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2000 38: 221Journal of Travel ResearchRaymond Victurine

Entrepreneurs in UgandaBuilding Tourism Excellence at the Community Level: Capacity Building for Community-Based

  

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FEBRUARY 2000JOURNAL OF TRAVEL RESEARCH

Building Tourism Excellence at theCommunity Level: Capacity Building for

Community-Based Entrepreneurs in UgandaRAYMOND VICTURINE

The recuperation of tourism in Uganda will be a slowprocess. The tourist industry must overcome years of neglect,bad publicity, and the devastation of its most treasured tour-ism products—its wildlife and natural beauty. With tourism’sresurgence, it will be important for people living aroundUganda’s natural areas to benefit economically from the ex-istence of those areas and from the potential tourist income.Tourism offers the only legal avenue by which people livingin rural communities can derive economic benefits fromwildlife. However, most rural entrepreneurs and communityorganizations interested in the tourist market possess neitherthe skills nor the know-how to operate successful tourism es-tablishments. This article describes a training programaimed at building those skills and establishing strong institu-tional linkages to ensure the existence of a viablecommunity-based tourism sector so that Uganda’s nature-based tourism embraces ecotourism principles, with benefitsaccruing to those most affected by wildlife.

After decades of serious decline, Uganda’s tourism nowshows signs of resurgence. Tourist numbers are slowlyincreasing, as is the opportunity for rural businesses to earnrevenue from nature tourism. Revenue opportunities in thesector also contribute to greater local interest in conserva-tion. However, due to Uganda’s disappearance from the itin-eraries of most East Africa–bound tourists over the past twodecades, many rural businesses are ill equipped to meet theservice and quality standards demanded by the internationaltraveler.

This article discusses an incipient program to impart theskills required to provide quality service and raise standardsof rural tourism businesses in Uganda. The program strivesto establish a foundation for the development of a viableecotourism industry supportive of locally run and small-scale businesses. It provides an example of some initial stepstaken to move Uganda’s nature tourism toward the ecotour-ism realm and to build up the economic prospects as well asthe power base of community and rural-based tourism busi-nesses within the national tourism industry.

EVOLUTION OF TOURISM IN UGANDA

During the decade of the 1960s, Uganda was the premierEast African tourist destination, known as the Pearl of

Africa. More tourists embarked on wildlife safaris in Ugandathan in Kenya and Tanzania combined (Ben Otto, UgandaMinistry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities, personalcommunication, September 1996). Consequently, tourismrepresented one of Uganda’s primary sources of foreignexchange revenue. This situation changed dramatically withIdi Amin’s rise to power and the subsequent devastation ofthe country’s wildlife and tourism infrastructure. Under theAmin regime, tourism became virtually illegal, and contactby Ugandans with foreigners faded. The invasion of the Tan-zanian army that toppled Amin completed the destruction ofthe tourism infrastructure and exacerbated the demise ofwildlife. Uganda’s tourism collapse coincided with tourisminvestment and growth in the other East African countrieswhere abundant wildlife continued to roam.

Since 1994, the luster has begun to return to Africa’spearl. Tourism shows signs of reawakening from thedevastation-induced sleep of the past two decades. Thisreawakening remains tentative but promising. In 1996, anestimated 7,000 international tourists visited Uganda, a 40%increase over the 5,000 who visited in 1995 (Victurine andCarpenter 1996). These tourist numbers indicate the lowlevel of recognition that Uganda has in the internationalarena as an East African tourist destination, especially when

Raymond Victurine was formerly the technical adviser to theGrants Management Unit of the Action Program for the Environ-ment in Kampala, Uganda. The author acknowledges the contribu-tions of Elissa Williams of the North Carolina Zoo in the develop-ment of the training program and her continued efforts on behalf ofthe Uganda Community Tourist Association (UCOTA). Additionalacknowledgment and gratitude is owed to Robert Lilieholm of UtahState University for his editorial comments and encouragement inthe development of this article. Moreover, the author acknowledgesUSAID/Kampala for its support of the training concept and thefunding to implement the program. This article mentions that thecreation of UCOTA was a direct result of the training program thatwas funded. On April 19, 1999, UCOTA celebrated its officiallaunch. The king of the Buganda kingdom, Ronald Mutebi, and theminister of tourism, trade, and industry, Moses Ali, officiated at thelaunch. Foreign dignitaries, tourism industry leaders, governmentpeople, and community leaders were in attendance. The Bugandaking will be the patron of UCOTA and will support community tour-ism activities through the Kabaka Foundation (kabakameans kingin the Luganda language). UCOTA also received commitments offinancial support from several other donors, including the U.K.-based Association for Conservation and Tourism.

Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 38, February 2000, 221-229© 2000 Sage Publications, Inc.

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compared to Kenya, which alone received one-half milliontourists in 1996 (Kenya Tourist Board 1998).

As seen from these numbers, the recuperation of tourismin Uganda will be a slow process. The tourist industry mustovercome years of neglect, bad publicity, and the destructionof its natural treasures. However, with sector investmentincreasing and wildlife numbers on the rise throughoutUganda’s protected areas, and with the security situationslowly improving, many of the constraints to a resurgenttourism are being removed. At the same time, Uganda willnot become a mass tourist destination, and its tourist numberswill not approach those of its East African neighbors.

Uganda is looking away from wildlife tourism based onviewing the “big five” (safari tourism based on viewing thefive big game species: buffalo, lion, rhino, elephant, andleopard) toward a more integrated natural or ecotourismfocus. This new focus stresses nontraditional East Africantourist products (primates, birds, and water-based tourism)and integrates them with big game. In this area, Uganda hasmuch to offer. Uganda’s natural beauty and its isolation rela-tive to normal tourist destinations in East Africa providetourists with a more intimate and rugged African naturaladventure. Moreover, tourists to Uganda can enjoy intimatecontact with endangered mountain gorillas, chimpanzees,and hundreds of species of birds.

The relative isolation and the more direct contact withnature offer the opportunity for communities located nearareas of natural beauty to interact with tourists and reap eco-nomic benefits from this interaction. These ingredientsoffer a distinct opportunity for Uganda to capitalize onecotourism.

THE ROLE OF WILDLIFE INUGANDA’S SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

In Uganda, tourism represents the only legal mechanismthrough which people living in rural communities can deriveeconomic benefits from wildlife. Fees for accommodationand food services for tourists, as well as for limited touristguiding, represent sources of income directly related to wild-life viewing and nature-based tourism.

Few other wildlife-based opportunities have the potentialto generate revenue for rural Ugandans. The Uganda Wild-life Statute of 1996 fosters the derivation of economic bene-fits through the establishment of wildlife user rights, includ-ing game ranching. However, no regulations exist to allowthe exercise of such rights at this time. Two years after thepassage of the statute, no single example of extension ofwildlife user rights exists in the country. The Uganda Wild-life Authority has attempted on several occasions to advancea wildlife use policy based on participatory processes, but therecommendations and proposed actions have languished.The extension of wildlife user rights implies a limited liftingof the hunting ban, and the country is moving only cautiouslyin that direction owing to the past devastation and still-limited numbers of some species in the country.

Game ranching offers a direct wildlife use option thatwould not require hunting. Wild animal capture for breedingpurposes would most likely occur initially to stock theranches. For the most part, game ranching initiatives willrequire private-sector investment that might or might not

lead to direct benefits to those communities affected by wild-life. Joint ventures with communities, or other mechanismsto ensure a transfer or dispersal of benefits to local communi-ties, represent possible options that policy could addressonce established. However, the time to achieve implementa-tion of such policies lies several years in the future.

Therefore, tourism offers the greatest possibility toextend the benefits from wildlife to those who interact with iton a daily basis. These people face the costs from crop-raiding animals and from the inability to expand agriculturalproduction onto land designated as protected areas. In thepast, they have shared little in the benefits from tourism orfrom the existence of the protected areas where much of theworld’s biological diversity exists. They now want suchbenefits, and policy makers are listening, believing thatunless people can earn economic benefits, the job of protect-ing Uganda’s biodiversity will become increasingly moredifficult, if not impossible.

Officially, Uganda embraces the concept of ecotourismand expects to become a significant ecotourism destinationin the future. However, like many countries that hope to buildtheir tourism bases on natural treasures, Uganda has notdeveloped policies that foster and promote ecotourism. Thisis especially true in the area of community benefits.

According to accepted ecotourism principles, economicopportunities and benefits must accrue to those people whoshare geographic proximity with protected areas, that is,those who represent local interests rather than purelynational or international interests (Whelan 1991). The adop-tion of ecotourism principles implies a commitment to sup-port local businesses and entrepreneurs. Promoting the use oflocal materials, labor, and foodstuffs is a positive first step,but community-based businesses require more. They needthe capital and skills that will allow them to compete in thenature tourism market, backed by policy and actions condu-cive to ecotourism. Otherwise, Uganda will have tourismbased on nature but not ecotourism.

