Uganda pays CNN one million dollars to promote tourism

The Uganda government and Cable News Network (CNN) have sealed a one million US dollars six-month deal to promote the country as a top tourist destination in Africa,local press reported in Kampala on Monday.

Ugandan State Minister for Tourism, Trade and Antiquities Jovino Akaki and officials from CNN signed the agreement in Kampala last week. According to the deal, Uganda will sponsor the Inside Africa show on CNN, which runs every Saturday, for six months. Spots promoting tourism under the tagline, "Uganda: A Gift of Nature" will run in the 30 minute show, which is repeated every Sunday.

"On Thursday we met and gave a nod to a team that is supposed to brand Uganda, so very soon you will be seeing on CNN good things about Uganda," Akaki told journalists at Murchison Falls National Park on Friday.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority invited journalists from different local media houses to Murchison Falls National Park in a bid to promote positive reporting on tourism.

Speaking at the closing of the workshop, Akaki blamed local journalists for concentrating on the negative instead of the positive side of what the country offers.

"Promoting tourism is not a responsibility of only the government. It is for every Ugandan from the time a tourist arrives at Entebbe Airport, the journey to Kampala, the taxi driver who brings him and the hotel or restaurant where he eats. All these make an impression," Akaki said.

UWA Executive Director Moses Mapesa said there was need for the media to pay more positive attention to the tourism sector.

The CNN crew have been in Uganda to shoot key tourist attractions in national parks, cultural dances and promotional interviews for clips to use in the adverts.

Uganda earned 200 million dollars from tourism last year.

Source: Xinhua