By Nabendeh Wamoto S.P
“Never out shine had your master ’’said an American author, Robert Green in his 48 laws of power.
According to President Museveni, Minister Godfrey Kiwanda did not consult; he conflicted with the above principle. Just as they say politics is a game of numbers, so also tourism can rightly be said to be a game of psychology. Curvy women or not, the tourism industry is about strategic packaging not sexuality emotions because false advertising cannot stand the test of time in the industry.
Kenya for example, powered her country`s tourism image on the basis of the big five i.e Lion, Rhino, Elephant, Tiger, and Hippo: backed by and exploiting her (Kenya) cultural land mark of the Masai men and women in their Kikoyi, Necklaces and bungles and because of this 1985 “one million tourists a year’’ campaign to which I was a participant, many foreign prospects (tourists) especially Americans can now ably mention the name Serengeti national park in Tanzania which the same Americans unfortunately place on the wrong side of the boarder in Kenya.
Minister Kiwanda may be forgiven for he could have ignorantly taken the tourism woman literally.
Any country`s tourism possibilities can be compared to any young girl curvy or otherwise who has been born with the right degree of natural beauty (definitely Uganda is one of such like girl) with inherited outstanding characteristics such as varied landscape of savanna, dense forests, high mountains, the Equator, Lake Victoria (the largest fresh water lake in East Africa, unequivocally the primary source of river Nile, the longest in Africa), flocks of butterflies, amazing flowers for naturalists, water rafting and kayaking for the adventurous, good food anddrinks for slay queens and slay kings whom we in the tourism profession refer to as layouts.
Why the outburst? Uganda is an ethnically diverse nation with a deeply ingrained intellectual and artistic culture with 56 indigenous communities with different beliefs and values rooted in their culture and in the religions to which they subscribe. These value systems propagate communities and they can be instrumental in the promotion of the culture of tolerance and appreciation of other peoples and their cultures. In this regard, Uganda is a microcosm of living in diversity in all respects.
South America, forexample has the most beautiful women in the world but their strength lies in the game of football not women tourism.
Tourism is psychological that is why we hear things like Candle-lit dinner, saves a lot of electricity for hosts yet to Americans this is romantic and yes to some extent American men find half dressed women rather enticing.
In the Seychelles just Sand bathing tourism has been packaged and majorly made the people enjoy a much higher standard of living than Ugandans do. Tourists in Seychelles are double the number of natives, there is no insecurity and criminality, every child goes to school, guaranteed 12 years of free and compulsory education.
All children and adults on the streets have shoes because of the tourist dollar and like Ugandans the Seychellois are incredibly pleasant and friendly towards foreigners and old people receive their pensions and free health services efficiently and without any hustle.
Nabendeh Wamoto S.P. (0776-658433)