REALIZING THEPOTENTIAL BENEFITS

The success enjoyed by the reawakening of the touristindustry depends on attracting and pleasing the tourists thatcome to Uganda. This implies developing awareness amongtourism businesspeople of the needs and wants of today’stravelers and instilling the ability to respond to them throughquality services. Tourists who feel ill treated or exploited willnot serve as Uganda’s tourism goodwill ambassadors.

Local entrepreneurs and community organizations needto develop and enhance their skills to fully realize any gainsfrom tourism. These small businesses have neither the expe-rience nor the skills to market their enterprises or provide thequality service demanded by the international ecotourist. Thelack of a trained human resource base, especially outside thecapital city, Kampala, exacerbates the problem.

Several explanations exist for the lack of human resourcecapability. The smaller scale entrepreneur or communitybusiness operates in isolation and is uninformed about trendsand issues related to the industry. Possessing only limitedexperience interacting with foreigners, the local businessper-son knows little about foreign tastes, customs, and expecta-tions. Moreover, many of the people employed to work in

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tourism facilities suffer from a lack of formal education andtraining and have had little opportunity to receive informalpreparation. Without training, the required skill developmentand transfer of capabilities to support a locally basedecotourism will not occur in Uganda.

Building capacity and raising the quality level of smallerscale tourism businesses run by rural proprietors or by com-munities requires a conscious decision to focus on groupsthat generally have less economic and political power. Thiscommitment had not existed in the past, but beginning in1995, the Ministry of Tourism, Trade, and Industry (previ-ously known as the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, andAntiquities) began to recognize the important role that ruralbusinesses could play in the country’s drive to increase itsnature-based tourism. Rural-based entrepreneurs were per-fectly placed to capture a portion of Uganda’s tourist marketand, in the process, to begin to derive direct economic benefitfrom tourism.

CHARACTERISTICS OFUGANDA’S ECOTOURISTS

To capture the ecotourism benefits, local entrepreneursand policy makers first must understand the different types ofecotourists who come to Uganda. Three categories can bedeveloped to typify visitors to Uganda (Victurine and Car-penter 1996). Table 1 portrays the profiles of tourists mostlikely to embark on safaris to Uganda.

The latter two categories in Table 1 offer the greatestopportunity for the small-scale entrepreneur or community-based tourism enterprise to develop a market share. In par-ticular, capturing the budget-conscious backpacker marketoffers the greatest opportunity. The challenge for the small-scale entrepreneur in Uganda rests with providing the qualityand consistency of services demanded by the internationalmarket at an acceptable price and marketing the services sothat people know they exist. If that challenge is met, then thelocal economy will benefit from the inflow and circulation ofmoney from tourism while the national industry is served.

Given Uganda’s history of political instability and evencurrent recent instability in the region, the backpacker mar-ket, in terms of numbers, might be what sustains Uganda’s

external tourism. Other more conventional and higher spend-ing tourists might wait for political conditions to stabilizebefore venturing forth on safaris in Uganda, whereas themore adventurous travelers will be less deterred and willremain drawn to the country. Those backpackers or budgettravelers often seek a cultural experience, or a “true Africanexperience,” one that many locally based community facili-ties have the resources and capability to provide.

Capturing that market without proper management andknow-how, however, poses serious constraints. Even thoughgovernment support through training and investment to thecommunity tourism sector would bolster investor confidenceand create opportunities, past government priorities did notinclude training or skill development for rural andcommunity-level businesses; whatever support was avail-able would gravitate toward businesses and enterprises inmajor cities. Consequently, the people most linked to theconcept of ecotourism and most affected by the proximity ofwildlife and protected areas had been ignored as candidatesfor tourism planning and capacity-building programs.

Even if these rural entrepreneurs had enjoyed recognitionand consideration from government, constraints would havelimited their participation. They cannot leave their places ofbusiness or their homes for long training sessions, and even ifthey could, they do not have the necessary academic creden-tials to qualify for vacancies. Furthermore, the scale of busi-ness targeted in most training differs dramatically from thosefound in rural areas. Not surprisingly, rural participants findthe course content and level of teaching irrelevant to theirneeds and conditions.

