By Ronnie Wabomba
MBALE CITY
As Uganda joins the rest of the world to celebrate World Tourism Day, tourism players in Mbale City have been urged to improve customer care, invest in human resource development and continuously develop tourism products to remain competitive in a changing industry.
The call came during a two-day capacity-building training organised by the Uganda Wildlife Research and Training College (UWRTC) for tour guides, hotel attendants and hotel managers in Mbale City.
The training was held from Thursday to Friday at Dream Palace Hotel in Mbale City and brought together 25 professionals already working in the tourism and hospitality sector.
Keren Muhindo, the UWRTC Communications Director, said the training focused on customer care, service excellence, business communication and tourism product development.
She said the programme was part of UWRTC’s efforts to strengthen the skills of people already working in the tourism sector and equip them with knowledge to respond to the changing needs of tourists.
Muhindo said the college also conducted career guidance and wildlife conservation outreach programmes in five schools, including Mbale Secondary School, Bugisu High School and Nyondo Secondary School.
She said the school outreach was aimed at encouraging students to consider careers in tourism and wildlife conservation while creating awareness about the importance of protecting the environment and wildlife.
According to Muhindo, the response from students was encouraging, with many discovering that there are specialised institutions offering courses in wildlife conservation and tourism.
Tumusiime Bernard, the Academic Registrar at UWRTC, urged tourism players to invest in continuous professional development through refresher training and short courses.
Tumusiime said the tourism industry is constantly changing and professionals must acquire new skills and change their mindset if they are to benefit from the sector.
He encouraged the participants to put the knowledge gained during the training into practice and seek additional training to ensure they have the right competencies to meet the demands of the tourism industry.
Tumusiime also said UWRTC, as a public institution offering training in tourism and wildlife management, provides certificate and diploma programmes in areas including Wildlife and Tourism Management plus Wildlife and Natural Resource Management.
He said the college’s competency-based curriculum is designed to equip learners with practical skills that can enable them to create employment opportunities for themselves as well as work in both the public and private sectors.
Muhindo said UWRTC is also implementing the national skills-development agenda through technical and vocational education and training, with emphasis on practical skills that address real-life challenges.
She said the college trains learners in areas that can contribute to addressing challenges such as poaching, wildlife conservation, animal health, environmental degradation and species extinction.
James Kinawa, the manager of the Semei Kakungulu Museum in Mbale, said the training had exposed him to new approaches to product development and hospitality.
Kinawa said Mbale and the wider Bugisu region have many tourism attractions that have not been fully utilised, partly because tourism players have lacked the necessary skills to package and present them to visitors.
He said the training had given him knowledge that could help improve the way tourism products are developed and tourists are handled.
Samuel Lulaba, who works with CW Mbale Wildlife Conservation Centre, said the training had equipped him with skills in business management, customer handling and benchmarking against other tourism players in Uganda and neighbouring countries.
Lulaba described the training as timely, saying it had provided practical knowledge that he could immediately apply in his work.
Parakasi Ken Mugisha, a digital marketier at Wash and Wills Hotel in Mbale, said the training provided important lessons on customer relations, particularly how to handle complaints and retain clients.
Mugisha said some of the lessons were simple but important, including the value of welcoming customers warmly and maintaining a positive attitude when serving them.
The training was also extended to schools as part of efforts to expose students to career opportunities in tourism and wildlife conservation.
Victoria Bagaya Lulaba, the Deputy Head Teacher of Mbale Secondary School, said the career guidance programme had helped students understand alternative career opportunities beyond the traditional courses they often target after secondary education.
She encouraged students to consider tourism and wildlife-related courses as they plan their careers, saying such training can equip them with specialised skills for employment and entrepreneurship.
Uganda will mark World Tourism Day on September 27 at Mbale Secondary School grounds in Mbale City under the theme “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism”.
President Yoweri Museveni has been invited as the chief guest.
Several activities have been held in Mbale as part of the celebrations, including open-park days, football competitions, school drama competitions, career guidance sessions and tourism-sector training.
