Uganda is an African country located in East Africa, the country is a landlocked country bordered by five other countries – Kenya to the west, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the East, South Sudan to the north and Rwanda and Tanzania to the south. Uganda has a population of about 30 million people and according to the recently conducted census, it is said to be one of the rapidly growing countries in terms of population. Nevertheless, the problem of poverty among most of the citizens has continuously persisted and it is believed that average Ugandan is said to be worth $100 and below. This implies most Ugandans are living below the minimum standards and their lives are not satisfying. It is this reason that some local people fail to get the essential necessities required for their survival.

Notwithstanding, tourism throughout the previous five years has drastically improved the lives of some Ugandans particularly those who stay near different tourist attractions and the national parks. Because of the increased number of tourists to the country, Uganda has been able to generate revenue which is used to improve the lives of the locals. Tourism as of now contributes around 30% of the nation’s national budget implying that it plays a big role in creating the nation’s revenue. When this revenue is gotten, the government channels it to the different ministries which use it for development furthermore helping the people financially.

But the question we have is; how does the money get from tourists help to improve the lives of the local people? This is a perfect question and even most visitors wonder how this happens particularly when they give all their money to the tour operators and not the local people. The cycle simple; when a traveler chooses a tour company to use on his or her Uganda safari, he/she will continue to make payments for the safari. This money is paid to the company through the bank or credit cards. When the bank receives the money, it charges transaction fees and also when the company withdraws that money it is charged the withdraw charges. At last, the bank pays government tax which is then used to improve the lives of the local people through buying drugs, constructions of roads and many others.

Also when the tour company gets the money, it then begins to organize the safari and in doing this, they incur some costs like accommodation bookings for the clients, fuel charges among others all these pay tax to the government. At the point when tourists enter the country, they pay for the visas and this money goes to the government, when the tourists go to the parks for their particular tour activity, they pay park entrance charges and this is collected by the government. Not overlooking that also the tour company pay tax to the government which increases the revenue collected by the government.

The cycle proceeds and from the above, you can see that all points involve remitting taxes to the government. In the whole event, the government gets money from each and every safari to Uganda which is then calculated and included in the national budget. The government through different ministries uses the money got from tourism to develop different infrastructures in the nation such as roads, hospitals, schools among others. It also gives some money to organized groups which fight poverty in the country.

Not overlooking that the different lodges and hotels where clients sleep when they are on their safaris employ a lot of Ugandans and this helps them to earn some money hence improving their ways of life directly. Even the many tour and travel companies established in Uganda provide employment opportunities to many local people as tour guides, tour consultants, secretary among others. All this is possible due to the tourism industry and the fact that many foreigners visit Uganda and bring in money which has greatly improved the living standards of the local people