The economic analysis of Geographical Information System (GIS) wildlife souvenirs at selected tourist sites in Kampala

Abstract

In recent years tourism has become one of the leading foreign exchange earners for Uganda. For instance, according to the 7th Annual Tourism Sector Performance Report (2016) from the Ministry of Tourism Wildlife and Antiquities, in 2013, tourism sector contributed about 7.9% which is equivalent to UGX 5.5 trillion of the GDP and in the financial year 2015/2016 the contribution grew up to UGX 7.3 billion.According to the national tourism sector development plan (2016), the tourism sector has the potential to contribute more money towards the economy but there is a challenge of limited tourism products. The potential of GIS wildlife souvenirs could be an expanding factor for tourism products, thus the focus of this study on such products.Authentic souvenirs, especially those made through inspiration by wildlife could be an additional tourism product because as pointed out by Fiefan-xie etal. (2012), tourists perceive authentic souvenirs designed and produced using modern techniques such as GIS based skills, as high value tourism products. However,in Uganda, there is still a problem of lack of authentic souvenirs produced using modern technology and using aspirations from wildlife. This study research investigated the potential demand of GIS wildlife souvenirs on Uganda‟s market.An interview schedule was developed and used to collect data regarding (a) the potential demand of the different types of GIS wildlife souvenirs; (b) the preferred materials for use in souvenir production and the preferred designs, on Uganda's market. Sample GIS wildlife souvenirs were designed and produced using ArcGIS and ArtCAM software‟sand a CNC Machine. At selected sites in Kampala and Entebbe, 30 international and 30 national respondents were randomly selected and interviewed after which their responses analyzed using Microsoft Excel software.The results showed that the majority of the respondents preferred souvenir categories of wall hangings with a score above 70% for both national and internal respondents. The most preferred material by majority of the respondents in production of souvenirs was industrial wood with over 75%. While the information provided by this research may contribute towards informed design and production of wildlife souvenirs, further research is required on aspects of marketing, packaging and distribution channels of authentic Ugandan souvenirs that would be designed and manufactured using modern technology most especially GIS and modern machines such as the CNC machine.