By Musisi Lwanga
Speke Resort Munyonyo has been named the World’s Best Luxury Convention Resort at the 2026 LUXE Global Awards, giving Uganda’s hospitality and business tourism sector a major international boost.
The recognition places the lakeside resort among leading global destinations for luxury accommodation, conferences and business events, while strengthening Uganda’s ambitions to attract high-value Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism.
The award recognises the resort’s conference infrastructure, guest experience, service delivery and ability to host large-scale international events.
Located on the shores of Lake Victoria, Speke Resort Munyonyo has become one of Uganda’s leading convention and hospitality facilities. The resort features the Rwenzori Convention Centre, more than 34 conference and meeting venues, over 10,000 square metres of flexible event space and 476 guestrooms and suites.
The scale of the facilities allows the resort to host multiple conferences and events simultaneously, making it an important player in Uganda’s efforts to expand business tourism.
Over the years, the resort has hosted major international gatherings, including the 19th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit, the G77+China Third South Summit, the Commonwealth Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers, the Uganda-European Union Business Forum and the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Annual General Assembly.
These events have brought together heads of state and government, diplomats, business leaders and representatives of international organisations, giving Uganda an opportunity to demonstrate its capacity to host complex international meetings.
The latest recognition comes amid the resort’s growing engagement with international meetings-industry organisations. Speke Resort Convention Centre is a Convention Centre Partner of the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO), strengthening its links with international conference planners and event organisers.
Tourism stakeholders say the award could enhance Uganda’s competitiveness in the global MICE market, where destinations compete for international conferences, exhibitions and corporate events that generate foreign exchange, employment and investment.
International recognition can also influence destination choices by organisations looking for reliable conference infrastructure, quality accommodation and professional event-management services.
For Uganda, the award comes as the country seeks to diversify tourism beyond traditional wildlife and leisure travel by positioning itself as a destination for international business events.
The recognition is therefore expected to support wider efforts to strengthen the tourism and hospitality industry and attract more high-spending international visitors.
Beyond the resort itself, tourism stakeholders view the achievement as an endorsement of Uganda’s growing investment in modern hospitality infrastructure and its ability to compete for major events on the international stage.
As competition for MICE tourism intensifies globally, the award gives Uganda another platform to market itself as a destination capable of hosting world-class conferences while offering visitors luxury accommodation and lakeside leisure experiences.
