Uganda aims to be world’s first to pass tourism laws supporting UNMDG

By eTN Staff Writer

Ugandan president promises to enact tourism laws in support UNMDG.

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Uganda’s president yesterday committed to making his country the first nation in the world to adopt tourism laws in support of the United Nation Millennium Development Goals (UDMDG).

In a keynote address at the ongoing International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) being held in Kampala, Uganda, Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni said, ”One of the key constraints to tourism development has been the weak law and regulations to guide and enforce proper development in the industry.”

He said, “I wish to reaffirm my government’s commitment to the entire pacification of the country, to the maintenance of law and order, the provision of support infrastructure and sound economic management principles to facilitate the growth of the tourism industry.”

According to the Ugandan president, the role of the law in the sustainable development of tourism and poverty alleviation is critical. “The legislation should enshrine policies that are pro poor and underpin a coherent institutional framework and supportive infrastructure for the private sector.”

President Musevi urged lawmakers “to incorporate principles and regulations in the new legislation that will enhance the achievement of the goals of PEAP [Poverty Eradication Action Plan] and synchronize with the UN Millennium Development Goals.”
The president added, “I specifically would like to sign legislation that empowers the local communities to take advantage of the opportunities to benefit from tourism and enshrine the principles of sustainable tourism development.”
The catalyst for this legislation has been a report recently released by the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Center (Sustainable Tourism CRC) of Australia, a consortium of leading tourism academics from 11 Australian Universities
y the Australian government. Research for their report on Tourism and the UN Millennium Development Goals was funded by the Netherlands Development Agency SNV.

IIPT said it is devoting a special roundtable meeting for ministers to discuss how to expand tourism’s contribution to poverty reduction and the UNMDG.

On the Web: www.iipt.org

Printable Version | published May 23, 2007

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