Staff from the U.S. Agency for International Develop-ment (USAID)–funded Grants Management Unit (GMU) ofthe Action Program for the Environment recognized the con-straints posed by the small-scale entrepreneur’s isolation,lack of knowledge, and limited opportunities for skill devel-opment. In response, and in conjunction with the Ministry ofTourism Trade and Industry, the GMU team designed andimplemented what has become a three-part training programthat provides for classroom training, in-field follow-up andconsultation, and business services support. The program,the first of its kind in Uganda, has provided direct need-basedtraining to more grassroots and community-based entrepre-neurs to support improved tourism and visitor services in

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TABLE 1

CHARACTERIZATION OF TOURISTS COMING TO UGANDA

“Affluent Africaphiles” Typically age 45 to 60 years, have visited Africa three or four times before and love the continent;probably visited Kenya/Tanzania/Zimbabwe and are looking for something different; affluent/well off;professionals; fit and adventurous; require clean, comfortable, and stylish accommodations; want tobe well looked after; typically American, some British.

“Yuppy adventurers” Typically European professionals, age 25 to 35 years, looking for something adventurous andchallenging during their holidays; probably first or second time to Africa; prefer unspoiled and lesswell-known destinations; likely to have been budget-conscious backpackers during university days;now, either backpack or need tour operator assistance to ensure availability/itineraries because oflimited vacation time from professions/jobs; maintain independence of spirit and price consciousness;require clean and comfortable accommodations but without the frills.

“Energetic expats” Typically age 35 to 50 years, mostly British/American, might have young children; want to escapeKampala for weekends and short breaks; prefer simple but adequate style of accommodations,perhaps self-catering; like to be away from overseas tourists (on their own, with another couple, etc.);price conscious but appreciate quality.

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Uganda and can serve as a strategy to increase communitytourism opportunities in the country.

TRAINING SMALL-SCALETOURISM OPERATORS

Program Goals

The aim of the program is to build the capability of theseestablishments and their personnel to ensure visitor satisfac-tion. With visitor satisfaction, more people will be taking ser-vices at their facilities, which in turn will increase their prof-itability. The program is intended to increase the confidenceof the proprietors, managers, and operators of these facilities.

The tourism training program was conceived, developed,and funded by the GMU originally as a two-part program tocater specifically to the needs and conditions of local andcommunity-based tourist operations. In development of thetraining program, the organizers stressed the following gen-eral objectives:

� to develop the skills necessary to improve visitor andfood services,

� to provide participants with improved managementskills, and

� to create a linkage between various local organizationsinvolved in the tourism industry but not necessarilyrecognized at the national level as legitimate providersof tourism services.

In stressing this last point, the organizers strived to cre-ate a way for the local small-scale tourism ventures to re-ceive recognition, and ultimately financial support, for theirinitiatives.

Specific program objectives were developed so that bythe end of the program, participants would be able to imple-ment the following activities:

� adequately cater to visitors, especially internationaland expatriate resident tourists with a desire to have amore “local” or “African” experience;

� prepare appetizing menus using a variety of differentand locally available foodstuffs (the objective was toachieve simple but high-quality and varied meals);

� improve inventory control so that the establishmentscan keep adequate stocks of drinks and foods to avoiddisappointing customers;

� adopt and adhere to standard health and sanitation re-quirements at the establishments;

� undertake basic planning and forecasting to arrive atgood decisions regarding key areas of the operations;

� understand the importance of appropriate bookkeeping;� receive and look after visitors with the utmost courtesy

and hospitality; and� market and promote the establishments domestically

and internationally.

This list represents the basic skill areas covered by thetraining program. Most of these topics are extremely basic,but the majority of participants had no earlier exposure to

them. For example, many rural people who operated visitorservice establishments had limited exposure to dietary likesand dislikes of international visitors. People registered disbe-lief that local foods, such as pumpkin, could be made intosoup and served to appreciative guests. Participants them-selves were surprised by the good taste given that such soupis not common local fare.

The reaction was normal. Many of the participants hadlooked outward from the village, assigning a lower value tolocal products and ways of doing things. They believed thatthey had to acquire goods from outside and adopt practices,designs, and styles from the cities and larger towns to operatea successful facility. The understanding of the value of “Afri-can” and that people would enjoy and pay for somethingUgandan caused some disbelief.

Consequently, the training program had to start from firstprinciples and stress the basics of running a tourist operationthat could operate and support itself within a local context.The training allowed participants to discover the possibilitiesof success simply through the adoption of new techniques inthe use of resources already existing in the village or nearbyregion. This message proved powerful and established a con-text within which the groups or individual proprietors wouldundertake investment in their facilities.

Method

The training program combined a 1-week training work-shop with a follow-up site visit to each of the participants toprovide supervision. The training course, held at a traininghotel in western Uganda, served as the venue. Participantsreceived presentations, watched videos, and conducted roleplays within a structured workshop setting. Evenings werefree to explore avenues of interest and included exploringnew recipes in the kitchen and meal planning. Most partici-pants sought the maximum exposure to new ideas and oftenworked late into the evenings on special projects to takeadvantage of the training opportunities.

