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Welcome to the Pearl of Africa, 2012

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~Albert Einstein

Sir Winston Churchill the British wartime premier, once referred to Uganda as the Pearl of Africa. This description is near perfect and has held true for millennia.

With the River Nile, Mountains of the Moon, national parks teeming with wildlife and, above all, friendly people Uganda increasingly offers the best of a tourism mix. Tourism infrastructure has witnessed a boom since the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), with hotels and conference facilities have and are still been constructed. The country's profile has grown as a travel destination over the last decade.

Today, travel/tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Uganda. It has grown over the years to become a major source of revenue and also has the potential to become the economy's backbone within the next few years. Entry and exit formalities have been streamlined for tourists, with the Government permitting charter flights directly without having to first land at Entebbe, while plans are underway to develop a single East African tourist visa. This single visa will certainly boost numbers considerably.

Ecologically, Uganda is where the East African savannah meets the West African jungle. Uganda is the only safari destination whose range of forest primates is as impressive as its selection of plain antelopes. Besides the wide biodiversity, Uganda boasts of a diverse bird population of more than 1,000 species.

2012 is a unique year for Uganda as the country celebrates the 50th anniversary of her independence. Sports fishing, mountain climbing, gorilla tracking, game viewing, Batwa cultural trail, bird watching; chimpanzee tracking, launch trips and quad biking are rapidly gaining traction in the tourism sector.

Uganda's rapid growth as a low volume high value destination was recognized in 2011 by Lonely Planet, this list of the top 10 countries for 2012 – in ranked order – was voted for by a panel of in house travel experts, based on topicality, excitement, value and that special X-factor. Uganda was ranked top of this list.

Uganda is one of only three countries where it is possible to visit mountain gorillas. The others are Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mountain gorillas are Uganda's prime tourist attraction. The vast majority of these are in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, with a few others in Mgahinga National Park, both in southwestern Uganda.

Uganda's Ngamba Island chimpanzee Sanctuary on Lake Victoria has over 40 chimpanzees the area is over 100 acres of land and tourists can feed the primates. This pristine rainforest environment offers mankind's closest relatives an ideal habitat. It has been established that chimpanzee DNA is 98.7 percent similar to that of human beings. Ngamba Island has become synonymous with chimpanzees as there has now been a chimpanzee sanctuary for the last couple of years.

Uganda has one of the highest numbers of inland water bodies in Africa and these water bodies present opportunities such as sport fishing and island experiences as in the case of the fresh water Sese islands on Lake Victoria. They offer a complete return to Mother Nature, while sport fishing in Murchison Falls is good recreational activity which does not threaten the number of fish the Murchison bay. There are a high number of tourists who visit the region to carry out sport fishing.

Murchison Bay is famous for more than the falls and sport fishing. Birding is one of the main activities in Murchison Falls wildlife safari park. A diversity of birds has become resident to this park due to its diversity of vegetation, landscape and features. Herons, Bee-eaters, Shoebill Stork, Cormorant, Fish Eagles and King Fishers are amongst the unique bird species in the park and beyond.

The unique chimps, pristine islands and bird watching paradise aside, Western Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park - Ishasha sector - is home to the unusual tree climbing lions. These big cats climb trees and relax on them in the afternoon, when the sun is high. This is beyond doubt a unique phenomenon.

The semi arid area of North Eastern Uganda is home to the Kidepo Valley National Park. This park that teems with wildlife including giraffes and gazelles, borders the Republic of South Sudan. It has facilities that meet the standards of any international traveler and security is also assured. The remoteness of this protected area is its key merit. It offers both a first time and regular a self rejuvenation experience. Most road networks and those in the national parks are now well maintained to facilitate tourist mobility.

It is not just about animals and birds. The (5,119m) high, snow covered Rwenzori Mountain also known as Mountains of the Moon, is a World Heritage Centre and offers tourists an experience of a lifetime. These unique block mountains are in the western arm of the Great Rift Valley. The landform, with its mist-surrounded peaks, provides stunning backdrops to this magnificent mountain. Ever since the Rwenzori became known to the world, its features have been going through tremendous changes.

The Mount Elgon National park straddles the Uganda-Kenya Frontier in Eastern Uganda. The park boundaries contain 1147 sq. km of mountain. Most of this area is covered with typical afro-montane vegetation, complete with giant groundsels and bamboo forest. It is prudent to note that many hikers find Mount Elgon an exciting alternative to some of the fascinating climbs in East Africa. Mount Elgon has many of the same attractions, with milder climate and lower elevation. Climbing the peaks needs no special equipment or technical climbing experience.

Over the years, Uganda's travel and tourism has basically been focused on wildlife, especially on the promotion of gorillas. The industry has become a major foreign exchange earner thanks to gorilla trekking, which attracts a large number of tourists each year to the country.

The rapidly changing nature of tourism trends and behavior however has made the Ugandan government and stakeholders look for ways to diversify its tourist products through advocating alternative forms of tourism such as marine, faith-based and eco-tourism. Tourism diversification is expected to further boost travel and tourism revenue and also strengthen Uganda's economy.

Open and participatory policy for conserving Uganda's wildlife resources has been developed. This policy addresses the drastic loss of wildlife during the previous years of anarchy and allows for sustainable utilization of resources inside and outside protected areas so as to link conservation to social and economic development of rural areas. To achieve these, government and other stakeholders have worked towards both institutional reforms and capacity building in the sector.

Apart from the gazetted conservation areas, the country's tourism resource is enjoyed by the local communities. The Uganda Community Tourism Association, for example, is an association of small scale community based tourism enterprises whose main objective is to ensure that money spent by visitors goes straight to the community, through employment, handicraft making, community camp groups, guiding amongst other enterprises.

Change has had far reaching consequences for the private sector hotel owners too since the Government of Uganda has divested from most of the hotel industry. The public sector, however, is focusing increasingly on policy guidelines and regulatory functions. Today the private sector appreciates the importance of standards and all aspects relating to client satisfaction. The investment climate in Uganda's hospitality sector has continued to improve over the years.

The Serena Group of Hotels has invested heavily in Uganda's hospitality industry, as have the Imperial Group and the Speke Group, among a host of other private tourism related ventures including those of the Mada and Madhvani Groups respectively.