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UTB announces crackdown to enforce standards among tourism facilities

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UTB announces crackdown to enforce standards among tourism facilities
UTB deputy CEO Bradford Ochieng briefs police officers ahead of the crackdown

The Uganda Tourism Board(UTB) will later this week start operations together with police aimed at enforcing minimum standards in the hospitality sector.

The operation will start with all tourism facilities including lodges, hotels and restaurants among others in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.

The operation will then expand to other parts of the country.

“We want travelers who come to enjoy. One of the aspects we have always been lacking in is health and hygiene. Therefore, our duty as UTB is to ensure the standards are not below the minimum and we can only do this when we inspect these facilities. It is not a UTB thing but international requirement for these facilities to have standards. We are not targeting anyone at all but as long as they are operating tour facility you must get a licence,” Bradford Ochieng, the UTB deputy CEO said on Saturday.

He mentioned that with over 4000 facilities in accommodation around the country, not more than 200 are licenced because they don’t meet the required standards.

“Many of these don’t get licences because of ignorance while in other cases it is complacency. Some say the fees are high and use it as a scapegoat for not coming forward to get licenced but we have been educating them on the benefits of meeting minimum standards and being licenced. At the end of the day, if your facility is compliant and it is on our website, you are getting free marketing. It helps you not to labour to explain to anyone,” Ochieng said.

He noted that the crackdown is part of the efforts that UTB is engaged in to ensure the tourism sector grows its revenues 25 times to $50 billion by 2040.

Ochieng said this can only be possible if minimum standards are met by facilities in the sector.

The Police Counter Terrorism deputy director, Patrick Lawot said they will be working hand in hand with UTB to enforce these standards.

He however assured that the Tourism Police officers who will be doing the work will not be using force .

“Our job is to work with UTB to ensure safety and sanity in the tourism sector. We will be assisting them in enforcing standards in all possible ways. If we improve the quality of our services, we will attract more tourists and we will benefit as business owners and as a country at large,” Lawot said.

Sections 13 and 14 of the Uganda Tourism Act 2008 says a person shall not operate any accommodation or other designated tourist facility for the purpose of payment by tourists unless the accommodation or facility has been issued with a licence by UTB .

The law also says a person who contravenes this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 48  currency points or imprisonment not exceeding two years or both. section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding forty-eight currency points or imprisonment not exceeding two years or both.

The law also empowers UTB to close down facilities that don’t have valid licences.

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