Uganda’s tourism sector has moved from a sharp pandemic-era decline to a new high in international arrivals. Official figures show 1,642,215 international tourist arrivals in 2025, alongside UGX 5,829.2 billion in tourism receipts. The wider picture also includes 2.8 million domestic visitors, growing hotel occupancy, direct tourism employment and substantial national-park activity.
Contents
- International visitor arrivals and recovery
- Tourism receipts and economic contribution
- Domestic and inbound tourism demand
- Length of stay, spending and accommodation
- Tourism output and employment
- Wildlife tourism and community revenue sharing
International visitor arrivals and recovery
Uganda recorded 512,945 tourist arrivals in 2021 and 814,508 in 2022. The Ministry of Tourism’s later statistics show 1,274,210 international visitors in 2023 and 1,371,895 in 2024. These figures describe different annual stages of the recovery rather than a single uninterrupted measure: the earlier 2021–2022 counts and the later 2023–2024 international-visitor series are retained as reported by the official sources. (Tourism Statistics; Uganda’s Tourism Sector Hits Record High of US$1.28 Billion in 2024)
The year-on-year movement was substantial. International visitor arrivals increased 56.5% in 2023, followed by a further 7.7% increase in 2024. The 2024 total was reported at 89.2% of Uganda’s pre-pandemic level, so the country had regained most, but not all, of the earlier volume by that point. (Decoding Uganda’s FY2025/26 National Budget and Its Impact on the Tourism Economy; Uganda’s Tourism Sector Hits Record High of US$1.28 Billion in 2024)
Recovery continued in 2025. Uganda recorded 1,642,215 international tourist arrivals, an increase of 19.7%. The reported 2025 total reached 106% of the 2019 level, meaning the annual count had exceeded the pre-pandemic benchmark. This 2019 comparison is a reported recovery measure, not a forecast. (Tourism Statistics; Uganda’s Tourism Roars Back as Visitor Arrivals Hit 1.6 Million, Earnings Rise to UGX 5.8 Trillion)
| Year | Reported international or tourist arrivals | Reported change or benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 512,945 | — |
| 2022 | 814,508 | — |
| 2023 | 1,274,210 | +56.5% |
| 2024 | 1,371,895 | +7.7%; 89.2% of pre-pandemic level |
| 2025 | 1,642,215 | +19.7%; 106% of 2019 level |
Tourism receipts and economic contribution
International tourism receipts were approximately UGX 4.8 trillion in 2024, equivalent to about US$1.28 billion. The same official release reported a 25.9% increase in tourism earnings and said international tourism receipts contributed 16% of Uganda’s total exports in 2024. These are receipts and export measures for that year, not estimates of all travel-related household spending. (Uganda’s Tourism Sector Hits Record High of US$1.28 Billion in 2024)
Tourism contributed 6.6% to Uganda’s GDP in 2024. For FY2024/25, tourism expenditure was reported at UGX 6.3 trillion. Because the GDP statistic refers to calendar-year 2024 while the expenditure figure refers to a fiscal year, they should not be treated as two directly comparable totals. (Decoding Uganda’s FY2025/26 National Budget and Its Impact on the Tourism Economy)
The 2025 release reported tourism receipts of UGX 5,829.2 billion, approximately US$1.62 billion. Receipts increased 21.3% in 2025. The currency figures are presented in the units used by the source: UGX billions for the domestic-currency total and US dollars for the approximate conversion. (Uganda’s Tourism Roars Back as Visitor Arrivals Hit 1.6 Million, Earnings Rise to UGX 5.8 Trillion)
Domestic and inbound tourism demand
International arrivals are only one part of Uganda’s tourism market. Uganda recorded 2.80 million domestic visitors in 2023, and domestic visitor numbers increased 5.2% that year. Domestic tourism expenditure reached UGX 5,090.7 billion, a 38.5% increase. Inbound tourism expenditure reached UGX 3,818.6 billion and increased 48% in 2023. (Uganda Tourism Satellite Account Report March 2025)
The 2024 domestic measure was reported as 2.8 million Ugandans, with domestic tourism participation increasing 5.2%. The same reporting period recorded a 15.7% increase in domestic tourism to national parks. National parks received 244,843 local visitors in 2024. “Domestic visitors,” “Ugandans,” and “local visitors” are retained according to the wording of the respective releases and should not automatically be assumed to be identical statistical categories. (Uganda’s Tourism Sector Hits Record High of US$1.28 Billion in 2024; Decoding Uganda’s FY2025/26 National Budget and Its Impact on the Tourism Economy)
