Doreen Katusiime, the ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities’ Permanent Secretary sharing copies of the Statistical Abstract 2025 report with MP’s at Hotel Africana in Kampala recently
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Uganda, popularly known as the Pearl of Africa has proved to be magnet to thousands of tourists from all over the world.
Latest figure show that the year 2024 proved to be a big hit when it comes to tourism, with over 1.3 million tourists flocking into Uganda, garnering for it annual earnings totaling to $1.2 billion (sh4.8 trillion).
According to the Statistical Abstract 2025, a tourism trends and statistics report for 2024, international tourist arrivals rose by 7.7%, while receipts grew by 25.9% to reach sh4.8 trillion ($1.2 billion) in 2024, from the Sh3.8 trillion ($1 billion) recorded in 2023.
Released this week by Doreen Katusiime, the ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities’ permanent secretary, the report says that growth was mainly driven by mainland Africa.
“We saw a rise in visitors from 1,136,233 to 1,223,678 in 2024, with East Africa remaining the largest contributor.
She said that African visitors continue to dominate Uganda’s inbound tourism, accounting for 89.2% of total arrivals. “The major overseas source markets are Asia (4.7%), Europe (2.7%) and the Americas (2.1%).”
Tourist arrivals from African land markets increased by 5.5% in 2024, with strong growth from South Sudan, Burundi and DR Congo. Kenya, which accounted for 41.6% and Rwanda, at 37.0%, remains the top contributors, jointly accounting for 78.6% of arrivals from African land markets.
Officials from the ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities’ and Private Sector in a panel discussion following the launch of the Statistical Abstract 2025 report at Hotel Africana in Kampala recently
“Rwanda’s market share increased from 35.8% in 2023 to 37.0% in 2024, reflecting growth in the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) segment,” further reads the report, adding that DRC saw the highest growth (+3220.0%), significantly increasing its market share from 10% in 2023 to 3.8% in 2024,” she said.
Sudan showed a rise of +208.4%, Somalia +25.2% and Eritrea +27.2%, also recorded notable increases, while Zambia declined by 28.4%. “EAC partner states continue to dominate, contributing the majority of land-based Africa arrivals to Uganda (96.9%).
“Key overseas markets also performed well, including the United Kingdom (10,179 arrivals), United States (16,237 arrivals), and India (34,208 arrivals). The North American market grew 19.7%, largely due to a surge in Canadian arrivals (from 3,900 to 9,688),” said Katusiime, at a function held at Hotel Africana last Thursday .
She further noted that Uganda’s international tourism recovery reached 89.2% of pre pandemic levels, up from 82.6% in 2023, re enforcing its position as a leading African tourism destination.
Katusiime acknowledged the dynamic global and regional context in which these achievements occurred.
“The global travel industry reached 99% of pre pandemic levels in 2024. Uganda not only kept pace but strengthened its position in the region – particularly within sub Saharan Africa, where it now holds a 3.2% share of all international tourist arrivals.”
