| KAMPALA
THE number of tourist arrivals into Uganda at all border posts has increased by 60 percent a Uganda Bureau of Statistics report has stated.
A total of 512,378 tourists arrived into Uganda in 2004 compared to the 304,656 the previous year.
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics report titled: Migration Statistics, did analyse tourists arrivals by country of usual residence, sex, purpose of visit and length of stay.
Kenya takes the highest number of arrivals out of the 512,378; Kenya had 220,062 followed by Rwanda with 65,298, Tanzania with 67,885 UK with 22,402 and the US had18,898.
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| SIGHT SEEING: Tourists pose for a photo at Bujagali falls in Jinja. File photo |
"Kenya is an important source of travellers to Uganda," Mr James Bahinguza, the General Manager Uganda Tourists Board said while giving his account on the performance.
He said Kenya Airways has played an important role, of connecting tourists destined for Uganda.
"Kenya Airways being the most frequent in the region, most people use Nairobi as a hub to come to Uganda," Bahinguza said.
Airlines role
KQ now frequents four times between Entebbe and Nairobi from Friday to Sunday and from Monday to Friday three times with an average of 105-seater capacity on each flight.
Mr Emmanuel Okware, the KQ Country Manager, said they are thinking of increasing on their frequency to five flights a day because of the increasing demand.
In Kenya, tourism is the fastest growing sector with 66 percent earnings rise as of 2004 according to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
The country recorded Shs42 billion compared with Shs25.5 billion in 2003, with 760 million tourists arrivals.
CBK attributes Kenya's performance to the withdrawal of travel advisories that had been issued on Kenya by European and American governments.
Setbacks
Unfortunately ,Uganda is still facing the negative travel advisories from European Countries due to threats like the rebel attacks on tourists in Bwindi Impenetrable Forests in 2000 and the killing of students from the Jimmy Ssekasi Institute of Catering in 2001 by Joseph Kony's rebels while on their study tour in Murchison Falls Conservation Area.
The Army Commander, Maj. Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, recently assured the international tour operators that the insurgency had been suppressed and the parks are peaceful.
"The European countries should put off the ban on Murchison because it is peaceful now and this has been on for the last three years," Nyakairima said at the passing out of 665 military trained rangers to guard all the National Parks and Game reserves as one of the tourists' attraction in Uganda.
The migration report indicates that the main purpose for the visits to Uganda were for holidaying, visiting friends, business
officials and transit among others.
Holiday tourism excelled with 86,111 followed by business officials with 80,823 and those people visiting friends were 71,385 visitors.
The visitors came from over 40 countries worldwide and out of the total 512,378 people, who visited, 348,523 were men and 159528 were female.
The year has two-peak season from January up to May and from November up to December. | 
