Uganda tourism official on Friday reported that had suspended domestic tourism amid rising cases of COVID-19.
Chief executive officer of Uganda Tourism Board, Lilly Ajarova, said that the COVID-19 National Taskforce made the decision to suspend local tourism but allowed foreigners to keep coming in.
“Everyone should remain in one place in a bid to curb the spread,” she said.
Ajarova said the tourism sector was picking up before the new lockdown saying “we were running a successful campaign aimed at encouraging domestic tourism. The lockdown will set us back.”
She added that the new wave of the pandemic would also affect international arrivals as some countries had placed Uganda on their red lists.
According to the tourism ministry, Uganda used to earn over 1.6 billion dollars annually from the tourism sector, but the country’s tourism earnings in 2020 dropped by 73 per cent due to the pandemic.
NAN
