The Hon. Minister of State for Tourism, The High Commissioner of Kenya to Uganda, The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Consul General of Uganda to Mombasa, Representatives from Kwale County Government, Tourism players from Uganda and Kenya coast, Media Fraternity, Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Media Launch of the 2nd Uganda- Kenya Coast Tourism Conference, 2023 which will be held from 13th- 14th November 2023 at Neptune Paradise Beach Resort and Spa in Diani, Kwale County in Kenya. I wish to thank the Consul General of Uganda to Mombasa, Amb. Paul Mukumbya and his team, and stakeholders from Uganda and Kenya Coast for working together for the success of this great initiative. Last year, I was honoured to be part of the 1st Uganda- Kenya Coast Tourism Conference in Mombasa. The Conference was very successful and one of our resolutions was to make it an annual event. I am therefore delighted that we are launching the 2nd Conference Uganda- Kenya Coast Tourism Conference. Ladies and Gentlemen Tourism forms a very significant part of Uganda’s economy. It contributes more than 7 percent of our National GDP and it employs a significant number of people directly or indirectly ranging from government, private sector, education tourism, leisure events promoters, professional associations, individuals to training institutions. Therefore, if we get more tourists into our country, we shall be able to increase household income and enable our economy to grow. I’m happy that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has realized this great potential and through Economic and Commercial Diplomacy, it has prioritized tourism promotion within its five-year strategic plan. The Ministry has also encouraged Missions abroad to incorporate tourism within their strategic plans and Annual Work-plans. Uganda possesses some unique tourism products that can be used to make it one of the world’s leading tourist destinations. We possess some of the rarest primates in the world, Namugongo Martyrs Shrines, Source of River Nile, rich culture, among others. Therefore, our Missions abroad need to rigorously market these products. I would like to commend our Consulate in Mombasa for realizing this potential, by partnering with stakeholders in Uganda and at the Kenya Coast to promote the complementarity among these unique tourism products from the two countries. Ladies and Gentlemen Kenya is Uganda’s leading source market and last year alone, over 370,000 Kenyans visited Uganda for various reasons. Also, Uganda is Kenya’s second leading source market after the USA. Just last year over 150,000 Ugandans visited Kenya and out of those 22,000 visited the Kenya Coast. The increasing number of tourists between Uganda and Kenya Coast has been aided by the improved air connection between Entebbe and Mombasa. Currently, Uganda Airlines operates three (03) weekly direct flights between Entebbe and Mombasa. This is complimented by daily flights by Kenya Airways through Nairobi. Moreover, it is also possible to travel between both countries by road, using national identity cards. Thus, it is possible to leverage on the improved connection to grow the tourism between Uganda and Kenya Coast. Ladies and Gentlemen The theme for this year’s Conference is “Consolidating Networks, Synergies & Diversity to maximize the tourism potential between Uganda and Kenya Coastal Region”. We need to build on the gains made from last year’s Conference. We also need to hear the experiences and gains that have been made since last year. That way, we shall be able to identify the challenges and devise means of addressing them. I invite all players in the sector to participate in the 2nd Uganda- Kenya Coast Tourism Conference 2023 which will take place from 13th- 14th November 2023. I also want to encourage you to register your participation in the Conference on the registration portal which we are launching today. I’m very happy to be the first person to register my participation in this Conference. It is now my pleasure to launch the preparations for the Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism Conference, Excursions and Fam Trip 2023. I call on the media to widely publicize this event, For God and my county