Top Bollywood producers, directors and actors have arrived in Uganda for a five-day visit.
The delegation comprises members of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI).
The Bollywood and TAFI visit to Uganda is one of the outcomes of Prime Minister Ruhakaa Rugunda’s tour of India in 2017.
The group was received by Amb Grace Akello Uganda High Commissioner – New Delhi and Minister of State for Tourism Hon. Kiwanda Godfrey.
There are three elements to this visit, which kicks off with a trip to Uganda’s world-famous Kidepo National Park. The first is the appreciation of tourist sites by members of the delegation as tourists themselves.
According to Amb Grace Akello, Beyond this, Bollywood will be looking for suitable areas for it to shoot its films on the African continent. Once such areas are identified, Bollywood is looking forward to developing a working relationship with the Uganda films fraternity to actualize its filming aspirations in the country.
The agency is advocating for a Memorandum of Understanding between Uganda and India on Filming and related digital cooperation. The third aspect of this visit by Bollywood opens the possibility of working with this world-class film giant in southern Asia, to promote Uganda.
The interests of TAFI in this tour are equally beneficial for Uganda. Being a federation of all Indian travel agencies, this conglomerate of India’s travel holds the key to Uganda’s tourism prospects among the burgeoning Indian middle class. TAFI’s basic mandate is to look after the interests of its members, but it has the broader mandate of linking these members with the global travel industry.