Uganda's tourism

Equator Line project

Most of the prime areas are accessed via where the Equator Line is. Indeed practically all the Uganda Trail circuits involve using the main highway along which where the Equator City is located.

The concept of this project African thrill at the Equator is in congruence with the national and official outlook on focus and strategy for the development of tourism. The project is also strategically located to tap the potential tourism potential of Ssese islands.

Project area of Equator City

In the project area, there are no tourist hotels at all and the area has no facilities for conferences. Competition will come from the nearest places where decent accommodation can be found:

	Masaka, 59 km away
	Kampala, 76 km away
	Mbarara Lake View Hotel, 190 km away

Lake Mburo National Park has accommodation (mainly tented) as well; and the project developers will have a built-in advantage of being the first ones on the site. With the kind of investment and the creativity envisaged, it is almost certain that the Equator City shall be able to attract an "upper-niche clientele" necessary for its financial viability.

Tour Operators

There are over 78 Licensed Tour Operators in Uganda but our research findings indicate that the proportion worth the name of a "Licensed Tour Operator" is only about 25% of them. The rest were found hopelessly out of depth with their knowledge of the job and its requirements. They had no knowledge of the source market(s) and their special requirements and were therefore incapable of promoting tourism. In fact they were found so inadequate in providing tourism services that they knew practically nothing about Uganda - the country they claim to be selling.

Equator Line Centre Ltd. will have to carefully choose the tour operators who would promote them locally and abroad. Some of the more purposeful tour operators, who have mapped out and operated their own programmes and routes, are presented along with their respective tour circuits. These circuits present opportunities for the project on the return journeys (from the wilderness).

Possible tie-in programmes

	The Uganda Trail, operated by Watembezi, offers potential on the return journey from Lake Mburo for the party to spend a night at the Equator City.
	Highlights of Uganda, operated by Afritours, offers potential for an overnight stay on Sundays before the party proceeds to Kampala and Entebbe on Mondays. What is tricky here, is the timing of flights out of Entebbe. If they are at night, then the resort will have to find ways of going around the problem and this may call for an arrangement with a helicopter service operator.
	The Uganda Grand Tour by Delmira Travel Ltd. spends a night at Lake View Hotel in Mbarara before proceeding to Kampala the next morning. Stay at The Equator City should be a potentially more intriguing experience than a night in Mbarara. The resort should not find it too difficult to win such clients.
	The Fishing Trail and the Birding Trail (all on Lake Victoria) of Wild Frontiers probably would not tie in with the Resort, because they are fully-fledged multi-day expedition complete with their own accommodation at the Islands. Nevertheless, there is an opportunity for the Wild Frontiers' parties to crown their experience on the lake with an overnight stay at the Equator City before returning to Kampala.

More strategically, other opportunities exist and these can be exploited by Equator Line Centre Ltd. independently and they rest on the fact that Ssese Islands can be reached from the resort in 2 hours by ferry instead of 9 hours by boat from landing sites or piers near Kampala, used by Wild Frontiers.

For information about tourists and their characteristics, see Tourist characteristics.