BERN, Switzerland — Uganda launched a major economic diplomacy drive in Switzerland this week, targeting the country’s $23 billion outbound travel market to help fuel a plan to expand the Ugandan economy to $500 billion by 2040. The campaign centers on high-profile appearances at two influential tourism exhibitions: the Bern Ferienmesse, which attracts up to 20,000 visitors through Jan. 25, and FESPO Zurich, which expects more than 42,000 visitors from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1.
Under its National Development Plan IV, the Ugandan government has identified tourism as a primary engine for growth. Officials are targeting the Swiss market due to its high per capita income of approximately $105,000 and a preference for luxury and sustainable travel. Despite Switzerland’s status as a top global spender, only 106 Swiss citizens visited Uganda in 2024. The current mission, coordinated by the Permanent Mission of Uganda to the United Nations in Geneva, aims to increase those numbers to at least 2,000 annually.
Ambassador Arthur Kafeero, the deputy permanent representative in Geneva, noted that the Swiss market is characterized by high demand for long-haul travel and nature-based tourism.
Kafeero said the combination of tourism and coffee promotion allows Uganda to market its entire agro-export sector, emphasizing that reaching the 2,000-visitor target would significantly raise foreign exchange earnings and benefit local communities, hotels and airlines.
The strategy includes a dual-track promotion of the country’s assets. In the exhibition halls of Bern and Zurich, the delegation is pitching mountain gorilla trekking and wildlife safaris while using coffee diplomacy to attract trade partners through tasting sessions of premium specialty coffee.
Following a successful showing at the Swiss International Holiday Expo in Lugano, where Uganda won the Swiss Tourism Excellence Award in the Natural Paradise category, officials are now looking to finalize partnerships in the hospitality and agro-processing sectors.
The delegation includes Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Uganda Tourism Board, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries, Association of Uganda Tour Operators, and the Ugandan Diaspora in Switzerland —demonstrating the collaborative approach by the Government in tourism promotion.
These officials are courting Swiss firms for infrastructure projects such as eco-lodges and conference facilities.
The exhibitions are expected to facilitate more than 1,000 business-to-business meetings with European tour operators and media representatives to secure long-term investment for Uganda’s 2040 economic targets.
