Govt Isn't Utilising The Tourism Potential Of Our Kingdoms

UK earns about £130 billions annually from tourism.Overall, the economic contribution generated by royal related tourism is around £1.75–2 billion yearly. This includes revenue from ticket sales to royal residences, spending on souvenirs and merchandise, and the economic activity generated by hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that cater to tourists who are interested in the royal family.

They cost the taxpayer about £90 m a year. The cost of maintaining the monarchy is paid for by the Sovereign Grant, which is a yearly payment from the UK government. The Sovereign Grant is calculated as a percentage of the Crown Estate's profits, which are the proceeds from the management of the royal family's property portfolio. In 2021-22, the Sovereign Grant was £86.3 million.

The money earned by the Crown Estate goes to the government. They then give the working royals a ‘salary’ (called the Privy Purse), which is approx 20% of the money given to the government. This percentage goes up and down depending on things like official state visits, etc. The remaining 80% is spent by the government on a range of things, some royalty-related, others not.

So, the British make more money from the Royal family than what they spend on them. In fact, the monarchy is a net contributor to the UK Treasury.

Uganda has a lot of kingdoms, and all have a lot of historical stuff. Buganda kingdom alone has a lot of attractions that could potentially generate a lot of money for us if the government finds a way of maintaining them. The Uganda government should be working with the kingdoms seriously on tourism promotions.

I recently visited the Buganda Kingdom page, and there were disappointingly more photos of people than tourist attractions - people few people would like to know. Moving forward, we all need to work on this, please!