Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo set for end of April  

Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) has set April 26-29 as dates for the seventh Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo 2023.

The annual event seeks to boost growth of domestic and international tourism – and contribute to Uganda’s foreign exchange earnings. 

The expo is expected to create 500 business linkages and draw a total of 1, 500 local consumers among other opportunities, according to UTB executives.

It was officially launched by the State Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Hon. Martin Mugarra Bahinduka, UTB Board Chairman Hon. Daudi Migereko among other top executives of UTB.

According to the UTB Board Chairman Migereko, this year’s edition is expected to draw more than 1,500 local consumers over the course of three days. He said that the event will be held as a hybrid exposition involving Business to Business and Business to Consumer activities into both physical and virtual form.

The expo will also serve as a means of marketing destination Uganda with the new destination brand to national, regional and global markets. Participants will have an opportunity to visit different tourist attractions across the country.  

The Regional Tourism Boards, International Tour Operators and Associations, Hoteliers, International media, and Airlines are just few of the high-caliber international exhibitors the POATE 2023 will draw, he said.

The country expects to increase tourist arrivals through these events. According to the tourism sector performance report for 2022, Uganda’s international tourist arrivals increased by 8.4% to 512,945 in 2021 and by 59% to 814,508 in 2022 with the sector showing recovery of 52.8%.