EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Uganda turned World Tourism Day into a nationwide commercial activation this week. The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) opened every major park free of charge to East African citizens and residents from 25 to 27 September, President Museveni commissioned the new Mbale Zoo as national celebrations centred on eastern Uganda, and the Ministry of Tourism and Uganda Tourism Board launched the Explore Eastern campaign around Mount Elgon, coffee tours and Bugisu heritage. Uganda also lifted its French-market ambition, targeting up to 15,000 French tourists annually, after 2025 arrivals reached a record 1.64 million.

Rwanda continued converting Kwita Izina momentum into investment language. Rwanda Development Board briefings confirmed that 10 percent of park entrance fees flow into community projects and that the Virunga Massif mountain gorilla population has grown from 480 in 2010 to more than 600, while RwandAir moved to expand widebody capacity with five A330 aircraft supporting planned Frankfurt and Mumbai services alongside a new Kigali-Zanzibar-Mombasa coastal triangle.

The operating picture improved materially this week. On 26 September the UAE formally lifted its entry restrictions on Ugandan travellers, the first Gulf market to do so since Uganda's outbreak was declared over, while precautionary measures remain for travellers from the DRC and South Sudan. KLM issued no new notice on Amsterdam-Entebbe and its suspension stands until further notice, keeping Gulf and Istanbul hubs central to European routing. On health, Uganda remains resolved with no new case since 21 June, while the DRC outbreak expanded to 8,067 confirmed cases and 3,901 deaths as at 26 September per the WHO Daily Epidemiological Update, with no impact on parks or routing. Canada extended its Ebola-related measures on Uganda through 27 November, and the US CDC order runs to approximately 11 October.

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EBOLA WATCH - Ebola Watch Dashboard

2026 Ebola - Confirmed Cases by Provinces and District

Figure 1: Map produced by CDC on 20 Sep 2026

Case Statistics (WHO Daily Epidemiological Update - data as at 26 September 2026)

UGANDA

Confirmed cases: 20 Confirmed deaths: 2 Recoveries: 18

Last confirmed case: 21 June 2026 WHO declaration: Outbreak formally declared over on 26 August 2026

Uganda's domestic outbreak remains resolved and unchanged. No new confirmed case has been reported since 21 June, and tourism operations remain fully open. The commercial issue is therefore not domestic transmission but the persistence of foreign travel restrictions and airline operating decisions linked to the wider DRC outbreak.

WHO Daily Epi Update (26 September 2026)

DRC - Democratic Republic of the Congo

Confirmed cases: 8,067 Confirmed deaths: 3,901 Recoveries: 2,070

The DRC outbreak continued to expand during the reporting period. WHO recorded 8,067 confirmed cases and 3,901 confirmed deaths by 26 September, with active transmission across Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo and Bas-Uele, and Sud-Ubangi under active surveillance monitoring. The outbreak does not affect park operations, permits or standard tourism routing in Uganda or Rwanda, but it continues to delay policy normalisation in major source and transit markets.

WHO Daily Epi Update (26 September 2026)

RWANDA

Confirmed Ebola cases: 0 Confirmed deaths: 0

Rwanda remains Ebola-free and fully operational for tourism. All national parks, Kigali International Airport and tourism services continue to operate normally. Rwanda retains restrictions on travellers with recent DRC travel history but remains outside the UAE and other country-specific restrictions applied to Uganda.

OUTBREAK TOTAL (All Countries)

Total confirmed cases: 8,088 Total confirmed deaths: 3,903 Total recoveries: 2,089

EBOLA-RELATED TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY (as at 28 September 2026)

Travel restriction position. The US CDC restriction renewed on 11 September remains in force through approximately 11 October. The UAE formally lifted entry restrictions on Ugandan travellers on 26 September, while keeping precautionary measures for travellers from the DRC and South Sudan. Canada extended its Ebola-related measures affecting Uganda through 27 November. Bahrain and Jordan restrictions affecting travellers with recent DRC exposure remain in place. The EU and UK maintain targeted advice and screening rather than blanket bans. Operators should continue checking client onward travel eligibility before confirming Uganda itineraries.

Canada extends through 27 November. Canada has extended its measures. Canada extended its Ebola-related entry and document restrictions affecting Uganda through 27 November 2026, resolving the 28 September expiry watch item. Canada-origin and Canada-bound clients remain affected through the autumn season, and itineraries should be planned against the new expiry.

