Uganda–Kenya coast tourism summit opens in Mombasa with 300 traders seeking easier cross-border travel

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More than 300 tourism traders from Uganda and Kenya have gathered in Mombasa for the 5th Uganda–Kenya Coast Tourism and Innovation Summit, a two-day meeting that wants to turn cross-border goodwill into actual bookings. The summit opened on Monday, October 26, at Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort & Spa and closes on Tuesday, October 27.

Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the event runs under the theme “Unlocking Tourism Opportunities: Resolving Policy Bottlenecks through Technology, Youth and Seamless Mobility across East Africa.” Uganda’s public broadcaster UBC reported that the traders will look at policy barriers, innovation and ways to grow tourism between the two countries.

A week on the Kenyan coast before the talks

The summit closes a week-long familiarisation programme for Ugandan operators. According to Uganda’s foreign ministry, more than 70 delegates from the country’s tourism industry took part. They came from tour operator, travel agent, hotel owner and tour guide associations, including AUTO, TUGATA, UHOA, ESTOA, USAGA, UCOTA, AUWOTT and JITOGA, as well as the Uganda Tourism Board. The programme is coordinated by Uganda’s Consulate General in Mombasa.

Delegates flew in on Uganda Airlines and toured circuits in Mombasa, Kwale and Taita-Taveta, inspecting hotels and attractions they could package for Ugandan clients. Stands at the summit itself mix Kenyan coast hotel groups with Ugandan lodges, safari firms and property developers, who are pitching gorilla and wildlife trips, cultural tourism and lakeside homes to Kenyan buyers.

Why it matters for coast businesses

Uganda is one of Kenya’s closest regional source markets, and coast hotels are keen on visitors who can fly in for a short beach break. A Ugandan operator who has slept in a Mombasa hotel and walked its beach is more likely to sell it. For hotels, the prize is regional travellers who come outside the European peak season and fill rooms in quieter months.

The two countries are also looking ahead to 2027, when Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania co-host the Africa Cup of Nations. Operators on both sides want packages that pair matches with a safari, gorilla trekking or a few days on the coast, so that football fans stay longer and spend more.

The sticking points are well known. Flights between East African cities are still expensive, road and rail links are slow, and paperwork at borders adds time and cost. Health screening can also disrupt travel at short notice, as seen this month when Uganda tightened its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, which we covered in our report on Uganda’s Ebola contact tracing and the DRC border. Exchange rates matter too, with the Ugandan shilling under pressure, as covered in our story on Uganda’s Treasury cutting fuel budgets.

What to watch

The summit continues on Tuesday. Coast hotels, tour operators and airlines that want regional business should watch for any joint packages, group rates or travel facilitation steps that come out of the summit, since these will decide whether the talk turns into bookings.

The summit builds on Kenya’s wider push to attract more and higher-spending visitors, which we looked at in Kenya’s digital and luxury tourism drive.