Together, the figures show why domestic demand matters for tourism planning. The 2023 expenditure total for domestic tourism was UGX 5,090.7 billion, while inbound tourism expenditure was UGX 3,818.6 billion. Those measures come from the Uganda Tourism Satellite Account and cover 2023; they are not a direct update of the 2024 or 2025 international receipts figures. (Uganda Tourism Satellite Account Report March 2025)
Length of stay, spending and accommodation
International visitors stayed an average of 8.7 nights in 2024, and average international visitor spending was US$125 per day. The leisure-tourism share increased from 16% to 19% in 2024. These indicators suggest that the value of tourism depends not only on arrival volume, but also on how long visitors stay and which tourism purposes they report. (Uganda’s Tourism Sector Hits Record High of US$1.28 Billion in 2024)
For 2025, the reported average tourist length of stay was 8.8 nights and average tourist spending was about US$986 per trip. The two spending measures use different forms: US$125 per day for international visitors in 2024 and about US$986 per trip for tourists in 2025. They should not be divided or compared as if they represented the same population and time basis. (Uganda’s Tourism Roars Back as Visitor Arrivals Hit 1.6 Million, Earnings Rise to UGX 5.8 Trillion)
Uganda’s accommodation capacity was reported at 350,550 rooms in FY2023/24. Average hotel room occupancy increased from 46.9% in 2022 to 53.9% in 2023. Within domestic tourism expenditure in 2023, accommodation services accounted for 15.3%, while food and beverage services accounted for 19.6%. (Uganda Tourism Satellite Account Report March 2025)
Tourism output and employment
The Uganda Tourism Satellite Account’s 2019 tables provide a detailed pre-pandemic baseline for tourism industries. Tourism direct gross value added was UGX 4,829.0 billion, representing 3.7% of total gross value added. Accommodation services generated UGX 1,533.8 billion of tourism-attributed gross value added; air and road passenger transport generated UGX 1,481.7 billion; and food and beverage services generated UGX 1,030.2 billion. (Uganda Tourism Satellite Account Popular Version 2023)
The 2019 employment tables counted 39,974 people directly employed in tourism industries. Accommodation services accounted for 21,191 direct jobs, food and beverage services for 10,126, and travel agencies and reservation services for 3,368. These figures are historical satellite-account results for 2019 and are not presented as current employment estimates. (Uganda Tourism Satellite Account 2023)
A later 2024 indicator reported that tourism directly generated 876,512 jobs, equal to 7.5% of total employment. The large difference from the 2019 direct-employment table reflects the reported measures and their different source periods; the figures should not be combined into a single trend line without a consistent methodology. (Uganda’s Tourism Roars Back as Visitor Arrivals Hit 1.6 Million, Earnings Rise to UGX 5.8 Trillion)
Wildlife tourism and community revenue sharing
National-park visitation fell from 332,197 visits in FY2018/19 to 255,711 in FY2019/20 and then to 103,812 in FY2020/21. It recovered to 265,539 visits in FY2021/22 and reached 382,285 in FY2022/23. These are Uganda Wildlife Authority annual-report counts by financial year, so they should not be directly substituted for calendar-year international arrivals. (UWA Annual Physical Performance Report July 2022 to June 2023)
| Financial year | National-park visits |
|---|---|
| FY2018/19 | 332,197 |
| FY2019/20 | 255,711 |
| FY2020/21 | 103,812 |
| FY2021/22 | 265,539 |
| FY2022/23 | 382,285 |
Wildlife tourism also has a community-finance dimension. UWA distributed UGX 10,214,142,122 in revenue-sharing funds during FY2024/25. In August 2024, it distributed UGX 3,151,730,162 to six districts around Murchison Falls Protected Area. In June 2025, UWA distributed UGX 2,197,559,618 to communities around the Bwindi-Mgahinga Conservation Area. These disbursements are reported amounts for the stated programs and dates, not a single nationwide annual total. (2025 - Uganda Wildlife Authority; UWA Releases UGX 3.15 Billion to Communities Around MFCA; UWA Disburses UGX 2.19 Billion to Bwindi-Mgahinga Communities)
The available record therefore spans calendar years, fiscal years and historical satellite-account benchmarks. No full-year 2026 values are presented. Reading each number with its measurement period and geography intact is essential when comparing Uganda’s visitor recovery, tourism spending, employment and wildlife-conservation outcomes.