Uganda Tourism Board and the Uganda Golf Union have signed a partnership to promote golf tourism in the country.

The three-year deal will kick-start the joint promotion of the Uganda Open Tour on March 30 at the Lake Victoria Serena Golf course – the best golf course in Uganda with state-of-the-art facilities. The promotional tour will later traverse other parts of the country.

This tour will be played for six months as a build-up promotion to the annual Uganda Open that will be held in September this year.

Speaking during the launch of the partnership at the Uganda Golf Club in Kitante, Kampala, the outgoing Uganda Tourism Board CEO, Stephen Asiimwe, said the partnership intended to make Uganda the preferred golf destination in Africa.

“Uganda is uniquely placed is such a way that every golf course is near a tourist attraction. For example, the Jinja Golf Course is near the source of the River Nile, Mbale Golf Course is adjacent to Mount Elgon and Sipi Falls, while Entebbe Golf Course is near Lake Victoria and the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre. This means that every golfer in Uganda or golfers coming into the country is a prospect to experience the surrounding tourist attractions. We want to tap into this opportunity.”

Asiimwe said they would offer packages so that the golfers could travel before or after the tournament to explore the country. They will also work with hoteliers so that the golfers can get rebated rates (a type of sale promotion that marketers use primarily as incentives) for accommodation and other facilities during the tournament.

The Uganda Golf Union President Innocent Kihika said the deal was an amazing opportunity for them to partner with the Uganda Tourism Board to promote tourism.