While Kampala boasts luxury resorts such as the Magnificent Speke Resort Munyonyo, the upcountry hotel infrastructure remains severely underdeveloped.
Kampala, Uganda: Uganda’s hotel industry is facing severe infrastructure and tax-related challenges that threaten its readiness for upcoming international events such as the 2024 CHAN and 2027 AFCON tournaments, with sector leaders citing a shortage of quality rooms, excessive taxation, and an imbalance in hotel distribution across the country.
Despite the presence of world-class facilities like Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala, Uganda still lacks at least 10,000 hotel rooms to meet international accommodation standards, according to the Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA).
“There are only a handful of five-star hotels in Uganda and nearly all of them are in Kampala,” said Ms Jean Byamugisha, the CEO of UHOA. “This leaves upcountry tourism and event destinations under-equipped to handle major inflows of tourists and sports fans.”
Uganda currently has about 3,850 officially recognized hotels, with Kampala hosting around 1,200 of them, according to the Ministry of Tourism’s Marketing Master Plan. However, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) puts the figure closer to 6,000. Of these, UHOA estimates 97,511 rooms and 103,261 beds nationwide.
UHOA further warns that Uganda’s accommodation deficit now stands at over three million hotel rooms, a statistic corroborated by Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) Director General, Mr Robert Mukiza.
“Without urgent investment in the hotel sector, Uganda’s ambitions to become a regional tourism and conferencing hub will be derailed,” Mr Mukiza noted.
26 Taxes, Sky-High Costs Crippling Hotel Business
Ms Byamugisha further revealed that hotel operators are buckling under the weight of 26 different taxes and licenses, making Uganda one of the most expensive destinations in East Africa compared to Kenya and Tanzania.
“This is one of the reasons our hotels are more expensive than our neighbours’. We have proposed a tax consolidation to the government, so we can simplify compliance and ease the cost burden,” she explained.
Many Ugandan hotel owners, mostly private investors, are running on tight margins, often unable to access credit needed to expand or upgrade their properties.
“Without financing and with this kind of tax burden, it’s very hard to expand. The result is an over-reliance on ungraded hotels, homestays, and Airbnbs to absorb guest overflow during big events,” Ms Byamugisha added.
Infrastructure Inequity Outside Kampala
While Kampala boasts luxury resorts such as Speke Resort Munyonyo, the upcountry hotel infrastructure remains severely underdeveloped. Key tourism regions such as Fort Portal, Jinja, Kabale, Gulu, and Mbale lack enough graded hotels, with some areas not having even a single three-star facility.
The UHOA has raised concern that this uneven distribution threatens Uganda’s image and readiness for high-profile sporting and conference events.
“Uganda cannot host CHAN and AFCON successfully without major hotel upgrades across the country. The time to act is now,” said Ms Byamugisha.
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