Thousands of tourism stakeholders including 70 hosted buyers and over 5000 trade visitors and consumers took off at the Commonwealth Resort Munyonyo, Kampala in the 8th edition of the three-day Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE).
This year’s event featured a variety of activities including the exhibition, fam trips, networking sessions with global tourism players, and cultural experiences among others.
During the closure event, the Chief Executive Officer Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) Lilly Ajarova noted that this year’s edition has set the stage for a prosperous future for Uganda’s tourism sector and therefore acknowledged the incredible work of the Uganda Tourism Board staff and other partners in making the 8th edition a resounding success.
“It’s your hard work behind the scenes that has brought our vision to life and created an experience that will be remembered by all. So let us continue to work together to innovate, promote, and elevate Uganda’s tourism sector,” she added.
The CEO also remarked that the journey ahead is filled with opportunities saying that she is confident that with the collective efforts more heights will be achieved and make Uganda a must travel and visit destination for explorers around the world.
As the expo drew to a close, several exhibitors had a chance to walk away with awards depending on different aspects and disciplines. Such award winners included the Buganda Heritage and Tourism Board, Kara Tunga Tours, and Mucha lodges among others.
While handing over awards to the respective winners, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Mrs Doreen Katusiime appreciated the Uganda Tourism Board together with the partners including the panelists, facilitators, and all other stakeholders involved in the expo saying that now the public know why it is important to talk about responsible tourism and sustainable tourism.
“The success of this expo must serve as the bring boat for continued collaboration, innovation, and investment in our tourism industry especially in sustainable and responsible practices, together we can unlock new opportunities, we can breakdown the barriers, and position Uganda as a premier tourism destination on the global stage,” she said.
According to Isa Kato the Chief Executive Officer of Pristine Tours, this year’s edition has been so amazing starting with the venue, cultural experiences together with the exhibition sessions that were in line with the theme; Responsible Tourism.
“One of the major plans for this year’s event was to promote sustainable tourism, and the sessions we have had are really so good providing us with reliable information about sustainable tourism, and marketing in the promotion of the destination as well as engagements with fellow tourism stakeholders, so we are looking forward to make business out of this expo,” he added.
The Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) is an annual tourism and travel trade show that is organized by the Uganda Tourism Board. Each year, the expo brings together tourism value chain actors and stakeholders under the Business-to-business and business-to-consumer formats, for networking opportunities, and business deals.
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