According to Byamugisha, by December 2020, the hotels alone are expected to have lost about sh2.563Trillion ($700m) as tax revenue into the country. The European Union ambassadors aboard a boat at the Kazinga Channel, which links Lakes Edward and George after a meeting with the tourism investors at Elephant Plains Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, July 25,2020. (Photo by Eddie Ssejjoba)
TOURISM COVID-19
Investors in the hospitality industry have cried out to the government for tax waivers to enable them to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic losses.
Many of the businesses, especially hotel and lodge owners said they were choking on huge debts, which might send many out of business. They have asked for a stimulus package, which includes tax waivers and lowering interest rates The European Union ambassadors aboard a boat at the Kazinga Channel, which links Lakes Edward and George after a meeting with the tourism investors (Photo by Eddie Ssejjoba) Jeanne Byamugisha, the executive director of the Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA) said that for the four months that the hotels, lodges and restaurants have been closed due to COVID-19 pandemic, they have continued to incur costs on payment of staff, utility bills and other maintenance costs.
She said it was envisioned that Uganda was going to lose sh5.858Trillion ($1.6bn) in the tourism industry this year alone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said hotels and lodges contribute almost half of the tour package. EU ambassadors at Mweya Safari Lodge. (Photo by Eddie Ssejjoba) According to Byamugisha, by December 2020, the hotels alone are expected to have lost about sh2.563Trillion ($700m) as tax revenue into the country yet in 2019, Uganda recorded the highest number of 1.6m foreign visitors, which earned the country revenue of $1.6bn. All this dropped to zero after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking during an interactive meeting between association members and the EU ambassadors at Elephant Plains Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Byamugisha said it was found out that from March this year, five top hotels in Kampala had lost $5m (sh18.4bn) from cancellation of events and bookings.
One of the hospitality investors, Dickson Kateshumbwa, former commissioner, Uganda Revenue Authority said that in 2014, through mortgages he borrowed sh5bn from the Uganda Development Bank and Equity Bank to construct and expand his lodges, which include Parkview Safari Lodge and Gorilla Heights Lodge, but the COVID-19 pandemic broke out as he planned to […]
