Uganda Tourism Chief Urges Industry to Transform POATE Connections Into Real Business
Juliana Kagwa, Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), has issued a compelling call to action for tourism stakeholders across the region. Following the conclusion of the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) 2026, she is urging industry players to transform the relationships and connections forged during the event into concrete investments, partnerships, and job-creating opportunities.
The appeal came as Kagwa responded to her recognition as CEO of the Week by CEO East Africa Magazine. In her remarks, she emphasised that the success of POATE 2026 was not the achievement of any single individual but rather the result of collective efforts across the tourism industry and its many partners. Her message to investors, development partners, and private sector stakeholders was clear and direct: the time has come to convert expo engagements into bookings, investments, and bankable projects that will drive economic growth throughout Uganda.
POATE 2026, held at Speke Resort Munyonyo, brought together tourism operators, international buyers, investors, and industry professionals from across the region and beyond. The expo served as a platform for showcasing Uganda’s diverse tourism offerings while facilitating meaningful business-to-business and business-to-consumer engagement. Structured meetings during the event were designed to generate partnerships, investment opportunities, and destination branding agreements.
According to Kagwa, the expo succeeded in raising Uganda’s profile as a premier tourism destination and sparked genuine interest among potential investors and travel partners. She noted that visibility had been created and interest generated, but stressed that the industry must now collectively transform that momentum into tangible results for Destination Uganda.
The UTB has adopted a more strategic approach to destination marketing in recent years. Familiarisation trips, long a standard tool in tourism promotion, are now being more closely aligned with priority markets and major platforms like POATE. This ensures that by the time international buyers attend the expo, they already possess a deep understanding of what Uganda offers, allowing discussions to progress more quickly into confirmed commercial partnerships.
Key conversations at POATE 2026 focused on critical topics for the future of African tourism, including aviation connectivity, sustainable tourism practices, digital transformation in travel marketing, and film-induced tourism. The event also featured the inaugural Pearl of Africa Tourism Awards, recognising outstanding performers and storytellers within the tourism value chain. These elements combined to create an atmosphere of ambition and forward-thinking that resonated with attendees.
The theme of POATE 2026, Wanderlust – Your Time to Thrive, captured the spirit of discovery and renewed confidence that Uganda hopes will propel its tourism industry forward. UTB positioned the expo as a defining moment for the sector, calling upon regional partners and the global travel trade to participate in unlocking new business opportunities.
For African travel professionals, Kagwa’s message carries significant weight. The Ugandan government has identified tourism as one of the country’s key growth sectors, with officials increasingly emphasising investment, marketing, and product development as essential drivers of foreign exchange earnings, employment, and broader economic transformation. This strategic prioritisation signals that Uganda is serious about competing for its share of the growing African tourism market.
Kagwa herself has declared a new strategy centred on greater investment, commercial opportunities, and accelerated business development within the sector. Her conviction that a new day is dawning for Ugandan tourism reflects a sense of urgency and optimism that travel trade stakeholders across the continent would do well to note.
As Uganda works to solidify its position as a must-visit destination, the challenge now lies in ensuring that the enthusiasm generated at POATE translates into measurable economic benefits. For travel agents and tour operators across Africa, keeping Uganda firmly on the radar could prove increasingly rewarding as the Pearl of Africa continues its determined push onto the global tourism stage.
Originally Published at travelnews.africa
