At ZBIN we like to focus on success business stories from across Africa especially countries in East and Central Africa. Today we feature key business lessons from Uganda which is promoting its tourism brand. We look at what the Pearl of Africa has done to promote tourism in 2016 and their plans in 2017 and beyond.

Lesson Number 1: Refined marketing strategy in 2016

For the first time in Uganda’s history, they hired three firms to market the Pearl of Africa in United States, United Kingdom and Germany. Uganda is increasingly receiving continued coverage worth millions of dollars in leading media houses in these markets. To date Uganda has already received media publicity worth nearly $4 million. A lot more is expected by the end of 12 months for which the firms were hired. From this intervention,  tourists from US to increase from 49,414 in 2015 to at least 60,000 in the year 2017; tourists from United to increase from 40,851 in 2015 to 60,000 in 2017 and tourists from Germany to increase from 9,585 in 2015 to at least 15,000.

Lesson Number 2: Ugandans encouraged to prepare for increased tourist arrivals. Expected increase in Germany tourists means that there is need to learn the Germany language, quality of service to be improved by increased investment and monitoring by the Uganda Tourism Board.

Lesson Number 3: Working with Uganda Foreign Missions in key source markets to publicise the Pearl of Africa and to link  tour operators to tour operators from established markets where Uganda has have foreign missions.

Lesson Number 4: Uganda to continue promoting domestic tourism.

Below is a statement from the Uganda Tourism Board….

The Uganda Tourism Board appreciates the increased interest from all Ugandans in tourist sites all over Uganda. Ugandans are surely rediscovering the Pearl of Africa. During the Christmas period, we closely observed as Ugandans and expatriates filled tourism sites all over Uganda. We appreciate the lead role played by outstanding domestic tourists such as Rotaract and Rotary, rally fans, sports fans, culture enthusiasts, The Slayers, Mr Dibo and friends, Mr Kyamutetera and many others. Going forward, we shall continue supporting domestic campaigns including Tulambule and others. We strongly wish to encourage the private sector to design such initiatives that will encourage more Ugandans to explore Uganda.

Lesson Number 5: New Tourism Products

For the first time in Africa, Uganda hosted Africa’s first ever birding expo at the Botanical Gardens Entebbe. This exposed Uganda as the world’s premium birders’ destination, boasting of 50 per cent of Africa’s bird species and 10 per cent of the world’s species. This expo will continue to grow and be Africa’s and Uganda’s signature birding event.

Lesson Number 6: Uganda divided into 13 tourism destinations

Uganda has been organised into 13 tourism destinations namely Busoga, Far Eastern, Lango, Acholi, West Nile, Bunyoro, Toro, Rwenzori, Kigezi, Greater Ankole, Ssese Islands and Buganda; most of our domestic interventions will aim at promoting these unbelievably gifted destinations.

Lesson Number 7: Quality Review

Uganda continues to regulate the tourism industry to improve the quality of service .To date they have classified 61 hotels all over the country; five of which have received five star rating. This exercise is continuing and they encourage all tourist accommodations to have their facilities classified as it shall amplify their credibility. The service is currently done free of charge. Tour operators received training as well. The board will continue to provide training to staff employed by tourism facilities such as accommodation facilities, tour operators, tour guides, and many others, free of charge.

Lesson Number 8: Brand Promotion in 2017

The Uganda Tourism Board has the following statement

In 2017, our major effort will be placed on strengthening our brand promise – The Pearl of Africa. Building a strong national destination brand will require the involvement as well as the support of every Ugandan and Ugandan institution including Parliament, police, army, sports teams, media houses, Opposition, boda bodas, etc. We shall be at your door step to guide you on how best you too can participate and benefit from a stronger destination brand

Lesson Number 9: Identification of Undeveloped Sites in Rural Areas

The board encourage individuals that know about or possess undeveloped sites, as well as communities that own or live nearby sites associated with rich heritage to contact then  for assistance and guidance. Uganda has more than wildlife – it is blessed with centuries-old stories that have to be told and sold. Do not hesitate to seek guidance on how best to convert rich heritage/history into dollars. Together, we can tap into tourism to create jobs for our especially rural populations.

Happy New Year to you all, the fact that you are reading this post means that you managed to make it into 2017! We wish you a peaceful and prosperous new year. The year 2017 should be much better than 2016, most of us would like to forget 2016 in hurry-terrible year.

So most of you should be in a planning mode-new year resolutions, dropping off  bad habits, upskilling, new job hunting, new relationships etc. Planning is good as it enables you to measure progress against set targets, it gives you control over events, it allows you to put aside resources for certain activities. Planning helps to reduce surprises and in some cases planning brings peace of mind.

Fear of Planning

Now despite the many advantages that come from planning why are many people afraid of planning? It is tough to get an answer but the common reason is that most people are afraid of failing! The fear of failing is the number one reason why some would rather sail through the next 365 days taking each day as it comes. In some cases it can even work that you just live from day to day taking advantage of opportunities and risks as they arise but its a very risky way of living.

Factors to consider in your 2017 planning

1. Global Events: Do not plan in isolation, consider global events or issues. What does the victory by Trump mean for your country, area and community? What are the predictions in terms of climatic changes? Are we going to have good rains in 2018? Will it be Elnino or its opposite?
2. Election Period: Zimbabwe will be entering an election mode with temperatures expected to rise in the coming few months, how is it going to affect you? Do you have any lessons learnt from previous elections?
3. The Economy: The Economy is closely related to Politics mentioned above, what is going to be the impact on your resolutions? What are Economists saying not only about Zimbabwe but about Africa and our region?
4. New Trends: What are the emerging trends that are still to come to your country? For instance in Nigeria Bitcoin fraud has taken the country by storm, it is slowly coming this side. What are the new gadgets that  are coming up and making an impact in other countries but yet to come to Zimbabwe?
5. New issues that came up in 2016: So what is totally new that cropped up in 2016 that caught everyone by surprise? Is it the emergence of bank queues? Is it the new electronic way of registering new students at schools? Is it the new instrument that banned imports? Is it the banning of the Quails? You may need to create your own list of possible new issues that will take everyone by surprise.
6. What is missing? The above 5 factors could have missed important issues, brainstorm and find out what it is that I have missed.

Planning as a Family

One of the reasons why some plans fail is due to the fact that most people plan alone. Do not work in isolation if you have a family then take time  to sit down and plan together. What do you want to achieve in 2017? How are you going to do that? Its important to have a family goal where everyone within the family shares the same vision. Do not forget to include your children too in the planning session. They are key stakeholders and decisions being made affect them. They need to know of challenges expected, they need to pull in the same direction. The advantage of including children is that they learn about planning at an early stage.

Risks and Opportunities

What were the top 5 risks that cropped up in 2016 for you? Were you affected? Are there any lessons learnt? Will the same risks crop up in 2017? What new opportunities came up in 2016? Did you grab opportunities that came up in 2016? What other regional opportunities exist? Do you have a plan to take advantage of them in 2017?

So ZBIN wishes you success in your planning sessions as you set your 2017 targets. Don’t worry about failing as studies in the USA have shown that most people do set new year resolutions but only 8% achieve them. In the follow up article, we will cover planning at corporate level.

All the best in 2017