List of national parks UWA has marked for concessions termination

According to UWA, 30 concessions have been signed to provide accommodation, recreation, and collaborative management services. However, eight of these concessions in the accommodation segment remain unfulfilled and have crossed the scheduled time.

The concessions go as far back as 2016, according to Sam Mwandha, the UWA executive director, who explained that these concessions are supposed to provide a minimum of 10 rooms each meaning 80 rooms altogether.

The estimated revenue generated from these establishments would be at least $10 per night totalling over Shs300 million each year.

The tourism sector is losing over Shs300 million from unfulfilled investment agreements/Courtesy Pulse

The unfulfilled concessions are concentrated in the following national parks

Lake Mburo National Park

According to Trip Advisor, the park has nine homely and spacious lodging facilities including Mihingo Lodge, Mburo Eagles Nest, Kigambira Safari Lodge, Mburo Safari Lodge, Rwakobo Rock, and Hyena Hill Lodge, among others. Mburo is famous for birding and according to Europa as of 2019 about 700 tourists visited Uganda specifically for bird watching.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

The National Park comprises five main areas with accommodation facilities in each, Northeast Escarpment, Kyambura Gorge, Ishasha, Mweya Peninsula, and Rift Valley Escarpment.

Murchison Falls National Park

Accommodation facilities at Murchison Falls National Park are split among three locations, the Albert Nile, Paraa and the Victoria Nile, and Kaniyo Pabidi and the Masindi road. A night at the park can cost anywhere between $40 to $500 a night depending on the facilities of choice.

Mwandha further explains that the developers behind the dormant concessions are holding onto land and denying access to potential developers. He noted that UWA is considering the termination of certain clauses in the concession agreements.

“We have tried to engage them, but they are giving one reason after another, and we are now engaging to utilize the termination clauses in the contracts so that we can release these sites. Some of them are high-quality sites that would have high-end lodge construction, but people are not moving. We have engaged them, and we hope that before the end of the year, they would have started constructing. If they don’t, we will show them the way out,” Mwandha explained

Future tourism investment regulations

The tourism sector is losing over Shs300 million from unfulfilled investment agreements/Courtesy Pulse

Failure to fulfil these concessions affects revenue that would have been collected from tourist activities for the consolidated fund and host communities.

At the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo-POATE, during a pitching session to potential investors, Mwandha warned that UWA would not be entertaining investors who aren't ready for immediate investment.

Despite disappointment from unfulfilled concessions, the government still beats the drums for tourism investors.