BY BRIAN MUGENYI
From the beautiful scenery of the brown thatched flat-topped structures situated at the mainland, what meets the eye is the well accommodative and attractive Victoria Forest Resort Hotel along Kalangala Islands.
Victoria Forest Resort has grown rapidly with white sand space and the fresh air surrounded by the water which gives the place a warm atmosphere and clients a reason to spend their bills with satisfaction and stay with their families and friends to a highly ranked tourism accommodative facility in Uganda.
The fifty rooms the facility boasts with from the forty they had built in 2019 has encouraged clients to flock the Island encircled area with its modern and well designed structures.
Victoria Forest resort sits on 40 acres of land owned by business merchant Christopher Kamukama with double rooms charged based on their standard of accommodation thus far.
“I felt like I wanted to be a leader and when the opportunity came to lead the team at Victoria Forest Resort beach I had to embrace it and deliver to the client’s desires,” shared Atwiine Kamukama; the General manager Victoria Forest Resort Hotel.
“I lived in Kenya for six years and I managed to work in Rockman safari at Safari Park Hotel as the Assistant Reservations manager so the experience of managing such facilities has always been with me though the Kenyans are far apart when compared to Uganda’s ideologies and mechanisms of reserving eco-system and tourism sector generally,” she explained.
Atwiine is also pursuing a Masters Degree in Business Administration at the University of Combria in Switzerland.
According to Atwiine; the Natural beauty at Victoria Forest Resort Hotel can’t be compared to any facility in the islands as the beach is tranquil with benescular of moving water and lively birds.
The services offered are transformational and the place has an international market especially in the months of July to September with international guests.
“We have been at 85 percent room occupancy in terms of attracting both the local and foreign clients and that’s why we are ranked at 45.5 percent to international ranks of five star resorts,” she adds.
The facility boasts with a camp fire and the beach bar and well insulated steam and sauna for health and body massaging for the clients.
As for clarity; the place holds three flat-topped building blocks and a pent house with eight rooms; the corteges such as millennium,. The place attracts clients and tourists from countries; Turkey, the United states of America and others.
As for reserving the tourism sector, Atwiine says Victoria Forest Resort beach is vehemently at 85.5 percent as they boost with first class services including its restaurant that offers palatable food of all kinds on local and international setting.
“The percentage of Uganda’s budget goes to people’s pocket and I am happy that Victoria forest resort beach has boosted the tourism sector which is bringing money,” adds Atwiine also the Bachelor’s Degree holder in Tourism from United states international University in Kenya which she attained in 2020.
Atwiine, 26-years-old born to Mr. Christopher Kamukama and Ms Molly Kamukama says, the experience and tourism training skills mastered from Kenya has guided her to exercise the managerial role at Victoria Forest Resort though the tourism sector in Kenya is far to the highest.
“Uganda is very far away from the twentieth century and when you look at innovators such as Eron Mask, Mark Zuckerbug in the business and tourism sectors you realize that we are still far away,” she added.
Atwiine says Uganda needs patriotic people in the tourism sector and transformational leaders to boost the tourism sector.
“The water bodies in Uganda are still unexplored riding on the international tourism standards,” she added.
According to Mr. Tyson Kangwagye, the Head of Finance at Victoria Forest Resort beach certified with a certificate in Agriculture and Animal Husbandry from Mbarara Institute says they boost with pure white sand and it has impacted the traditional standard of the facility.
“The victoria Forest resort beach has preserved the culture and nature and the place is making money and appealing to the proprietor’s goal and aspiration and remains a hub of wildlife species,” he added.
He says the place boasts the Hotel charter and MV Nodal that transports people on islands to access the services of Victoria Resort beach.
“The island has no wild animals that could discourage the clients and the area has a zero crime rate which attracts the clients,” he adds.
According to Innocent Mugisha, the Estates manager; Victoria Forest Resort beach normally does corporate social responsibility like holding parties and serving corporate social responsibility with Kalangala Town Council in collecting garbage with security operatives and the local people within the islands as well as involving in sports to engage them in service indirectly,” he says.
“I joined the Victoria Forest resort as a waiter in 2019, I worked as a bar attendant and later worked in store and procurement until now where I oversee the new developments at the facility,” he says.
Mugisha says that Victoria Forest Resort beach has a beautiful strategic location and it makes them standout as a hosting place for wedding ceremonies and corporate companies events with a space of accommodating over 5000 people in the conference room.
According to Ms Dinah Kagoya also the account manager at The Heights at Centenary park who also worked and enjoyed services of Victoria Forest Resort, the founder Mr. Kamukama is a visionary entrepreneur with skilled nous in interdepartmental communication..
“The level of organization and marketing orientation has all been greatly a factor of reference to Victoria Forest Resort’s growth and expansion. The diverse innovative measures laid in place and individual efforts done have made the facility prosperous,” said Kagoya.
She added that the company structures at Victoria Forest Resort beach allows the smooth flow of business ideas and permits the lower technical staff to get involved indirectly.
“I am happy to say that several organizations; academicians and consulting firms and corporate companies and Non-government aided organisations normally host their events at Victoria Forest resort and it offers them a room to get back home again due to the appealing environment and services offered,” she added.
Historically; Victoria Forest Resort beach was established in 2011 from Ssese palm beach with seven substandard cottages.
It has grown by leaps and bounds with a family house that accomodate 20 people including the penthouse and four millenium cottages and two standard cottages and honey moon cottage with two royal houses altogether.
It has a wonderful fireplace and a spacious and ambient space with white sand that is not anywhere in Kalangala according to Mr. Emmanuel Bunanukye, also the Director of operations at Victoria Forest Resort Hotel.
“We bought Ssese resort and moved to construction in 2014 and finished in 2018 to realise Victoria Forest Resort Beach,” he said.
“We have the breeze that comes from water and thick forest in the infinity of the resort with literally an ambient space,” he said adding.
“It has a wonderful manager from experience in Kenya and the food is very delicious and the team is very good and very professional and the service is extremely professional and good transport system; MV Nodl and transport routes from Kalangala, three shuttles; MV nodl that transports 120 people and Nodl that transports 50 people and Vanesa that carries 50 people,” he said.
“The mouthwatering forest that accomodate wild animals and 54 species of birds and animals such as monkey and we do the island drives and palm factory gardens are all amazing,” Bunanukye with an experience of fifteen years also a Bachelor’s Degree Holder of Business Administration from the University of London and a Masters Degree holder in Information technology from the University of Portsmouth from United Kingdom said.
“It is a good place, home away and spacious with white sand that is not anywhere in Kalangala,” he added.
Mr. Bunanukye shares that they are at 95 percent of boosting the tourism sector and they have worked with the community by employing the locals of Kalangala and also buy most of the products produced from locals.
He advises that the Uganda tourism board should improve the advertisement of the tourism sector and they are still challenged with road networks in the islands and garbage collection in the area remains challenging to realise improved sanitation in the islands.