The completed Four day hike was a pre-activity of the Rwenzori Theluji Festival that will happen in September 2023 featuring the Rwenzori Marathon, community Biodiversity Mock run and the cultural diversity Expo
All smiles as community leaders including representatives of the District and Municipality complete a four-day Rwenzori Waterfalls circuit trek that started on the 10th day and ended on 13th day of June 2023 through the Kilembe Trail with Rwenzori Trekking Services in Rwenzori Mountains National Park (R.M.N.P)
The trek also involved Kasese Tourism Investors Forum (KTIF) leaders; a private destination management organization that will be hosting the Rwenzori Theluji Festival in September 2023; the “Next BIG Thing” in Kasese.
Kasese is set to host the Rwenzori Theluji Festival, a signature event aimed at enhancing the tourism potential and increasing trade as well as investment attraction in the tourism district.
John Justice Tibesigwa, the Chief Warden Rwenzori Mountains National Park, flagged off the hikers on 10th and later received them on return after the final day of the trek.
Before the Hike started, John Justice told the hikers that the Rwenzori is a world-class hiking and mountaineering destination.
“The Rwenzori is a beautiful place, and I know you will enjoy it as you hike, and you will testify as you come back,” he said.
On receiving the hikers after the four-day trek, he warmly welcomed and urged them to be the ambassadors of promoting Rwenzori Mountains National Park and the snows so as Kasese attracts more tourists visiting the mountain both foreign and domestic.
John Hunwick the executive director Rwenzori Trekking Services told the hikers and leaders that his aim for enabling the trek was to let the community leaders understand the Gold Kasese has so as to promote or deliberate on something they understand.
He added that he has made a huge investment in making the Kilembe trail a better tourism experience despite the unfavourable land terrain, and he was yet to have a return on investment.
Inspite the beauty and uniqueness of the Rwenzori Mountains, the visitors to the park have stagnated between 2000 and 3000 average visitors per annum, according to WWF and UWA which is equated to 6% of the tourist traffic of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania that is a regional competitor.
Of the visitors to RMNP, 61% are domestic visitors (most of whom are students who stay for a few hours at the park) and 39% are international tourists who are attracted by peak climbing.
This insufficient number is due to underlying constraints such as inaccessibility and inadequate marketing, among others.
The District Executive Committee Member Jeremiah Bwanadeke, who represented the LCV chairman, said that the district is yet to provide full support to the tourism activities of the district since it is being challenged by inadequate capacity in terms of both resources and structural constraints such as failure to have an independent tourism office and expounded tourism conceptual knowledge by the community leaders.
He thanked the initiators of the four-day hike that involved community leaders, believing that it was a step towards improving tourism in the district.
Additionally, Baguma John an advisor at Kasese Tourism Investors Forum assured Uganda Wildlife Authority and other leaders that the local community is being mobilised by the forum to engage in tourism activities and this will support tourism development.
He added that community mobilization is being spurred during the preparations of the Rwenzori Theluji Festival.
The Rwenzori Mountains National Park Tourism business direction is to have a National Park that is sustainably conserved for socio- economic transformation through increased tourism volume and value in Rwenzori Mountains National Park for regional peace, stability and socio-economic development. It is a clearly stated, focused, measurable and plausible direction for the R.M.N.P Management and Stakeholders especially UWA, UTB and the Private Sector in both Kasese, Uganda and the World.