Uganda Tourism Roadshow in Brisbane Courts Australian Agents and Investors for Queen Elizabeth Lodges

Uganda took its tourism pitch to Brisbane this week, as the Uganda High Commission in Australia staged a roadshow and a round of business-to-business meetings designed to turn Australian interest in gorillas, chimpanzees and the Nile into bookable trips. More than 30 Ugandan and Australian tourism businesses met at the Brisbane Convention Centre, according to The Independent, while the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) used the platform to court investors for new lodges and activities in the Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area.

For travellers in Australia, the takeaway is more choice through local agents. For Uganda's tourism industry, the Brisbane roadshow is a test of whether a long-haul market can be grown through wholesalers and travel advisers rather than marketing alone.

What happened in Brisbane

The day opened with B2B meetings between Ugandan hotels and tour operators and Australia-based African wholesalers and suppliers, Travel Monitor reported, followed by an evening event on 22 October with Ugandan cultural dance and networking. The delegation included officials from the High Commission, the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) and UWA, alongside Ugandan travel agencies.

Australian attendees named by Travel Monitor came from Adventure World, African Travel Specialists, MW Tours, The Africa Safari Co., Luxury Escapes, Flight Centre, TravelManagers and The Travel Cooperation, along with South African Airways. Queensland Senator Paul Scarr attended the evening event.

Dorothy Samali Hyuha, Uganda's High Commissioner to Australia, framed the meetings as commercial rather than ceremonial. "These B2B meetings put economic diplomacy into practice," she told The Independent, adding that partnerships could open markets for Ugandan businesses.

Francis Nyende, UTB's marketing manager, described Brisbane as a chance to understand what Australian travellers want and to build partnerships that turn Uganda's attractions into "compelling, bookable itineraries." He said tourism creates business throughout a visitor's journey, from accommodation and guiding to transport and small local enterprises.

An investment pitch for Queen Elizabeth

The most concrete proposals came from UWA. Joseph Muhereza, presenting for the authority, outlined investment opportunities in the Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area, The Independent reported. They include ultra-luxury and high-quality eco-lodges in the Ishasha sector, the North Crater Area and Kigezi Wildlife Reserve.

The activities on the table go well beyond the standard game drive: walking safaris, wilderness camps, boat excursions and houseboats on the Kazinga Channel, hot-air balloon flights over Ishasha, and ziplining in the North Crater Area and Kyambura Wildlife Reserve. "Uganda offers considerable scope for distinctive tourism experiences," Muhereza said.

UWA's Penina Babirye stressed the wider visitor experience of landscapes, communities and conservation, saying responsible tourism partnerships "can support conservation while creating livelihoods."

The Ishasha pitch comes weeks after UWA and the Wildlife Conservation Society launched a 10-year plan to restore the sector's famous tree-climbing lions. The Daily Monitor reported in September that only two female lions remained in Ishasha, according to UWA, and that the partnership is expected to attract about $14 million in investment, with the first five years focused on habitat, community relations and reducing human-wildlife conflict. Any new high-end lodge in Ishasha will depend heavily on that recovery succeeding.

Why Australia, and why now

Brisbane follows a Uganda roadshow in Sydney in October 2025, led by the same High Commission, which promoted the source of the Nile, mountain gorillas, chimpanzees and the Rwenzori Mountains to Australian operators and media. The High Commission noted then that Australians can reach Uganda through Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and South African Airways.

There were signs at Brisbane that the trade relationships are starting to stick. Tomas Malmberg of The Travel Cooperation, who attended the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) earlier this year, announced that Uganda will return to the Contiki program in 2027, Travel Monitor reported. Two Australian advisers, from Flight Centre and TravelManagers, won places on the 2027 POATE Uganda familiarisation trip.

Samantha van Eldik of Adventure World told The Independent that meeting Ugandan operators helps build the knowledge advisers need to recommend Uganda with confidence. "The commercial opportunity lies in matching Uganda's distinctive experiences with Australian travellers' interests," she said.

The push fits a national strategy that prizes longer, higher-spending trips over sheer volume. At a sector review conference in Kampala on 6 October, Finance Minister Henry Musasizi set a target of US$5 billion in annual tourism receipts by 2030, according to the Ministry of Finance. Uganda received 1.64 million international visitors in 2025, up 19.7%, with receipts of about US$1.62 billion, an average stay of 8.8 nights and average spending of US$986 per trip. Long-haul visitors who book multi-park itineraries through agents are exactly the market that lifts those averages. For the wider numbers, see our story on Uganda's record 2025 arrivals.

What it means for travellers

For Australians, the practical change is that more local wholesalers and advisers are building Uganda into their programs, so packaged gorilla and safari trips should become easier to buy at home rather than only through Ugandan operators. A Contiki return in 2027 also points to more options for younger and budget-minded travellers.

The UWA proposals are investment opportunities, not open lodges. No timelines, investors or prices were announced, so balloon flights over Ishasha or houseboats on the Kazinga Channel are not bookable yet. For what Queen Elizabeth National Park costs to visit today, see our Queen Elizabeth National Park fees guide, and for gorilla planning, our guide to Uganda gorilla permits for 2026 and 2027.

Photo: Charles J. Sharp / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).