High airfares and other travel barriers are hampering efforts to deepen tourism between Uganda and Kenya, tourism officials and private sector leaders have warned.
They said expensive flights, lengthy travel procedures and other non-tariff barriers are limiting movement between the two countries and undermining efforts to grow tourism, investment and jobs.
Speaking ahead of the 5th Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism collaboration, Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) chief executive officer Stephen Asiimwe said the cost of travelling between the two countries remains one of the biggest obstacles to increasing tourist numbers.
He said a flight from Entebbe to Nairobi, a journey of about 50 minutes, can cost about USD800 (about Shs2.8 million).
‘My ticket by this morning, because I’m flying tomorrow morning at 8:00, I won’t tell you which airline, but give or take, they’re the same, is USD800,’ Asiimwe said.
He said high fares make regional travel disproportionately expensive compared with similar journeys in other parts of the world.
Asiimwe said a flight from Entebbe to Mombasa can cost about USD700, while travelling by bus costs about Shs100,000 but takes between eight and 10 hours.
‘The option which is to travel by bus, which is an 8- to 10-hour trip, is Shs100,000 but you arrive exhausted, and you don’t enjoy and yet in tourism, we sell an experience,’ he said.
He said reducing the cost of travel would encourage more movement between the two countries, increasing hotel stays and tourist spending.
State Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Susan Nakawuki Nsambu said Uganda and Kenya must also address non-tariff barriers if they are to make regional tourism more competitive.
She cited Kenya’s Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), saying delays in processing the requirement can discourage visitors.
‘Sometimes we have these non-tariff barriers, but we can work upon them and remove them. If ETA should be there, let it be done within 24 hours. Why do you need 72 hours to do that? It is a non-tariff barrier, it is blocking our tourists,’ she said.
Nsambu also raised concern over the cost of regional air travel, saying she recently paid USD600 for a flight for her six-year-old child travelling to Mombasa.
‘Recently, my children went to Mombasa, and I had to pay USD600 for a flight for a six-year-old. Really! Just next door,’ she said.
She urged the East African Community Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA) and governments in the region to engage airlines over regional ticket prices.
David Kabata, Minister Counsellor at the Kenyan High Commission in Kampala, acknowledged that high travel costs remain a challenge.
He said increased competition could eventually bring down fares, citing the entry of Skyward Express and the planned resumption of JamboJet flights between Entebbe and Nairobi.
‘Probably out of that entry of many players, probably the cost will come down. We are not certain about that because there are factors present that inform the cost of pricing,’ Kabata said.
He said taxation was among the factors that could be contributing to high airfares and called for governments to examine its impact.
‘The aspect of taxation really is driving up the cost of flight tickets. So, it’s an area that we need to look into as governments,’ he said.
The concerns come as Uganda and Kenya seek to increase tourism cooperation and promote multi-destination travel, allowing visitors to combine attractions in both countries.
Jon Leonard Mugerwa, head of the International Legal and Social Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said tourism is central to Uganda’s ambition of growing its economy from USD68 billion to USD500 billion by 2040.
He said 460,000 Kenyans visited Uganda last year, while about 235,000 Ugandans travelled to Kenya.
‘If we can have over maybe 2 million tourists between our two countries, that would be a big step forward,’ Mugerwa said.
The concerns were raised ahead of the Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism and Innovation Summit scheduled for October 26-27 in Mombasa under the theme, ‘Unlocking Tourism Opportunities: Resolving Policy Bottlenecks Through Technology, Youth, and Seamless Mobility Across East Africa.’
Uganda’s Consul General in Mombasa, Herbert Kiguli, said the tourism cooperation would also seek to strengthen business links among tour operators, hotels, travel agents, transport companies, technology firms and investors.