Benefits of Community based tourism Uganda : Everyone has a stake in tourism. Just giving a foreign guest a smile is enough to make them feel at home. If you see a solo traveler on the street or road asking for directions, you are opening doors for Uganda. Community-Based Tourism (CBT) has grown at a rate that has never been seen before because more and more people want educational and hands-on safari experiences.
Community-based tourism is also being seen as a way to help rural areas better manage their tourism resources. It also has a lot of potential for making money, diversifying the local economy, preserving culture, protecting the environment, and giving people the chance to learn.
Community-Based Tourism is different from standard, off-the-shelf packages because it encourages creativity. When tour operators see the people behind the goods, that’s when community-based tourism is at its best.
Community-Based Tourism is a type of tourism in which local, rural communities invite visitors to visit, sometimes by giving them a place to stay overnight. There are times when these groups might be left out.
One might then wonder how small towns in rural areas connect with tourists. Well, it works in a number of ways, including a strong link between local tour guides and licensed tour guides at the national level. As part of their safaris, tour operators who are members of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO) sell and advertise community-based tour sites. When tourists show interest, this is worked into the schedule.
Prior to this, tour operators will have to make a site visit to find out the state of facilities, activities and degree of preparedness.
Community-based tourism events are not meant to be watched from the sidelines.
Tourists want to help pick coffee berries off the tree and use the flat stone to grind wheat or sorghum. Community Based Tourism additionally involves food tourism, with visitors tasting a variety and different kinds of food, prepared in a hygienic environment.
This is not the same as taking photos and videos of lions and mountain gorillas in Bwindi.
Community-based tourism works because tour operators, local guides who live in the area and know the local language, and other people who have a stake in the community work together.
The government sets up the right rules through the Uganda Tourism Board and the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities. Both the tour provider and the local guide need to know about the “local politics” of the area. This is why community-based tourism is not a top-down method but a bottom-up method.
A SWOT study needs to be done to find out what the community’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are. The local guide can work closely with a tour operator or may be smart enough to draw tourists directly through online marketing and social media networks. But it’s better to work together, giving the local guide a specialty so they can work closer with the community and the tour company the job of marketing.
Uganda Tourism Board is in the process of licensing and registering tour guides so we have the right standard of people responsible for tourists in the country. Being capable to drive a Land Cruiser does not make you a tour guide.
Community-Based Tourism puts the people in the community in charge and puts money directly in their pockets. Community tourism could be owned or run by the community as a whole, or it could be run by the community and a partner (50/50), with the partner putting up the money needed to build the right buildings and amenities. Community-Based Tourism gives a certain amount of its money to a fund that pays for communication development and conservation efforts.
