Picture a family from Frankfurt spending a week in Diani with one more wish: to see mountain gorillas. They must find a flight to Entebbe, then endure a long road trip to Kisoro in Uganda’s south-west, and back.
The gorilla permit is affordable but high airfares, a draining road and costly lodging near the parks push visitors to choose one experience over the other.
It need not be so. AI cannot shorten the road to Kisoro but can take the guesswork and hassle out of the trip. That is the challenge World Tourism Day set on September 27, under the theme ‘Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism’.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that, left unchecked, AI could steer travellers to the same few places and platforms. The tools favour places that are already easy to find and book online. Our shared circuit must not be among those left behind.
Since 2022, Kenya and Uganda have had partnerships, bringing together operators, hoteliers and tourism players in Mombasa every year. The effort is paying off. Kenyan visitors to Uganda rose from 466,902 in 2024 to 519,041 in 2025.
Arrivals from Uganda grew from 201,623 to 234,556, making Uganda Kenya’s second-largest source market. For many Ugandans, Kenya once meant Nairobi. Today, a direct circuit runs to Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi.
The Coast offers white beaches, hotels and industry leaders open to partnership. Uganda brings primates, scenery and adventure. Both destinations can learn from each other.
Yet our numbers are nothing to brag about. UN Tourism reports that Africa welcomed 81 million international tourists in 2025. That is barely five per cent of the 1.52 billion arrivals worldwide. The region must become easier to discover, plan and book.
This is where technology earns its place. Real-time data would show available rooms near the park and what each destination offers.
Who will build these tools? Young people are tech-savvy and form an emerging group of travellers with their own tastes. They also need IT skills, customer care, resilience, patience and trustworthiness.
Governments must provide funding, train young people, ease access to technology financing, keep rules supportive of innovation and invest in knowledge. They must also make movement easier. No app can fix a slow border crossing.