Private-sector bodies from Uganda and Kenya have signed three agreements on tourism, trade and investment in Mombasa, as the two neighbours try to turn a growing flow of visitors across their shared border into joint holiday packages linking the Kenyan coast with Uganda's parks.

The memoranda of understanding were signed on Monday, October 26, the opening day of the fifth Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism and Innovation Summit at the Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort and Spa. The two-day meeting, convened by Uganda's Consulate General in Mombasa, ends on Tuesday.

The three deals

According to Uganda's Nile Post and The Independent, the Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO) and the Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO) signed a pact on sustainable tourism and regional tourism cooperation across East Africa.

The Uganda Association of Travel Agents (TUGATA) and the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) agreed to implement the Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism Collaboration, framed as a platform for innovation, investment, youth participation and regional integration.

The third agreement, on trade, investment and private-sector cooperation, was signed by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and the Mombasa chapter of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI).

Complementarity, not competition

Uganda's Consul General in Mombasa, Ambassador Herbert Kiguli, said the aim was to market the two countries together rather than against each other, through what he called a "Beach to Bush, Bush to Beach" package that would pair Kenya's coast with Uganda's wildlife and mountain destinations.

"Our approach is to embrace complementarity rather than competition," Kiguli said.

Uganda's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, who gave the keynote address, called for formal cooperation frameworks, business-friendly policies, better transport links and improved visitor safety.

"Tourism cooperation must go beyond promoting destinations to empowering local communities," Kadaga said.

Uganda's Minister of State for Tourism, Susan Nakawuki Nsambu, said the value of the partnership lay "not simply in the meetings we hold, but in the relationships we build". Ambassador Charles Ssentongo, speaking for the Permanent Secretary in Uganda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said trade barriers between the two countries were being handled through the Uganda-Kenya Joint Permanent Commission.

Kenyans lead the traffic

Figures presented at the summit show the flow of tourists is heavily tilted towards Uganda. Data from the Uganda Tourism Board shows Kenyan visitors to Uganda rose from 466,902 in 2024 to 519,041 in 2025. Ugandan arrivals in Kenya stood at 234,556 last year, according to the Kenya Tourism Board, and Kenya is targeting 300,000 Ugandan visitors this year.

Ahead of the summit, more than 70 Ugandan tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers and tourism officials went on a six-day familiarisation tour of the Kenyan coast.

What comes next

Organisers say they want at least two digital tourism prototypes ready for commercial backing and at least 10 business-to-business links between Ugandan and Kenyan coastal operators, with progress tracked over three months.

Government representatives are expected to sign a joint declaration to be submitted to the EAC Secretariat, and delegates plan to review Article 104 of the EAC Treaty, which deals with free movement of people, labour and services. A communiqué setting out commitments and deadlines is due within two weeks, to be reviewed at next year's summit.

Operators also hope to ride on the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will co-host, to draw football fans into multi-country itineraries.

The summit series began in 2022 as the Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism Conference and falls under Uganda's economic and commercial diplomacy strategy.

Photos: Delegates at the 5th Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism and Innovation Summit in Mombasa (PML Daily); Mombasa Old Town (FredD, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons)