During the briefing in line with the 2027 Confederation of African Football-Africa Cup of Nations Kickoff Workshop at the Media Center on Tuesday, April 21.
Dr. Denis Mugimba, the Chairman of the Communications and Signage Sub-committee, encouraged the public beyond the sports sector to prepare themselves for the upcoming event.
In his speech, he noted, “First, we would like to clarify by stating categorically that the mandate of declaring a service, premise, place, or thing as a tourist facility is the responsibility of the Minister responsible for Tourism.”
“As such, the LOC is working closely with the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities, as well as the Uganda Tourism Board, as part of the inter-sectoral arrangements for AFCON 2027 to have a central point of information about facilities authorized to serve as tourist accommodation facilities in Uganda.”he added.
“Such facilities may include hotels, apartments, guest houses, bungalows, lodges, or any other facility designated by the Minister of Tourism as an accommodation facility for tourists. Therefore, proprietors of yet to be authorized accommodation facilities for tourists who would like them to be considered for accommodation during AFCON 2027 must first seek such relevant information and authorization from the Uganda Tourism Board not the AFCON 2027 LOC”, .
“Typically, sports tourists start booking their accommodation about six to twelve months before a tournament. AFCON-2027 is only fourteen months away. Therefore, this is the right time for proprietors of prospective accommodation facilities such as Airbnb services to start by acquiring the necessary information from the Uganda Tourism Board about authorization to offer such a tourist service”
“Authorization improves a tourist facility’s image as a credible place. With an estimated at least 500,000 visitors expected to come to Uganda to experience AFCON-2027, there are plenty of business opportunities up for tapping in the tourist accommodation industry,” he concluded.
The workshop is hoped to be overseen by Acting CAF General Secretary Samson Adam, who will be accompanied by senior personnel at CAF, as the three Federations in preparation for PAMOJA shall be giving an update on the delivery priorities for the next phase of preparations for AFCON 2027.
