Tourism in Uganda

Tourism in Uganda
Tourism in Uganda is focused on Uganda tours and wildlife. Uganda has a very diverse culture, landscape, flora, and fauna.
In the late 1960s, Uganda tours had a prosperous tourist industry with 100,000 visitors each year. Tourism was the country's fourth largest earner of foreign exchange but today Uganda tours has increased by 40%. The tourist industry ended in the early 1970s because of political instability which used to kill Uganda tours trend. By the late 1980s, Uganda tours and the political climate had stabilized and conditions were suitable for reinvestment in Uganda tours. However, the loss of charismatic wildlife in previously popular safari parks such as MurchisonFalls National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Parkprevented these parks from competing with similar tourist attractions in neighboring Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda tours instead promoted its tropical forests. The keystone of the new industry became Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. With more than 300 Mountain Gorillas, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has approximately half of the world's population of Mountain Gorillas.
Tourismin Uganda is an important generator of foreign exchange, employment, and investment. There has been increased investment in Uganda tours, particularly in travel accommodation and related facilities; this has enhanced tourists' experience in the country. Adventure tourism, ecotourism and cultural tourism are being developed. About three-quarters of Uganda tours are from other African countries. Kenya, which borders Uganda, is the biggest source of tourists to Uganda, making up almost half of all arrivals into the country. The number of visitors from Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan is quite low. As Uganda is a landlocked country, it is very dependent on connections through Kenya for most of its transport. International travellers sometimes prefer to fly into Nairobi before connecting to Uganda's capital Kampala as this is often cheaper. Below is a table showing the number of tourists that have visited Uganda's national parks between 2006-2010. In 2012 Uganda was awarded Number 1 in "Top Countries & Travel Destinations 2012" by Lonely Plant which has promoted Uganda tours up to date.