ChimpReports (29 September 2026)

Gulf and European position. The UAE has reopened to Ugandan travellers. Bahrain and Jordan maintain restrictions on travellers with recent DRC exposure, and the UK and EU continue targeted screening at major hub airports with no blanket bans in place.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

UAE lifts entry restrictions on Ugandan travellers. The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority formally lifted entry restrictions on Ugandan travellers, introduced in June, following the completion of the international monitoring period after Uganda's outbreak was declared over on 26 August. Precautionary measures remain in place for travellers from the DRC and South Sudan. The announcement, made with the Ministry of Health and Prevention and the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, coincided with a 10 million dollar UAE pledge to the international Ebola response announced at the UN General Assembly, alongside more than 150 tonnes of aid already dispatched.

The National (26 September 2026) Arabian Business (28 September 2026)

Uganda opens every major park free for World Tourism Day. The Uganda Wildlife Authority opened all major national parks free of charge for East African citizens and residents from 25 to 27 September to mark World Tourism Day, covering Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo, Kidepo Valley and Pian Upe. UWA deployed five dedicated buses to bring park-adjacent communities into the parks, targeting young Ugandans and border populations as a domestic-demand play.

Daily Monitor (24 September 2026)

Museveni commissions Mbale Zoo and launches Explore Eastern. President Museveni commissioned the new Mbale Zoo in Mbale City during national World Tourism Day celebrations, a UWA satellite conservation and education centre that decentralises wildlife product into eastern Uganda. The Ministry of Tourism and Uganda Tourism Board concurrently launched the Explore Eastern campaign around Mount Elgon, coffee tours and Bugisu heritage, and Museveni framed tourism as Uganda leading economic frontier under a digital and AI theme.

Daily Monitor (28 September 2026)

Uganda raises its French-market target to 15,000 tourists. Uganda's Ambassador to France, Spain and Portugal, Doreen Ruth Amule, announced a target of 13,000 to 15,000 French tourists annually by 2027, building on French arrivals more than doubling to 7,439 in 2025 and following the country's IFTM Top Resa showcase in Paris. The campaign sustains the Francophone sales push across three fully branded Explore Uganda buses in central Paris.

Daily Monitor (23 September 2026)

RwandAir expands widebody fleet and launches coastal triangle route. RwandAir is adding five Airbus A330 aircraft to its long-haul fleet, supporting planned Frankfurt and Mumbai services alongside existing London and Paris operations, with Qatar Airways partnership support on crew and codeshare integration. The carrier also inaugurated a four-weekly Kigali-Zanzibar-Mombasa triangle route connecting Rwanda to Kenyan and Tanzanian coastal leisure markets.

Travel and Tour World (24 September 2026) Travel and Tour World (25 September 2026)

Tanzanian tour operators begin Uganda familiarisation tour. A delegation of Tanzanian tour operators began a six-day familiarisation tour of Uganda, building multi-destination East African packages that connect Tanzanian coastal and northern circuits with Ugandan gorilla and savannah parks.

New Vision (26 September 2026)

UTB concludes Turkiye and Germany trade campaigns. The Uganda Tourism Board concluded a Turkish market campaign engaging 400 travel stakeholders in Istanbul and a 10-day familiarisation tour for 12 German travel agency partners, aimed at stimulating Q4 arrivals into Entebbe.

New Vision (23 September 2026)

Roosevelt Africa Trail pitches US trade and aviation ties. Stakeholders from Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and the United States met at Uganda House in New York to commercialise the Roosevelt Africa Trail, using Theodore Roosevelt's 1909-1910 East African expedition heritage to drive US tourist arrivals, trade and investment, with explicit links drawn to US luxury travellers and the Uganda Airlines Boeing fleet expansion.

New Vision (24 September 2026)

Rwenzori Marathon validates sports tourism diversification. Analysis following the fifth Mt Rwenzori Marathon in Kasese highlighted sports tourism as a proven diversification driver, with the World Athletics-labelled race generating peak hotel occupancy and spillover demand into Queen Elizabeth safaris, Rwenzori trekking and community coffee tours.

The Observer (23 September 2026)

STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT

World Tourism Day delivered a genuine commercial moment. Free park entry across every major park, dedicated community transport and a new eastern anchor in the Mbale Zoo signal a deliberate domestic-demand strategy and a push to spread product beyond the gor

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