this amazing place. There are 150 million people who travel abroad, so there is a very huge potential for us to bring these tourists. If they are travelling abroad for the first time, they might not choose Africa. But for those people who travel a lot, they will finally choose Africa. So, we need to promote ourselves now and get long term business.