Responsible travel is one of the best measures through which we can limit travelers to overcrowd destinations which might bring a lot of pressure on the environment, communities, wildlife and people’s cultures. When we are creating travel packages, we make sure we bring you very close to the environment that you are not familiar with, this will draw you closer to the people in their indigenous communities, environments and the wildlife in their natural habitat.
When you are engaged in the travel experience, you have to make sure you don’t cause any negative effects to the environment, this will provide continuity of life to the surrounding environment, people’s ways of life will not be tampered with but rather improved for good. Responsible travel will expose you to how people live outside your usual culture, you create friendship, you understand more how people do some things, travelling will enhance your understanding, cherish natural environment and the surrounding.
Travelers who have considered Uganda as their number safari spot have been warmly welcomed by the people of Uganda, this has created much positive impact on the local communities since travelers who visit Uganda, visit schools as well and they end up planting trees, making boreholes for clean waters, they build classrooms where pupils and students conduct their lessons from, they have also refurbished classrooms, built churches and this has been of great impact to the local communities in Uganda.
Even though Uganda is still named under the poor countries in the world, due to high unemployment levels, high level of illiteracy, underdevelopment coupled with guerrilla war by LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) engineered by Kony in the northern region of Uganda and this took over 20 years, epidemic diseases such as HIV, poor infrastructures, our country Uganda is now the talk of the day if it comes to the steadfast development in the whole of the world. The stable political atmosphere that National Resistance Movement (NRM) has provided since it came to power in 1986, has attracted so many investors in different sectors for example transport, medical, education, agriculture among other sectors.
The conducive political stability of Uganda has attracted so many travelers who have made Uganda their travel plug, have enjoyed country’s treasures for example national parks which are bestowed with some species that cannot be found elsewhere in world for instance mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in southwestern Uganda, Uganda is boasts for having a half of the world’s remaining gorilla population in the world, Uganda has gotten a lot of flora and fauna that has pulled travelers from far parts of the world to come and witness the beauty of virgin nature.
Uganda has over 56 tribes and each tribe has its own cultural discipline therefore, Uganda is among the countries that is rich with culture and this has set Uganda above for tourists who come to explore these tremendous cultures, Uganda has a vast number of animals such as elephants, buffaloes, rhinos, lions, leopards and these are Africa’s big 5 of the jungle, impalas, zebras, hyenas, elands, hartebeests, cheetahs, ostriches, among other wildlife, Uganda has over 1,090 birds including the endemics and migratory birds. Uganda’s tourism is really taking toll due to high level of professionalism and advanced hospitality facilities both in the city center and in national parks and different cultural sites. The improved road transport that connects tourists to these national parks, Uganda has now got domestic flights for instance Bar Aviation, Aerolink Uganda these connect luxury tourists to different destinations in Uganda and these flights can also be boarded on a charter.
Uganda’s tourism sector has out grown our neighbor’s tourism sector because of her diverse wildlife, stable political atmosphere, infrastructures, modernized accommodation facilities have created employment opportunities for the locals for example waiters, waitresses, reservations, supervisors, tour consultants, tour managers and this has greatly improved the status of Ugandans.
However, tourism can also be cause negative effects for example over exploitation of resources, carbon emissions, too much pressure on the environment due mass tourism, wide spread of moral-decadency, among others. Uganda has been fronting its core values such social, economic and environmental performance. Uganda has engaged in different environmental friendly activities and these have helped her to learn widely about the environmental conservation, this is through training by environmental experts and seeking feedbacks from the environmental users.
Advice before you travel to Uganda?
Before you do any destination, make sure you learn some simple words for example greeting, appreciating someone in their local language depending on where you will be visiting, learn how to ask for food and this will create a good rapport with the locals, they will feel so loved and you will feel accepted as well.
For anyone to engage in a safari to Uganda and you have much package, it’s always advisable for you to trash it before you travel, these could be polythene papers which affect the soils, plastic materials and other stuff that take too long to decompose as these affect the environment negatively.
As a tourist who would like to travel to Uganda, it is always advisable for you to first understand the weather of the destination where you are travelling to. Uganda has a conducive climate however the weather it has 2 seasons, therefore for one to travel you have to be sure about the season, some travel activities are best in the wet season for example birding, you will enjoy
Community Tourism in Uganda
Uganda has greatly fought so hard to make sure that tourism doesn’t affect communities and natural environment negatively instead preserve, conserve and develop local communities together with environment. Uganda’s tour companies always design packages that expose travelers to wildlife, local communities, different scenic view points, highlands, water bodies, all these hidden treasures should be enjoyed responsibly by our clients.
When you travel with any local company in Uganda, you will have supported the local guides, the porters who carry your luggage during hiking and gorilla trekking experience, these people have families they take care of and through doing, and you will have saved these communities. In addition, the locals at the tourist destination always have craft works which you can buy in form of souvenirs and through doing that, you will be supporting a lot of families since they depend on their craft work earns them hardly, however this should be symbiotic in that we expect our driver guides to teach you some of the indigenous words and their meaning and you are always free to as for an answer this will create for you undying memories.
Environmental responsibility
Uganda’s tourism standards have been raised to a higher bar and all tour companies have employed the following environmental responsibilities
- When conducting a safari, it’s always a must to rent a private car, this will protect the tourists from over mixing with the locals while using public means like taxis and buses.
- For any safari to start, it’s always our obligation to first monitor the state in which the car is in because. The vehicle must be well maintained to avoid emitting carbon fumes which might affect tourists and cause discomfort.
- Every tourism company in Uganda will make sure you don’t use plastics, polythene papers which affect the soils.
- Tourists are always briefed about the recycle, repair, reuse and recycle as many times as you can while you are in the jungle or at any safari Uganda this prevents misuse of facilities and it helps to avoid dumping.
- Travelers are always advised on how to limited use some products such as water, electricity, animal products among others since this can cause pressure on the environment in which they have traveled to.
Economic responsibility
- Tour companies employ local staffs who work as local driver guides, travel consultants and this has greatly improved their lives and their families and the societies where they come from.
- Tourism supports communities in which the destination is in for example visiting historical sites and promoting rural tourism, travelers will always stimulate development in such destinations by paying for entry and always taking some simple presents to the locals.
- Uganda’s tourism sector has ensured that tourists, who visit Uganda, sleep in local accommodations, use local restaurants, and these facilities are managed by Ugandans which is a good image in the development of the sector.
Social responsibility
This is another key player in the tourism industry, hospitality facilities and tour companies have employed local stuffs for example tour consultants, reservations, bar tenders, receptionists, marketers among others, these people have got much responsibilities and families to take care of, they use their salaries to meet their demands, tour companies have also equipped their staff with the current technology and this has helped them to improve their skills, thus this another way in which tourism can reward the communities.