The participants were asked to come to the training pro-gram prepared to discuss their individual operations—theirsuccesses, barriers, and constraints. The trainers worked withthe participants to relate the curriculum to the individuals’specific cases so that the trainees could begin to apply basicprinciples to their own ventures.

By the conclusion of the workshop, the participants hadprepared specific objectives and action plans aimed at thedevelopment and improvement of their own or their commu-nity’s tourism product over the subsequent 2- to 3-monthperiod. This action plan formed the foundation for thesecond-phase, hands-on field orientation and technical assis-tance provided to each participant.

Field Visit forHands-On Support

With these action plans forming the foundation for thetraining’s second phase, the trainers visited each partici-pant’s establishment to assess action plan progress and pro-vide technical input into overall facility operations. The sitevisits provided the opportunity for further interaction and,even more important, stimulated these entrepreneurs to carry

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on with the improvement and investment plans. Specifically,these visits provided the following:

1. Follow-up. The trainers indicated that each participantwould be visited, and this promise was kept. This wasimportant for gaining trust and building morale among theparticipants.

2. Technical input. The trainers could assess progress towardthe action plan and observe the entire operation—itsstrengths and weaknesses. The trainers assisted each groupin identifying other priority areas for attention and action,and they provided useful suggestions for improvements inthe overall operations.

3. Information exchange and contact with the broader com-munity. Many of the operators had felt isolated in the past.During these visits, the trainers would take people to visitanother’s site nearby. The trainers assisted these entrepre-neurs in making contact with groups that would help in mar-keting or assist with raising funds.

This method allowed participants to learn and explorenew ideas and concepts related to the tourism industry andthen apply this new learning directly to their operations.Through the field visits, the training team had the opportu-nity to directly observe the specific tourist operation and pro-vide advice on issues and problems encountered while in thefield. Moreover, the field visits provided a morale boost forsome of the small businesses that were struggling to build upsufficient financial and human capital to succeed.

This latter point deserves particular attention. In Uganda,as in many countries, rural people hear many promises offollow-through on requests and actions. Most never material-ize. With the first postworkshop visit, and then with subse-quent support visits made by the trainers and donors, the par-ticipants gained confidence in themselves and began to feelpart of a larger support network for community tourism.

Selection of Participants

The workshop was intended for proprietors, managers,and operators of hotels and food facilities services engagedin community tourism around Uganda’s national parks. Thisoriginal definition was further clarified to include operatorsor employees of small-scale tourist facilities, including thoseproviding guide services or visits to natural attractions.

Selection of participants involved discussions with avariety of organizations in an effort to receive broad repre-sentation. Applications were submitted from the major tour-ism areas in the country, with applicants referred to the GMUby Uganda Wildlife Authority staff, the Ministry of TourismTrade and Industry, conservation-related nongovernmentalorganizations, and Peace Corps volunteers from around the10 national parks in the country. The response was extremelypositive, with close to 50 applications submitted to the GMU.

After a review of the applications, which included a ques-tionnaire and a statement from each applicant indicating howand why the applicant would benefit from the training, apanel selected 27 participants for this first-ever tourism train-ing course for local entrepreneurs in May 1995. All partici-pants came from rural areas; none had received training inany area related to tourism (for some, the training venue wasthe furthest they had traveled from their villages), and all

were looking for information, advice, and support to improvetheir businesses.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

As originally conceived, the training should have endedafter the second phase, but that proved impossible. By itsnature, the training program was limited in scope, and it soonbecame apparent that the supply of information and supportwould not meet the pent-up demand of the participants. Theworkshop whetted appetites that could not be completely sat-isfied during the field support visit that focused on only oneor two issues from the action plan.

Participants indicated that a continued lack of knowledgeand a lack of funds were stumbling blocks to their develop-ment. They requested the following:

� additional training related to tourism services (com-munication skills, improved service provision andguest relations, catering, and improved service deliv-ery techniques);

� improved information exchange and access to infor-mation to remove the sense that these groups operate inisolation from the larger tourism industry; and

� funding, specifically access to loans from local banks(under normal conditions, none of these entrepreneursis eligible for any bank financing).

The articulation of these issues led the GMU to provideadditional funding for targeted in-service training, connectwith a local bank to promote lending to the tourism sector,and expand the scope of the training to additional businesses,including production and marketing of crafts.

