UGANDA (eTN) – Winners this year for best African stand was, to the surprise of many Moroccans, which seemingly met the expectations of the judges when the votes were cast and counted, followed as runner up by last yearโs surprise winner, Burundi, which in 2011 dethroned Rwanda after a reign of 4 years, then coming out on top.
Third, however, this year was Uganda, undoubtedly also benefitting from the Lonely Planet nomination as โBest Destination 2012,โ followed by the more fancied Rwanda in fourth and Kenya who took fifth place.
Uganda was represented by a delegation led by Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, Minister of Tourism, and accompanied by the Uganda Tourist Board General Manager Cuthbert Baguma, besides a number of private sector stakeholders who had traveled to Berlin to promote their safari and lodge business back home in โThe Pearl of Africa.โ
On October 9 of this year, Uganda will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence from former colonial masters, Britain, and a major PR effort is gearing up towards that event, which will be used to make the #VisitUganda2012 Year hopefully the best ever, in spite of the continued lack of sufficient resources for both the tourist board and the ministry itself within the government budgetary framework.