UWA Reflects on Open Park Days for a Better Mountain Gorilla Festival As Uganda prepares for the first-ever Mountain Gorilla Festival, UWA is turning lessons from the recent Open Park Days into action. With a focus on making tourism more accessible to Ugandans. From affordable accommodation and transport to improved road and air connectivity, UWA is exploring partnerships that can make it easier for families to visit and experience Uganda’s national parks. The festival, running 19-22 November 2026 in Kisoro, will celebrate gorilla conservation, community livelihoods, local enterprise and tourism, under the theme “Protecting Gorillas, Empowering Communities” and tagline “Run, Explore, Conserve.” The programme will feature community activities, exhibitions, a conference, gorilla tourism experiences and the Virunga Gorilla Marathon. Kisoro is ready. Come Run. Explore. Conserve.

MASTERCLASSES Yesterday, we covered week 2/6 of our Digital Tourism Masterclass as well as week 3/6 of our Tour Operations Masterclass We learnt about creating websites with AI, the basics, tips and actual building of the websites. For tours, we tackled all the dynamics of itinerary writing. What to consider, which route to use and which alternatives to take in case uncertainties arise. We see our Masterclass becoming more practical and relevant. And the audiences have turned up positively and are already appreciating the impact. Looking forward to a more diverse and structured program come next year! Our target for 2026 already exceeded its limit 100 times more🙏