Targeted In-Service Training

A specific request from the community campground/bandasat Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla na-tional parks, located in southwestern Uganda, resulted in aweek-long training program in food preparation and cash-flow management. The training directly responded to twoproblems identified by the community-based groups:

� The complaints of tourists over the limited variety offood and its poor quality at the community facilities.For example, in one of the facilities, the problem aroseof tourists departing earlier than desired because ofpoor food quality. These early departures led to a sig-nificant loss of income. Training was geared to im-proving menu variety using locally available food in-puts. Response was positive and menus did improve,as evidenced by fewer tourist complaints and im-proved meals tried on-site.

� Difficulties arising from poor record keeping and cashmanagement. The community-based businesses neededsupport with their cash-flow management and rein-vestment strategies for improving their facilities.Many of the organizations were keen to take profitsimmediately but not invest those profits in facility im-provements. The training assisted the groups to keep

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better records, improve staff and operations manage-ment, and modify reinvestment approaches to ensurethe long-term sustainability of their businesses.

The enterprises that benefited from the training are twothat receive the greatest number of tourists because of gorillatourism in the country. They have the highest demand formeals (each tourist spends a minimum of two to three nights),and they record significant income from tourist visits.These issues had to be addressed in relatively successful op-erations, at least in terms of revenue. Other community-level facilities in the country earn much less revenue andsuffer from similar but more intractable problems due to theresource constraint.

The success of this targeted training approach argues forsimilar activities with those organizations, which alreadyhave passed through the first two training phases. Since thisfirst targeted effort, the GMU has provided funds to assistother organizations with training in specific areas. TheUganda Tourist Board also has committed funds for 1999 tosupport community tourism training. In response to variousrequests, a project proposing the development of a cookbookwith easy-to-prepare recipes soon will commence.

Loan Program

Participants identified the lack of investment capital forsmall-scale entrepreneurs as a serious constraint to the devel-opment of community-based tourism in the country. Ininvestigating possible bank interest in a loan program for thetourist sector, the GMU discovered ignorance of the sectorby most bankers and very inflexible systems that requiremost banks to approve loans at the central level.

The first attempts at establishing a loan program failed.The bank chosen by the GMU was launching its villagebanking program, and the concept of rural tourism loansappealed to it. However, due to a major change in personnelthat led to a change in emphasis, the village banking conceptreceived lower priority than was expected. With villagebanking’s relegation to a lower priority, the tourism loan pro-gram languished. Borrowers visited rural branches, but thebranches had no authority to approve loans, and approvalsfrom Kampala never materialized.

Interest rates represent another constraint. To cover thecosts and risks of rural lending, many banks charge interestrates between 40% and 50% per annum. For tourism enter-prises in Uganda, these rates are stifling and limit options.Subsequent to the formation of the Ugandan CommunityTourist Association (UCOTA), a new initiative stimulatedby this training program, the GMU will explore developmentof a loan program that charges fair market interest rates (15%to 20% per annum) with guarantees provided by UCOTA.The system approximates similar borrower guarantee pro-grams as practiced under micro-finance credit programs andapproximates autochthonous borrowing systems underwhich community members provide capital to each otherwithin a revolving scheme. By borrowing from thisapproach, the GMU will launch a loan program that can eas-ily be adapted to village mechanisms. Through thisapproach, the GMU can be responsive to the credit needs ofthese small tourism businesses while earning additionalfunds through interest collections to support its conservationobjectives.

Expanded Training

The original group of trainees felt strongly that moretraining assistance was required to make community tourismand ecotourism a reality in Uganda. The need to discuss thefailure of the loan program and seek alternatives also washigh on the agenda. Therefore, 3 years after the program’scompletion, the GMU agreed to finance another training pro-gram. In addition, the GMU had received requests from otherorganizations wishing to participate in a subsequent GMU-sponsored, community-level tourism workshop. Based onthe needs of the original group, as well as the needs ex-pressed by the newly interested parties, the GMU designed aworkshop with three distinct modules. The first module wasdesigned for the group of trainees from 1995 and focused onthe following:

� development of a rural, community-based tourist asso-ciation linked to the Uganda Tourist Association;

� first steps toward the development of standards forsmall-scale operations; and

� business planning.

A second module was designed for new organizationsand used a methodology similar to the one described earlier.The third module focused on craft development and market-ing and worked specifically with craft producers in Ugandato improve their products for sale overseas and explore thedevelopment of new products and designs. Most of these pro-ducers were represented in women’s organizations fromUganda’s rural areas.

