The Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) opened its event on a high this year. The event is happening at the Speke Resort in Kampala. POATE certainly set its standards high this year with their grand day one. POATE is a three-day event that promotes Uganda to the world through buyers and selected media within Africa and Internationally that are within the tourism and travel industry. This year is the 5th year the event has been running and every year they strive to bring in something different and more buyers.
The programme kicked off with some spectacular crane dance performances from the Kampala’s talented youths called the Crane Performers. The performances were to showcase their culture and heritage through their performances and costumes.
The opening ceremony proceeded with Rt. Hon. Gen (Rtd.) Moses Ali the First Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of Government Business in Parliament and various speakers welcoming and addressing the theme of this year’s event which is promoting Intra Africa Travel for Leisure and business.
The opening ceremony concluded with a ribbon-cutting and the day officially started.
Day one included business to business (B2B) meeting and two seminars which tackled the following topics;
- Sustainable Tourism Development
- Sustainable tour operations and accommodation
Day one ended with a night around Kampala where the hosted media and buyers were taken around the city in a Kampala sight bus. The evening included a tour of Kampala on the bus and there were drinks and food served on the bus.
