From Gorilla Treks to AFCON 2027: Uganda Courts French Tourism Market

Paris, 16 September 2026: Day Two is underway at IFTM Top Resa 2026, Porte de Versailles, and Uganda’s Stand T072 in the Africa & Indian Ocean Hall is reporting sustained, high-quality business engagement.

This year’s participation is anchored in the ever-strong Uganda-France bilateral relationship and renewed international confidence in Destination Uganda. With the WHO having declared the end of the Ebola outbreak in late August, travel advisories have been lifted and market confidence fully restored.

This positive outlook coincides with growing international media visibility for Uganda, from new high-end lodge openings to global features on its conservation model. French operators report that client awareness has significantly increased as a result.

France remains Uganda’s leading source of Foreign Direct Investment, accounting for over 53% of total inflows, exceeding USD 1.6 billion in 2023, with a strong presence in energy, infrastructure and increasing hospitality. That deep economic footprint has built familiarity and commercial trust that is now translating into tourism growth. Uganda is no longer perceived as a frontier market, but as a partner market.

Eleven Destination Marketing Companies are being facilitated under the Embassy’s Economic and Commercial Diplomacy Programme: Africa Adventure Vacations, Cheetah Safaris Uganda, Destination Jungle, Grassrootz Adventures, Home to Africa, Ibis Adventures, Kazinga Tours, Let’s Go Travel, Sites Travel Uganda, Tripcare Adventures and Terrace Safaris – double the five that participated in 2025.

With Day Two underway, all DMCs are engaged in fully booked pre-scheduled appointments, supplemented by walk-in enquiries. The business focus has shifted from general interest to contracting for 2027-2028, gorilla permit allocations in Bwindi and Mgahinga, and multi-destination itineraries linked to Uganda’s co-hosting of AFCON 2027.

What is resonating with French and European buyers is the precise match between their market demand and Uganda’s unique offerings: authentic, sustainable, low-volume and high-value. Interest is strongest in gorilla and chimpanzee tracking, Big Five safaris, Rwenzori trekking, Nile adventure, specialist birding with over 1,090 species, and community tourism models that ensure direct benefits to host communities.

Engagements today are being led by Hon. Susan Nakawuki, Minister of State for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, and H.E. Amb. Doreen Ruth Amule, Ambassador to France and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, in meetings with French travel trade media, tourism confederations and potential investors. The Minister’s presence has elevated Stand T072 and reinforced Government commitment to France as a strategic market.

France is now among Uganda’s top ten source markets, with 7,439 arrivals in 2025, more than double the 2024 figure, with average expenditure above USD 2,025 and average stays of 8 to 15 nights.

The momentum underway builds on a pre-fair citywide campaign featuring three fully branded Uganda buses operating on central Paris routes covering Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysées, Opéra and Montparnasse, which has generated an estimated 8 million impressions.