During a Miss Tourism Beauty pageant finale held on Saturday at Kampala Serena Hotel, Susan Kahunde, 22, beat 26 other contestants to scoop the Miss Tourism 2021/2022 crown.
Kahunde comes from Tooro Sub-region and she holds a certificate in midwifery from Tumu Medical Institute. The young medical practitioner takes over tourism duties from Sonia Komugisha, 25 who has been the reigning Queen.
This year’s first runner-up is Phiona Opia, 22, who holds a diploma in Agri-business management from Bukalasa Agricultural College. The second runner-up is Rashidah Namukwaya, 21, a student pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration from Makerere University Business School (MUBS). The 4th is Vanita Busingye (Miss Heritage) from Ankole Region who was voted by the judges. Opia comes from West Nile while Namukwaya is from Buganda.
This year’s event attracted a smaller audience due to the standard operating procedures issued to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Kahunde is expected to grace different tourism events during her one-year reign. She will also represent Uganda at the Miss Tourism International finale in Malaysia in December.
Before being crowned Queen, Kahunde answered questions related to the pandemic and the impact of social media on the tourism sector.
“Social media has enabled the country to continue marketing the tourism sector even in the pandemic,” Kahunde said.
Unlike the previous winners, Kahunde did not get a car. According to Allan Kanyike Bwete, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Miss Tourism Uganda, the reason is partly because of the limited sponsors of the event this year.
“This year’s Miss Tourism winner does not go home with a car. Regardless, there will be cars readily available to ease her movements while doing her work throughout the country,” Bwete said.
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