Celebrities to promote tourism in Uganda

Tourists in the Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda. The celebrities have been chosen because they are trendsetters, admired and followed by many people. PHOTO FILE | NATION 

In Summary

• Through a partnership with the Uganda Conservation Foundation, the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the country will promote tourism local and international celebrities.
• The celebrities have been chosen because they are trendsetters, admired and followed by many people.
• WildAid has been using celebrities to speak to people about conservation.

By CATHERINE AGENO
More by this Author

Uganda will promote its tourism industry through local and international celebrities. Through a partnership with the Uganda Conservation Foundation, the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the international conservation group WildAid has launched a campaign titled “Poaching Steals from Us All.”
According to Nayantara Kilachand, WildAid’s Africa manager, the three-year campaign was officially rolled out in Kampala on October 16, with funding from charitable foundations and the private sector.

“This campaign is aimed at raising the profile of wildlife conservation in Uganda, emphasising its cultural and economic importance,” she said.

Using a mix of local and international celebrity ambassadors, the campaign is to be rolled out in several Ugandan languages in the form of TV documentaries and short public announcements, billboards, social media, events and other outreaches aimed at instilling a sense of pride in the country’s wildlife heritage and entrenching a desire to protect it.

READ: Uganda tourism players fault marketing strategy

Trendsetters

WildAid has been using celebrities to speak to people about conservation. They have worked with the likes of football icon David Beckham, renowned actors Jackie Chan, Leonardo Dicaprio, Yang Ming and Lupita Nyongo, and even Britain’s Prince William and DJ Fresh.

They have targeted different parts of the world under the global theme: “When the buying stops, the killing can too.”

“In Uganda, the ambassadors include comedians Anne Kansiime and Salvador, singers Irene Ntale and Maurice Kirya, the Uganda Cranes football team, the Rugby Sevens team and the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda,” says Ms Kilachand.

The celebrities have been chosen because they are trendsetters, admired and followed by many people.

ALSO READ: Kampala brings out the best of E. Africa