The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has used Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II visit to Karuma Wildlife Reserve to renew calls to Ugandans to embrace domestic tourism beyond festive seasons.
Kabaka Mutebi visited the reserve on Monday.
UWA noted that Karuma Wildlife Reserve is an integral part of the wider Murchison Falls Conservation Area, a vast, interconnected ecosystem that also includes Murchison Falls National Park and Bugungu Wildlife Reserve.
The landscape is managed as one conservation unit by UWA, allowing wildlife to move freely across the protected areas.
In a statement released on Monday, UWA said the Kabaka’s visit underscored the safety, service standards, and conservation progress within the Murchison Falls Conservation Area, while highlighting national parks and reserves as ideal spaces for relaxation, reflection, and recreation throughout the year.
‘It tells Ugandans that these places are accessible and worth visiting,’ UWA stated.
UWA urged Ugandans to make domestic travel a regular habit that supports conservation and preserves the country’s natural heritage for future generations.
In an interview yesterday, the UWA Executive Director, Dr James Musinguzi (PhD), said the visit sends a strong message of confidence to both local and international visitors.
‘It is a stamp of approval in terms of the services offered in the protected area, but also the security,’ Dr Musinguzi said. ‘That confidence encourages more people to visit, enjoy themselves, and contribute to the country’s growth through tourism revenue.’
Dr Musinguzi said the broader conservation area offers more than the famous waterfall, citing healthy wildlife populations, including giraffes, lions, elephants and buffaloes, as well as river cruises on the Nile, game drives and a growing range of visitor experiences.
‘We are diversifying tourism products. We do not want to be only about animals,’ he said, noting improvements in accommodation, food services, and customer care aimed at encouraging visitors to stay longer and return more often.
Buganda Kingdom described the Kabaka’s visit to the reserve as a timely reminder for Ugandans to take an interest in local tourism.
‘Some people have never seen a lion or a leopard face-to-face, yet we have many of them here. People come from outside the country to see what we overlook at home,’ Mr Israel Kazibwe Kitooke, the kingdom’s minister for information and mobilisation, said.
He added: ‘When we see the Kabaka visiting places like Karuma and the wider Murchison area, it reminds us that rest and nature are important.’