This new training effort was undertaken through jointfunding from the GMU and the Uganda Tourist Board. Thetourist board has embraced the community tourism conceptand expects to provide both financial and technical support tocommunity-level tourism in the future. This financial contri-bution of $5,000 represents the first financial support from aUgandan government agency to a community-level tourisminitiative. More is expected in the future as community tour-ism becomes institutionalized.

The major result of this July 1998 workshop was the deci-sion to create UCOTA. The participants established a com-mittee charged with creating and legalizing the association.They also acquired a commitment of technical support forthe process from the North Carolina Zoo and from theNamibian Community-Based Tourist Association, whoserepresentative attended the training to assist in forging thenew organization. UCOTA will represent the interests ofvarious individuals and community-based tourism initia-tives, hotels, and craft makers to ensure application of stan-dards and quality control to enhance visitors’ tourist experi-ence and ensure that members benefit economically fromUganda’s ecotourism.

As part of the agreement of association, members willadhere to UCOTA established design and operational stan-dards. In exchange, UCOTA will coordinate marketing,financing, and training for its members. The goal is forUCOTA to become a self-financing membership associationas well as an organization that will raise funds to continuewith the capacity building initiated by the GMU. A success-ful UCOTA will ensure the sustainability of this rural tour-ism initiative and the capacity-building program, and it willprovide rural entrepreneurs with a forum through which theirissues and concerns can reach the wider tourist industry.

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CONCLUSION

The design of the training program became adaptive asthe organizers recognized the need to adopt a “learning bydoing” approach. In Uganda, there was no precedent for tour-ism training for this specific target audience. Neither thelevel of enthusiasm of the trainees nor the true extent of thedeficiencies that needed attention was apparent when thetraining was designed. The direction of the training programresponded to the input and responses of the trainees. Theresult was an expanded program and a dynamic approach forbuilding capacity among players in a much-ignored sector ofthe tourist industry, which is itself fledgling. A schematicdemonstrating the linkages of the various componentsappears in Figure 1.

Consequently, the training program lasted longer thanwas anticipated and truly has become an ongoing venture,taking into account what organizers hope will be a viablecommunity loan program and the establishment of an indige-nous community tourist association for the country. Thetraining cost a total of $11,000 during the first round andanother $18,000 for the three-phase training in July 1998.Other in-service training costs have not exceeded $7,000.Support for the loan program should cost no more than$5,000 to cover training costs and materials once UCOTA islaunched and the credit scheme is established.

The returns have started coming in on this relativelysmall investment. Early in 1998, the North Carolina Zooinstituted a program to support community enterprises andconservation. Several of the groups that started the trainingprogram in 1995 will receive additional technical and finan-cial assistance aimed at promoting their tourism enterpriseand creating greater economic opportunity in the surround-ing communities. The national newspaper,New Vision,selected one of the trainees as Best Female Entrepreneur of1997 and presented her with money and a return ticket toEngland. She invested much of that cash prize in capitalimprovements to her tourist facility. Already, a delegationfrom UCOTA has traveled to Namibia to attend the 1998annual general meeting of the Namibian Community TouristAssociation in an effort to learn from their African col-leagues and explore options for mutual support and informa-tion sharing.

Many of the organizations and businesses have begunearning higher incomes and are now investing their funds toimprove their core businesses and develop ancillary supportservices such as running taxis and producing food. With craftdevelopment on the agenda, many women in rural communi-ties now will improve their skills and increase their incomesthrough linkages established with the tourism facilities andthrough marketing channels created through the efforts ofUCOTA.

Not all enterprises have been successful. The GMU con-ducted a survey of trainees and found that possibly only 50%of the enterprises represented in the first training programhave shown significant improvements and now operateviable businesses. Those businesses that embraced the train-ing concepts have shown a marked improvement in servicesand reinvestment in facilities, surpassing other local busi-nesses. One of the most successful community venturesfunds community projects from its profits so that a wideraudience shares in the benefits from tourism.

Certainly, the pace of development can be consideredextremely slow. This measured pace should be expectedgiven the novelty of the program and the limited access toresources that constrain these organizations. The measuredpace also represents a commitment to work closely with thefirst group of trainees within their capabilities withoutexpending exorbitant sums of money. Success requires thatthe operations not be donor driven; pouring money into thesebusinesses would distort local initiative. People have to maketheir own successes.

And they have. There has been progress and significantachievement. Businesses have invested their profits toimprove facilities and services; employees were sent to train-ing programs sponsored by other organizations, and somebusinesses even sent trainees to their colleagues’ establish-ments to learn from their experiences. However, the biggestgain might be in the level of confidence that the variousenterprises have achieved.

