Kanye and Kim West Boost Ugandan Tourism with Over 70m Twitter Followers

They have been headline news since the arrival of Kanye and Kim Kardashian West in Uganda. Days after visiting U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, Kanye West found his way to the State House in Entebbe, where he visited President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. The American rapper is in Uganda to record the concluding part of his upcoming Yandhi album scheduled for release on 23 November 2018.
Ye is in Uganda with his wife Kim Kardashian and daughter North. Reports say that the family is staying at Chobe Lodge Murchison National Park located in northern Uganda.
When they visited Museveni on Monday, the couple presented a pair of white Yeezys sneakers. The president also gave them a book titled “Uganda, Gifted by Nature” about Uganda’s tourism and natural resources and discussed how to promote Ugandan tourism.
“I welcome American entertainment stars Kanye West and Kim Kardashian to Uganda. I held fruitful discussions with the duo on how to promote Uganda’s tourism and the arts. I thank Kanye for the gift of white sneakers. Enjoy your time in Uganda. It is the true Pearl of Africa,” President Museveni wrote on Twitter.
Amos Wekesa of Great Lakes Safari told the Voice of America (VOA) that the Wests may help Uganda boost tourist numbers as their visit encourages others to also visit the East African country.
“If 100,000 people came here because of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, we would probably expect over $200 million and that would probably create not less than 2,000 jobs in the country. Whatever they are filming right now will stay online for a very long time and it will continue to market Uganda as a key destination,” Wekesa said.
Clashes broke out recently between security forces and youth supporters of the man seen by many as Museveni’s biggest threat, Bobi Wine. The musician-turned-politician, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, was arrested and charged with treason for allegedly throwing rocks at President Yoweri Museveni’s car. The 74-year-old president has been in power for 30 years.
The direct contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP was UGX2.7 trillion ($7.5 billion), 2.9 percent of total GDP in 2017 and is forecast to rise by 6.5 percent in 2018. The country hopes that Kanye and Kim Kardashian’s visit to Uganda will help showcase the country’s tourism potential. Both Ye and Kim have a lot of followers on Social Media. They have a combined 69.9 million followers on twitter where Ye has been posting videos about his Uganda visit.