UGANDA: Tour Operator Arrested After Failing Or Refusing To Refund Money To A Dutch Tourist

A tour operator in Kabale town has been arrested on fraud charges after he allegedly failed to refund $27,000 erroneously sent to his account by a Dutch tourist for a gorilla trekking trip.

Mr Didan Atukunda from Mamba Gorilla Safari was arrested on Saturday in Kabale town in Western Uganda by Tourism police led by the Kigezi regional commandant, ASP Emmanuel Tinka.

Ms Sandra Natukunda, the senior public relations officer, Uganda Tourism Board said Mr Peter Nickilin from the Netherlands erroneously paid $30,000 instead of $3,000 for a trip to trek Gorillas in October last year but Mr Atukunda declined to make the $27,000 refund; forcing the tourist to contact the Uganda Tourism Board.

Prior attempts by UTB to discuss and agree to a payment plan between Mr Atukunda and the tourist proved futile after he refunded only $12,000 leading to the involvement of Tourism Police in a crackdown for Mr Atukunda's arrest.

UTB has been struggling with a challenge of tourism crime as the country eyes more earnings from the sector.

However, Ms Natukunda says the tourism board through its quality assurance department is taking strong interventions to curb crime in the sector.

According to the UTB, Quality Assurance Manager Mr Samora Semakula, UTB has set up a tourism security committee consisting of Tourism Police, MTWA and representation from the Association of Uganda Tour Operators with the let aim of tactfully handling fraud and any cases reported by tourists.

Tourism is Uganda's number one foreign exchange earner. We can not continue to let rogue operators destabilise the growth that we are seeing in the sector.

Most importantly we want tourists to enjoy their stay in Uganda. Our role is to ensure quality standards are met in the sector, Mr Semakula said.

Atukunda is the second suspected rogue tour operator to be arrested since this year started.

In a separate operation, Tourism Police and UTB arrested Mr Mugerwa Ahebwa who allegedly defrauded American tourists of over $18,000. He is currently detained at Jinja Road police station awaiting to be arraigned in court.

In November last year, over 23 people booked tickets to fly outside Uganda but later realised their tickets were all fake when they got to the airport.

There was a similar case of a Jinja-based travel agent who booked but did not issue tickets to a US family worth $6000.

The tourism industry currently contributes 10 per cent to gross domestic product, making it Uganda’s leading foreign exchange earner.

The industry contributes more than $1.4b annually and is projected to earn about $2.7b by 2020, according to figures from Uganda Tourism Board.


Tourism Observer

CUBA: Cuba Tourism In For Change

United States started scheduled commercial flights to Havana this week, the first set of regular trips that are expected to drive up costs for Canadians vacationing in Cuba.

Canadians have increasingly been spending more to visit the island as resorts switched pricing to U.S. dollars in preparation for a flood of American tourists.

“The tour operators, hotels changed their pricing last year at the start of the winter season, just over a year ago,” said Allison Wallace, spokeswoman for Flight Centre Travel Group. “Prices have gone up by approximately 15 per cent to 20 per cent based on the currency difference,” she said.

Although President Barack Obama has taken steps to improve relations with the communist country – reopening the U.S. embassy in Cuba and easing some travel restrictions – it is unknown whether U.S. president-elect Donald Trump will overturn the Obama administration’s policies. So far, his rhetoric suggests a more hostile relationship.

“If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate deal,” Mr. Trump said in a tweet after the death of former Cuban president Fidel Castro.

Ms. Wallace said that if Mr. Trump reverses U.S. policy, “it will effectively be good news for Canadians as it will mean a lack of competition. Less demand equals better availability and pricing.”

Travel company Transat AT, which has been active in Cuba for about three decades, said it is too early to say how the direct flights between the United States and Cuba would affect costs. But the company did say it has also seen higher prices for some hotels because of the increased demand.

A good chunk of that demand came from Canadians. More than 1.3 million Canadians travelled to Cuba in 2015, a 10-per-cent jump over the previous year, according to the Cuban government.

Canadians now make up 40 per cent of Cuba’s visitors, dwarfing all other countries.

“If you combine all of Europe, it doesn’t equal Canada,” said Eloy Govea, director with the Cuba Tourist Board in Canada. “Every single year, we have seen an increase in the number of arrivals from Canada.”

Regardless of the top Canadian vacation spot, few Canadian businesses are involved in the country’s tourism infrastructure.

“Cubans would say ‘we are mystified’” about the lack of direct investment, said Mark Entwistle, a former ambassador to Cuba.

Mr. Entwistle, who now advises U.S. and Canadian firms hoping to do business in Cuba, recalls his conversations with Cuban tourism officials this way: “We love you, Canada. You have these assets. You can come through any door and Cuba will receive you. But where are your hotel companies, where are your hotel developers, where are your investors?”

INDONESIA: Village Tourism To Attract French Tourists To Bali

Tourism sites, which are widely spread across Balinese villages could attract foreign tourists, mainly from France, as long as hygiene and safety are ensured.

"Village tourism could create a special impression for the tourists who spend their holiday in Bali," local tourism and cultural observer, Dewa Rai Budiasa said.

Dewa is quite experienced in helping French and American tourists, who visit his lodgings in Banjar Pengaji, Melinggih Kelod, which is located 35 kilometers northeast of Denpasar city.

In that area, tourists visit elementary schools, traditional markets, and observe villagers' activities.

"One of the sites, which attract a lot of people, is Payangan market in Gianyar district," Budiasa stated.

He also operates a tourism foundation called "Komunitas Yasa Putra Sedana," which promotes various cultural programs, such as the "sarana banten" making.

It is an offering for the Yadnya God's ceremony.

Young people from France also learn how to string "janur" (young coconut leaves) when they gather at Jero Pangaji Payangan before watching the traditional "barong" dance and enjoying their dinner.

There are a lot of French people, including the director of Institut Fran?ais d'Indon?sie Marc Piton, visiting the "Yasa Putra Sedana" foundation at Payangan village.

According to the Bali Tourism Office, 115,288 tourists from France visited Bali during the January to November period in 2015, which made up 3.43 percent of the 3.6 million foreign tourists, who visited that Land of God.