Tripesa, a leading digital platform focused on the tourism and hospitality industry in Africa, has partnered with the Buganda Kingdom to launch an innovative online portal. This collaboration aims to leverage technology to promote the kingdom’s rich cultural heritage and empower local tourism businesses to reach new heights.
Tripesa, known for its Payments First Business Process Management system tailored to the tourism sector, has been instrumental in digitizing and automating the business value chain for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the continent. The company’s expertise in creating user-friendly, affordable online marketplaces has now been harnessed to benefit the Buganda region’s tourism landscape.
The partnership has resulted in the unveiling of visitbuganda.com, an online portal that serves as a digital marketplace where tourists can access a wide range of tourism-related services and learn about the diverse attractions the Buganda region has to offer.
This platform not only enhances the kingdom’s tourism capabilities by making its offerings more accessible to potential visitors but also aligns with Tripesa’s mission to leverage technology to support the growth and success of Uganda’s tourism industry.
Empowering Small Tourism Businesses
The collaboration between Tripesa and Buganda Kingdom is part of a broader effort to digitize and automate the tourism and hospitality value chain in Africa. Tripesa’s technology enables the creation of online marketplaces that empower even small tourism businesses to establish an online presence and reach new customers, ultimately helping them optimize their operations and stay competitive.
Kasozi Albert, the Executive Director at Buganda Heritage and Tourism Board, asserts that in this modern age, tourism thrives more on digital marketing, and the advancement in technology has made it easier to build marketplaces like Visit Buganda.
He emphasizes that the platform brings the experience closer to the tourist, allowing them to make a satisfying choice even before arriving in the country.
Kasozi affirms that Buganda Kingdom’s revenue will grow through the marketplace along with the diversification of the products in the industry. He adds that for so many years, Uganda has been known as a nature-based destination, but now, they want tourists to appreciate a heritage and cultural destination that is digitalized.
Tripesa’s Innovative Approach
David Gonahasa, the CEO at Tripesa, states that the platform has built a tool that allows individuals, small businesses, and producers to build no-code websites without the need for complex data.
He explains that Tripesa helps with best-practice template development, package development, and payments, enabling the creation of fully-functional, tourism e-commerce websites that are then aggregated into marketplaces.
Tripesa is not only partnering with Buganda Kingdom but also with other beneficiaries such as YUTO (Young Uganda Tourism Operators) and Kasese Tourism Investors Forum (KTIF), for whom Tripesa has developed online presence and valuable platforms to launch their marketplaces.
According to David, the process becomes easier at scale, as marketplaces at the regional level require fewer terms of operation, making them more sustainable. By taking away the cost of building technology, Tripesa builds the infrastructure to deliver this for customers.
