The two state parastatals; one a state agency to promote tourism and the latter a national career signed the partnership, on the side-lines of the ongoing 5th Annual Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) 2020 at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala.
Ms. Lilly Ajarova, Chief Executive Officer, UTB signed on behalf of Uganda Tourism Board, while Mr. Cornwell Muleya, Uganda Airlines Chief Executive Officer of Uganda Airlines signed on behalf of the national airline.
The MoU was witnessed by Rt. Hon. Gen (Rtd.) Moses Ali the First Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Col (rtd) Tom Butiime and Kiwanda Godfrey Ssuubi, the Minister and Minister of State for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities.
Hon. Daudi Migereko, the Board Chairman of Uganda Tourism Board, was also present.
Under the 3 year agreement, Uganda Airlines will among other commitments brand its various offices in various cities and airports acrpss the world with Brand Destination Uganda messages as well as offer a platform to promote Uganda on some of the airlines platforms and assets such as aeroplanes and other branded materials. Similarly, Uganda Tourism Board will through their respective tourism promotional campaigns and platforms present Uganda Airlines as the most convenient way to travel to Uganda. This will include, but is not limited to: promotional materials, online platforms including website, social media platforms as well as other multimedia and experiential campaigns.
The national airline will also reciprocate by providing UTB with points of dissemination of tourism promotional information and campaigns through all their sales offices as well as the airline’s inflight magazine, inflight entertainment systems, online platforms- including website and social media sites.
The two parastatals also agreed to work together to run join marketing campaigns, share market data and market research as well as jointly participate in and enable Uganda’s other tourism players to participate in major African and international exhibitions, such as Magical Kenya Tourism Expo Nairobi, ITB Berlin, Indaba South Africa, Karibu Fair Tanzania, Akwaaba Nigeria, Arabian Travel Show and WTM London.
Under the landmark deal, the two organisations will also jointly develop Visit Uganda tour and travel packages for special events or holidays, such as Valentines, Easter, Christmas holidays as well as motivate passengers to fly Uganda Airlines through such marketing tactics like prizes, complimentary or discounted tickets to travellers to Uganda, discounted hotel/ ground arrangements with a key focus on points of origin across Uganda Airline routes.
Uganda Airlines and Uganda Tourism Board, also agreed to work together to develop new tourism products such as especially those highlighting Cultural Diversity (religious, kingdoms, people), Nature and Sustainability/Eco-friendly (Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Bird sanctuary).
Netflix Strikes $82.7 Billion Deal to Take Over Warner Bros., Redefining the Global Entertainment LandscapeThe duo also committed to work together to plan and organise familiarisation trips for travel agents, tour operators, press and travel bloggers etc., aimed at encouraging encourage travellers to use Uganda airlines to travel to Uganda. This will also include joint partnership to plan and execute the Pearl of Africa Travel Expo each year, with a specific focus on 2021 ahead of the scheduled delivery of Uganda Airlines long-haul jets- the A330-800s.
Commenting about the historic partnership, Muleya said the partnership was both in line with their mandate and timely as the airline embarks on the next phase of its route expansion plans.
“This year, we are trying to open up more routes and market Uganda worldwide as per our mandate. Our duty is first of all to let the world discover Uganda and our motto is Discover Uganda through Uganda Airlines. We do this by showcasing Uganda in the manner of our service and in the products that we serve on board. This partnership allows us to continue connecting Uganda to the world and the world to Uganda. We are excited to work with UTB to sure that Uganda, its resources, its people and culture are well known around the world- that is the essence of this this partnership,” he said.
He further said that Uganda Airlines has over the last 4 months opened 08 routes across the Great Lakes Region and was looking to open a further 10 routes in the region by June this year.
“By June this year, we expect to be operating at least 17 or 18 routes connecting Africa across the network. In December this year, we expect to receive our first big aircraft the A330-800 and the second one comes in January 2021. We expect that in the first quarter of 2021 we will start flights to the 3 intercontinental routes- London, Dubai and Guangzhou in China; the first of several planed long-haul routes,” he said.
Ms Ajalova, said that the partnership is aligned to UTB’s strategic plans to both actively position Uganda as a competitive destination but also focus on propagating intra-African travel especially within the emerging lucrative tourism markets of Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
“This partnership, expresses and testifies to our single-mindedness on promoting Uganda as a competitive destination for both tourists and tourism related investments. This agreement coincides with and supports our refreshed focus on both intra-African travel as well as the emerging tourism markets such as the middle-East and China, that we are already actively targeting,” she said.
“This partnership should further lower the cost- both in time and money of travelling to Uganda- whether it is for business or leisure but also allow us to enhance awareness about brand Uganda across several cities and airports in Africa and overseas,” she said.
