By Reporter
Common wealth gold medalist and champion Joshua Cheptegei was yesterday flagged off by the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) to mountain Rwenzori where he will together with kick boxer Golola Moses spend 3 days in an attempt to get more tourists worldwide visit the western Uganda mountain.
Ms. Ajarova who is the CEO UTB noted said: “As an avid nature lover, it gives me ultimate honor to be taking on this challenge alongside the reigning World Cross Country and World 10,000m champion and Moses Golola, Uganda’s kickboxer champion on an expedition to the thrilling ascent to Uganda’s highest point.”
Joshua Cheptegei said “I am more than ready. I am so excited to take on the Rwenzori hiking challenge. When I returned back from the World Half Marathon Championship, I took some rest for a month and resumed training on November 17th just to prepare for this, I never wanted to disappoint, as you can see, I am fit, I challenge my friends to be ready”
Cheptegei has also thanked UTB and UNDP for coming up with this initiative to promote tourism and excite more people to come to Uganda.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is sponsoring the challenge.
The UNDP is also supporting Uganda’s tourism sector to a tune of up to USD1 million (shs 3.7 billion) to help the industry recover from the negative effects caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the flagging off the hiking crew, UNDP’s Resident Representative to Uganda, Ms. Elsie G. Attafuah underscored the importance of tourism in the transformation of rural areas.
“Mountainous areas have harsh climate conditions, vulnerable to natural disasters and problems of remoteness and accessibility which hinder economic activities such as infrastructure development and industrial production. Tourism, a labor-intensive sector with multiple linkages across the economic value chain, presents an opportunity to uplift local communities and stimulate socio-economic growth in mountain destinations,” Attafuah noted.
The State Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Hon. Godfrey Kiwanda who officiated the flagging off of the crew thanked UNDP for the support given to the tourism sector. He challenged Ugandans to use this festive season to visit Ugandan protected areas and benefit from the promotional packages being run by the Uganda Wild Life Authority (UWA).
Recently, UWA cut park entry fees by 50% for the festive season. The three-month-long offer runs from December 1st, 2020 up to March 31st, 2021.
