Tour operators count losses as tourists cancel trips over delays at Entebbe airport

Tour operators have started counting losses as tourists cancel trips to Uganda over frustration and delays at Entebbe International Airport.

This follows a decision by Uganda to direct arriving air passengers to take new Covid-19 tests before leaving the airport, which the operators said continues to frustrate the trust in certificates issued by authorised laboratories in the region.

President Museveni last week launched the Entebbe International Airport Covid-19 laboratories, a programme being used by the authorities to screen arriving passengers by taking fresh samples even when they are fully vaccinated and have valid negative PCR tests from green countries.

Speaking to the Nile Post, some tour operators said tourists have started cancelling their trips to Uganda which is taking toll on their business.

“Tours operators have started counting losses. Travellers who are fully vaccinated and are holding a negative PCR test result should not be tested again,”said Isa Kato, a businessman, entrepreneur and a stakeholder in the tourism sector.

Kato suggested that focus should be on travellers from ‘red list’ countries but also let them be tested using rapid testing so that in 15 minutes people depart the airport.

He suggested that Ugandan need to benchmark what other countries are doing to avoid frustrating travelers.

Kato revealed that several tourists have canceled their trips to Uganda citing frustration at Entebbe International Airport.

Previously, Uganda only authorised compulsory testing for people arriving from 10 “high risk” countries, including India but the minister of Health , Jane Ruth Aceng, said that the coronavirus tests would continue but results dispatched in under two hours via email or instant messaging apps.