As we try to pull away from the Covid-19 pandemic, Uganda is rebranding itself as a tourism destination that is beyond enjoying the sights and sounds of wildlife and other natural resources. The mantra is now exploring what makes Uganda a unique place to be, the attractions and features that are peculiar to the usual human eyes.

The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), the top marketing manager of Uganda as a tourism destination has dropped the brand name “Visit Uganda” for “Explore Uganda”.

The change of the brand name has brought mixed reactions in the public domain. The opposers were of a conviction that “Visit Uganda” was easy to sell since it crosscuts among tourists, there was no need of changing the brand name.

The “Visit Uganda” merely meant that travelers from outside Uganda come and visit the attractions popularly known such as the source of the Nile, ugwu ozodimgba, mountains of the moon, Lake Victoria, and the common big mammals. It was plain and simple, even a person who has never traveled in their entire life but would wish to could fathom the hymn. If first-time travelers probed for more information, it was easy to explain to them or refer them to the internet because it is all written on the various tours and travel websites.

The proposers of the “Explore Uganda” slogan advised that Uganda was not well represented and promoted by the “Visit Uganda” mantra. The East African country is much more than just being visited for safaris in the ten Uganda national parks. There is more Uganda can offer to tourists if the narrative is changed. Let tourists come to Uganda to explore its unique beauties. The Masterminds of the “Explore Uganda” further explain that the brand name also reaches out and intrigues the nationals too to tour their country.

The “Explore Uganda” campaign was unveiled not even a month into 2022 and launched during the rebranding of Uganda as a tourism destination to “Explore Uganda, The Pearl of Africa”.

At the launch event, Lilly Ajarova, the top brass of Uganda Tourism Board said, “the previous brandings did not project because they were poorly executed and being equivocal about the meaning of “Pearl of Africa’”. She further explained that they joined hands with market researchers in Europe and North America and found out that people are not so much interested in wildlife safaris now and henceforth there was the need to reposition Uganda as a competitive destination by bringing out other attractions.

The minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Tom Butime also stated, “The rebrand is an outcome of a thorough survey which occurred for some time”. He added that the survey showed that travelers stayed longer in other east African countries than in Uganda.

The Explore Uganda campaign gathered more mass by the release of the video which was posted on the various social media platforms including those owned and run by the Uganda Tourism Board. The account names of the social networks of UTB were also changed from “Visit Uganda” to “Explore Uganda”.

Primate Tourism

The video has a well-described message. It commences by showing the green mist ranges of Kigezi highlands as a lady walks through the virgin forest looking at the chimpanzees and the gorillas. This is a killer since Uganda attracts many travelers who are interested in gorilla safaris that are conducted in Bwindi and Mgahinga National Park. The country is also the best place to see chimpanzees, man’s closest cousins. Chimpanzees are protected in several national parks; Kibale Forest National Park, Budongo Forest, Kyambura Gorge, and more.

It then proceeds to show two men fleeced from head to toe hiking the glacier summits of Rwenzori, Africa’s second-highest mountain. Less marketed to tourists, the Rwenzori Mountain is such a big potential if well marketed to the hiking/trekking world.

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The Explore Uganda video further promotes cultural tourism, another potential product that can be packaged for tourists. It shows a family from probably the remote areas of Karamoja enjoying a drink from a broken calabash with a grin on their faces.

Subsequently, it also shows a woman kneeling serving steamy matooke from banana leaves to her children is shown.

To emphasize culture, two men are seen enjoying a bevy from a local bar prevail followed by a traditional group cladding in cultural attires hitting the calabashes while they sing and dance along.

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The video further shows the treacherous and powerful Murchison falls and a lofty giraffe strolling through the savannah prairies are displayed. Ladies most probably locals enjoying a safari game drive, a lion nestled in a fig tree, a gentleman gracefully milking a long-horned cow, black lady shopping curios, visitors swimming at one of the upmarket lodges in Murchison Falls National Park and

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The newly constructed Jinja bridge is shown lighting up the night, revelers enjoying the nightlife, children playing football in the rain, a young lady swinging on a hammock buried in thoughts, rafters maneuvering the dreadful rapids and tides on River Nile.

Another outstanding scene in this video was of a man enjoying a smooth motorcycle ride (boda boda) on a highway come to sight in the final third of the video. The video ends with two lovers enjoying the sunset on the fringes of a water body.

Explore Uganda – A Smart Campaign

With all the above, the explore Uganda brand seeks to sell an experience, something that can be seen in the video. However, we are yet to see the tourism stakeholders switch their itineraries from mere sights to a total people-driven experience which is actually the mind behind the explore Uganda brand.

It is not simply visiting the source of the Nile but the experience of how Ugandans uniquely interact with the Nile, it is not encountering the mountain gorillas but the experience that comes with encountering the communities, the stories, and how they better or mess up the mountain gorilla trekking experience. It is more than simply visiting.

It is a smart move based on the video which gives a lucid summary of what can uniquely be discovered on a safari in Uganda once you embark on an exploration expedition. But unless Uganda Tourism Board finds a way to inspire tour operators into not just adopting the mantra but living it, it will most likely turn out to be a “Visit Uganda” brand masked with a new face.

Nonetheless, we are yet to witness the ramifications of the rebranding because it is at its infantry stage. It is less than three months since it was launched. Though it might have created more awareness locally, the gist of the brand is yet to burst into reality.