UWA offers free entry to five national parks

By Namale Shahista

In a move to revitalise domestic tourism and foster a deeper connection between Ugandans and their natural heritage, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) will offer free access to five of the country’s savanna parks from Sept. 25-27 as part of an initiative to promote domestic tourism and conservation.

The “Open Park Day” experience will provide free entry to Lake Mburo National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve, Murchison Falls National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Bashir Hangi, the Uganda Wildlife Authority spokesperson says the campaign will increase local awareness of Wildlife protection and the economic potential of ecotourism.

“This initiative is running for the second time and is intended to give back to the community but also give an opportunity to people who have never gotten a chance to access these packs and see what is there. We are specifically looking at savanna packs,” Hangi said, adding “there will be no payment for guides – game drives will all be taken care of by UWA.”

UWA hopes to pass on conservation messages to the visitors to the parks.

“We will brief them on what we do; why are we protecting the animals, the importance of conservation and many more because we want to make sure we move together with the citizens in terms of conservation,” Hangi said.

Tourism is one of Uganda’s key economic sectors, contributing to foreign exchange earnings and employment.

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, tourism directly contributed 3.64 percent of the country’s GDP in 2023.

Relatedly, the UWA recently named Queen Karungi Bridget from southwestern Uganda as its new tourism ambassador.

The honour was presented by Stephen Masaba, the UWA’s director of tourism, during the Miss Tourism Uganda Finale in Kampala.

Karungi is expected to help promote conservation initiatives and engage local communities in environmental stewardship.