The decision by the more established enterprises to or-ganize a trade organization called the Uganda CommunityTourist Association indicates a serious level of commitmentand confidence. UCOTA will be an independent memberorganization. It will provide marketing support, establishstandards, and link tourists to its network of community-based tourist facilities throughout the country. It will be anorganization established by the communities for the commu-nities so that tourism begins to leave its benefits at the grass-roots level. Moreover, UCOTA will generate both internal

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FIGURE 1SCHEMATIC OF TRAININGPROGRAM COMPONENTS

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funds and funds raised from a variety of donors. The resultsshould be a greater level of financial sustainability and less-ened dependence on any one donor.

LESSONS LEARNED

The experience gained through this training program andthe evidence gleaned from those community-based tourismenterprises operating over the past few years provide impor-tant lessons for future developments in this part of the tour-ism sector. Figure 2 provides a framework for exploringthese lessons and their implications. These lessons will re-quire attention as Uganda develops its ecotourism programso that the focus on communities benefits those most proxi-mate to protected areas and, ultimately, the industry as awhole.

� Training for community-based operations must be in-stitutionalized, with programs tailored to unique quali-ties of the targeted local businesses. Training programsdesigned for the personnel of larger city hotels will notbe appropriate for rural businesses. An annual trainingprogram for small, community-based tourism busi-nesses should be considered, as should targeted pro-grams to respond to specific needs and deficiencies.Government support through the Uganda TouristBoard offers one mechanism.

� The community tourism organizations need to be bet-ter organized and represented at the national level. Fos-tering the creation of a community tourism associationmakes sense so that an advocacy agency for commu-nity tourism exists and represents the interests of itsmembers in support of finance and marketing. Onceestablished, UCOTA needs to have some level of rep-resentation in the Uganda Tourist Association.

� Small amounts of investment capital can make a bigdifference for these small businesses. Establishingmechanisms through credit schemes to help removeserious capital constraints faced by these small busi-nesses is important. In conjunction with money forcredit facilities, financing programs need to budgetfunds to provide business plan development assistancefor the small enterprises.

� With encouragement and support, many of thesecommunity-based tourism businesses can succeed.However, progress is likely to be slow. Donors in-volved in such programming must recognize that theslow pace does not mean failure. Throwing too muchmoney—and too quickly—at such enterprises mightdoom them to failure.

� Lack of a “quick fix” means that donor funds must becommitted to build local capacity in the tourism sectorover a long time period. A commitment of 2 or 3 yearswill prove insufficient. A successful program will re-quire establishment of medium- to long-term mecha-nisms to support community-based tourism.

� Any training program needs to have budgetary andprogrammatic flexibility built in so that it can respondto the changing needs of a dynamic industry.

� Participants learned that a traditional African experi-ence can be marketed successfully to ecotourists. The

course disabused participants of the notion that for suc-cess, they must try to replicate “mini-Sheratons”throughout rural Uganda. They learned that limitedcapital investments in traditional construction, alongwith commitment to cleanliness and quality service,yields profits.

� The “nuts and bolts” training issues and the work ofthese entrepreneurs had to be placed within a broadercontext and related to both the national tourism sceneand national conservation objectives.

A viable ecotourism business in Uganda must involve lo-cal people and locally based businesses. This training pro-gram provided a pilot approach for building the skills andcompetencies required for excellence and success, but thiswas only a first step. The program embraced an adaptivestrategy, learning about the constraints through work withthe participants and designing responses to include as part ofthe training package. Further program design and modifica-tion evolved from those experiences.

Without training, financial support, and outside adviceprovided by organizations dedicated to building Uganda’stourism, many of these fledgling businesses cannot be sus-tained. These small businesses must acquire both moral andfinancial support from the Uganda Tourist Board as well asfrom Kampala-based tourist associations and must be recog-nized as integral partners in the development of Uganda’stourist industry. This training program has demonstratedthat, with a limited investment, this much-ignored sector of

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FIGURE 2LESSONS LEARNED

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the ecotourist industry can get a boost and contribute effec-tively to national tourism objectives.

REFERENCES

Kenya Tourist Board (1998).Tourism Statistics. Kampala, Uganda: KenyaTourist Board.

Victurine, R., and Nigel Carpenter (1996).Uganda Protected Area Conces-sions: A Review of Current and Status Recommendations for the Fu-ture. Kampala, Uganda: World Bank and Ministry of Tourism,Industry, and Commerce.

Whelan, T. (1991).Nature Tourism: Managing for the Environment. Wash-ington, DC: Island Press.

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