Experts have urged journalists to avoid rushed and most times negative stories about different events happening in Uganda as these are killing the country’s tourism sector.
According to the experts, some journalists rush to break stories about disease outbreaks such as Ebola in the country and political demonstrations yet such negatively affect the country’s image, which keeps away tourists.
Ms Eunice Kansiime Tworekirwe, the Principal Public Relations Officer at the Tourism ministry, cited the stories around the Ebola outbreak in Uganda last year, which she said saw about 8,000 tourists cancel their visits.
“Last year after the Ebola outbreak story, a number of tourists that had booked to visit us cancelled their trips. About 8,000 visits were cancelled and we lost a lot as a sector. Up to today, some people don’t come to Uganda because they still think we have Ebola. If the person who broke the Ebola story had first looked at its impact, we wouldn’t have lost visitors,” she said.
Ms Tworekirwe was speaking on Monday during a week-long training for journalists reporting on tourism on Monday in Mbarara City.
She cautioned journalists to ensure balance and fairness in their reporting, explaining that journalism is not meant to retard national development.
“As journalists, you need to report responsibly about Uganda for the sake of our tourism sector and economy. When you portray Uganda well in the media, visitors will appreciate this country and come here in huge numbers and that’s to our benefit,” Ms Tworekirwe added.
Mr Alex Bagyenzire Atuhaire, the Executive Editor of the Kampala Report, an online publisher, said accuracy, objectivity, and fairness are key principles of journalism and urged reporters to stick to them.
“Yes, it is noble to tell a good story but if it can stop tourists from coming to your country, you need to think through this properly because it is going to affect the economy. It is not that you shouldn’t be independent and do objective reporting, but you need to look at the different contexts,” he said.
Mr Muhereza Kyamutetera, the chief editor of CEO Magazine, an online publisher, called for stories that promote Uganda as opposed to negative reporting.
“We need to be mindful that whatever we are doing as journalists, we are doing it for our country. We all want to break stories but when your mother-in-law is seated badly, do you write that story? We need to have it at the back of our minds that there are some things that are fine to report, but for the love of our country, can we first look at the impact?” he urged.
