Martyrs day in Uganda has greatly been affected with covid-19 this is holy day that is held by religious Christian pilgrims of the catholic and protestant faiths every 3^rd of June of each year to honor the Christian martyrs killed for their faith by the King of Buganda between the years of 1885 – 1887. The town of Namugongo in north-east of Uganda’s capital Kampala is place where this religious ceremony is held and brings millions of pilgrims around the world to come and witness which I turn builds religious tourism in the country.

This event which attracts many Christian faithfuls from the region and beyond has been banned this year because of the corona virus pandemic ravaging the world.

The cancellation of this year’s Martyrs Day celebrations due to Covid-19 pandemic did not only affect those for whom the day is important but has also disrupted the projections of different businesses that depend on the boost in sales that are linked to this annual event like the sale of religious regalia, vendors, small businesses and companies which pitch camp in Namugongo to cash in on close to two million pilgrims who visit the Martyrs Shrines.

Businesses Affected

1. A) The catering business which have been providing food to pilgrims have been affected and lost a lot of money
2. B) The selling of religious items has also been affected as many vendors used to make a lot of money selling religious regalia like rosaries and portraits of the martyrs which with the cancellation many vendors have lost out.
3. C) Accommodation like hotels and guest houses have also lost out because of the lack of pilgrims who used to use these facilities during the weeks and the days before the Martyrs day celebrations of which all were occupied.
4. D) The Church also have lost out on earnings, funds and donations arising from religious tourists and well wishers which has also grossly affected the church funds i.e the church normally has 150 people operating within the premises of the Church who are charged between Shs 250,000 and 500,000 for space.
5. E) Landlords have also been collecting cash from vendors by renting out space depending on the size. They would charge between Shs50,000 and Shs 300,000, which is used to provide cleaning services, security and power.

Developing Faith Based Tourism

Uganda is on track to develop religious sites across the country to attract more tourists to such places. The Ministry Of Tourism Wildlife And Antiquities developed the National Tourism Sector Development Plan 2015/16 – 2019/20 with one of the key objectives to develop and strengthen partnership with faith-based institutions to promote faith-based tourism.

The Upgrading of key religious sites has been done which has resulted into a huge number of both domestic and foreign tourists with its ripple benefits boosting the economy and the tourism sector as a whole.