Minister criticises tourism stakeholders over poor customer care

The minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Prof Ephraim Kamuntu on Tuesday lashed out at various stakeholders in the tourism sector for not addressing the question of customer care very seriously.

Kamuntu was addressing representatives from tour operators, Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Airline operators among others.

This was during launch of a National Customer Service Improvement Campaign, at the Ministry of Tourism Board Room, in Kampala.

He said attending to customers is still a big challenge in Uganda, where officials in offices would ask those who seek their services, questions such as: 'What do you want?', instead of the polite form: 'What may I help you with?'. .

He said bureaucracy in government entities and the private sector has led to government losing lots of foreign exchange from tourists.

“Bureaucracy of delaying to attend to customers by not being time conscious leads to loss of money for both government and owners of private businesses”, he said.

Kamuntu said his ministry is committed to boosting tourism through product diversification, where innovation of new products is being encouraged.

Chris Muhango, a chartered marketer, said customer care is hinged on three pillars, namely: product packaging of our natural resources and promotion of our tourism attractions; both domestically and abroad.

“Customer care is like preparing for wedding or receiving visitors. You have to massage and excite a customer to like your product”, he said.