乌干达会展局首次亮相ITB Asia，深化亚太市场拓展以推动MICE增长

Uganda is setting its sights on the Asia-Pacific (APAC) market to accelerate its business events sector, marking its inaugural presence at ITB Asia as part of a push to diversify its source markets and capture a larger share of global business events traffic.

Speaking to TTGmice at ITB Asia last week, Mellon Tukeikiriza, head of the Uganda Convention Bureau, revealed that APAC is the country’s second-largest source market for arrivals after the African continent. In 2025, APAC surpassed both European and American inbound figures to account for 7.8 per cent of total arrivals.

While trade ties have historically driven visitors from India and China, the bureau is now actively targeting secondary growth markets within the region, including Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The comes as Uganda is working to scale its tourism sector, which the government targets to grow 25-fold over the next five years. Currently, business events arrivals represent approximately five per cent of the nation’s total visitor numbers.

“Africa only has a three per cent market share of MICE in the whole world, so there is still a lot of room to grow,” added Tukeikiriza.

She emphasised that recent regional milestones reflect broader momentum for the continent. Pointing to Rwanda hosting the upcoming International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Congress – the first time the event will be held in Africa – Tukeikiriza framed the win as a shared triumph.

“It’s not only a win for Rwanda, but it’s a win for Africa… when the ICCA Congress comes to Rwanda, that means we will start to have more association meetings coming to Africa.”

Ahead of hosting the Non-Aligned Movement and G77+China summits, Uganda opened the Speke Resort Convention Centre in January 2024. The venue hosted both high-level events and stands as East Africa’s largest, holding up to 4,000 delegates in a single hall.

Currently, Uganda ranks sixth in Africa for hosting association meetings according to ICCA rankings, and has active memberships in global industry bodies such as WTTC, UIA, and SITE. In alignment with national development goals – focused on agro-industrialisation, tourism, mineral development, and science and technology – the bureau is prioritising conference bids that align directly with these sectors.

“When we are tracking conferences, we look for the ones that are aligned with the key industry sectors,” explained Tukeikiriza.

To support event organisers, the Uganda Convention Bureau offers a range of financial and logistical incentives. These include fully supported site inspections, discounted delegate airfares through airline partnerships, direct government subvention funding for confirmed conferences, and hosted buyer programmes.

The bureau also hosts the annual Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo – scheduled next for May 8 to 11, 2027 – which brings over 150 international hosted buyers and media for B2B networking and pre- and post-event familiarisation tours.

Beyond business infrastructure, Uganda is home to over half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas, and the destination is widely recognised as the region’s primate capital. Also known as the “Pearl of Africa”, the country offers delegates unique post-conference experiences, ranging from cultural immersion across 56 distinct tribes to natural landmarks including the source of the River Nile, Lake Victoria, the Equator, and the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains.

The bureau is also in the process of establishing destination marketing representation across several APAC locations, as well as collaborating with Ugandan embassies in China and India to conduct roadshows. To boost general destination awareness, targeted consumer campaigns and partnering with global sports and music icons are also being explored.

“It is difficult for travellers to go to a destination they have never heard about. They have to hear about it first, know that it exists, and what it can offer, before they start to consider or think about visiting,” she opined.

Addressing destination perceptions around safety – often a key consideration for APAC buyers – Tukeikiriza highlighted the country’s long-standing political stability.

“The government which is in power has been there for the last 40 years… and we have been safe and secure for the last 40 years. The perception that it is not safe is untrue, which is why we continue to provide clear information,” Tukeikiriza noted.