Now Uganda to classify hotels by April

Uganda plans to complete classifying its hotels by April, ending a long-running delay which was hurting the credibility of these facilities as well as tourism prospects.

If it succeeds, Kampala will join the ranks of other East African Community countries namely Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda that have already done so. The classification will be based on a criteria defined by the EAC standards and classifications of hotels and restaurants and other tourism facilities.

The EAC is planning to sell its tourism destinations as a single market to the world. Hence, facilities within the economic bloc will be graded on a single scale.

Uganda is eyeing several big conferences this year, piling pressure on the country to complete the classification project.

“In April, for example, we will be hosting the Inter-Parliamentary Union comprising of 126 representatives, and in May, we will be hosting the Inter-military Sports Council of 134 countries hence the need to rank these hotels on time,” said Uganda’s Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage, Ephraim Kamuntu.

According to Ismail Ssekandi, the executive director of Uganda Hotel Owners Association, the government attempted to classify hotels in 2007 while preparing to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting but did not release the report because the majority of hotels failed to meet the required standards.

The EAC Standards Criteria for Classification of Accommodation and Restaurant Establishments was developed in 2006 as one of the tools needed to implement the requirements of Articles 115 and 116 of the treaty for the establishment of the regional body, which outlines principles for co-operation in Tourism and Wildlife Management.

The criteria was first published in 2006 and includes schedules for the star rating classification of lodges, motels, tented camps, town hotels, vacation hotels, villas, cottages, serviced apartments and restaurants.

The system also covers material, non-tangible and tangible characteristics of accommodation facilities like supplies in bathrooms, frequency of change of linen, location, measurement of rooms, comfort, style, ambience, luxury and elegance, communication skills of staff and their grooming.

Government is optimistic that when figures are released, 2011 revenue from tourism will exceed $1 billion, compared with $662 million in 2010, resulting from an increase of entry fee in the national parks and marketing campaigns.

The number of arrivals is also expected to rise from 946,000 in 2010 to over 1.7 million in 2011.