PARIS, FRANCE
Paris, France – Uganda concluded a high-impact participation at IFTM Top Resa 2026, France’s leading business-to-business tourism fair, where it secured firm contracts for 2027-2028 and advanced plans for direct Uganda Airlines flights to Paris by June 2027.
The fair was held at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from 15-17 September and is one of Europe’s four most influential travel trade platforms alongside ITB Berlin, WTM London and FITUR Madrid. This year’s edition convened over 34,000 trade professionals, 1,700 brands and 1,200 international buyers.
Uganda’s presence was coordinated by the Embassy of Uganda in Paris under the Economic and Commercial Diplomacy Programme, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities and the Uganda Tourism Board. It marked Uganda’s third consecutive appearance and was led by H.E. Amb. Doreen Ruth Amule and Hon. Susan Nakawuki, Minister of State for Tourism.
The commercial core was led by 11 private Destination Marketing Companies Africa Adventure Vacations, Cheetah Safaris Uganda, Destination Jungle, Grassrootz Adventures, Home to Africa, Ibis Adventures, Kazinga Tours, Let’s Go Travel, Sites Travel Uganda, Tripcare Adventures and Terrace Safaris — doubling from five in 2025. Each company averaged 18 to 22 pre-scheduled B2B meetings with buyers from France, Spain, Portugal and Benelux, with discussions shifting from general interest to rates, allotments and gorilla permit allocations.
Demand was strongest for gorilla tracking in Bwindi and Mgahinga, Big Five safaris, Rwenzori trekking, Nile adventure and birding across Uganda’s 1,090 species, supported by new hospitality investments including Marriott Kampala with 181 rooms, Erebero Hills and Namoni Lodge.
This momentum built on strong national performance. Uganda had welcomed 1,642,215 visitors in 2025, up 19.7% year-on-year, with receipts of USD 1.62 billion, up 21.3%. France had emerged as a high-value priority market, delivering 7,439 visitors in 2025 more than double 2024 placing it among Uganda’s top 10 source markets, with average spend above USD 2,025 and stays of 8-15 nights.
Visibility beyond the exhibition hall was amplified by a citywide campaign featuring three fully branded Uganda buses that operated on central corridors covering the Eiffel Tower, Champs-Élysées, Opera and Montparnasse. The campaign delivered an estimated 8 million impressions and was repeatedly cited by buyers who visited Stand T072.
On the margins of the fair, a key constraint emerged: over 90% of French and Iberian buyers cited limited direct air connectivity between Paris and Entebbe as a cost and time barrier. To address this, Government advanced plans for Uganda Airlines to operate direct flights to Paris by June 2027. The route was considered highly viable, anchored by France’s position as Uganda’s leading source of Foreign Direct Investment over USD 1.6 billion in 2023, representing 53% of total inflows and by Paris’s role as a natural hub for connecting traffic from Spain and Portugal. Direct service was expected to significantly reduce travel time and cost and to boost arrivals from the wider region ahead of AFCON 2027, which Uganda will co-host.
Confidence had also been restored following the WHO declaration of the end of the Ebola outbreak in late August and the lifting of advisories. As one French operator noted: “We could finally sell Uganda again without explaining Ebola in every email.”
Amb. Amule told Team Uganda: “We were not just here to exhibit, we were here to secure business that creates jobs back home.” Hon. Nakawuki added: “France already trusted Uganda with big investments, tourism was the natural next step.” As the pavilion closed, one operator summed up the mood: “We came as 11 small companies, we left as Team Uganda.”
Courtesy Photos
