Chapter 7 Uganda Tourism Sector COVID-19 Response, Recovery and Sustainability Strategies: Lessons from Previous Virus Disease Outbreaks

Purpose: This chapter analyzes how the COVID-19 pandemic has been managed and strategies put in place to rejuvenate the tourism industry in Uganda. Methodology: This chapter adopts an integrated approach involving questionnaire survey and rapid situational analysis of documents to synthesize information on management of past disease outbreaks, COVID-19 and their impacts on tourism. Findings: Uganda's tourism industry is vulnerable and has been exposed to past disease outbreaks such as Ebola and Marburg with varying effects on its image and performance. With the outbreak of COVID-19, the industry has drawn lessons from the previous responses and management experiences to cope with the effects of the pandemic. Research Limitations: The main limitation in this chapter is the low response rate due to stringent lockdown conditions and limited access to respondents and official documents. Practical Implications: This chapter recommends the need to mainstream strategies for crisis management into the tourism policy and development planning frameworks. Originality/Value: This chapter provides a robust approach to analyze tourism industry's response, recovery and sustainability after disease outbreaks, pandemics and related crises in future.