The cost side moved this weekend — and Uganda's bill landed hardest.

🏨 EA HOSPITALITY PULSE — Morning Brief
📅 Saturday, 1 August 2026 | 🇺🇬🇹🇿🇰🇪🇷🇼

The cost side moved this weekend — and Uganda's bill landed hardest.
━━━━━━━━━
1️⃣ UGANDA'S UTILITY BILL JUMPS — WATER UP 17.5% IN A MONTH
UBOS released July CPI on Friday (31 July): water charges rose 17.5% month-on-month, electricity 2.2%, petrol 1.9%, diesel 1.3% and cooking gas 1.5%. Housing/water/electricity/gas was the fastest-rising category at +2.0%, lifting annual inflation to 4.0% — a one-year high. Food eased, so the pressure sits exactly where a hotel spends.
🎯 So what: Pull your July water and power bills before you set August rates — this is a margin hit, not a headline. A firm shilling partly shields USD-earning lodges; UGX-cost city hotels wear it in full.
🏷 City & Bush | Uganda | Confirmed

2️⃣ TANZANIA'S TRANSPORT COSTS RUN HOT AT 13.6%
Tanzania's annual inflation held at 4.0% in June (released 31 July, per TanzaniaInvest), food cooling to 4.1% — but transport surged 13.6% y/y on diesel, taxi and bodaboda fares.
🎯 So what: Transfers and excursions are where TZ cost pressure lives. Re-quote transfer-inclusive packages for 2027; don't let a fixed 2026 transfer rate quietly erode margin.
🏷 Bush & Beach | Tanzania | Reported

3️⃣ KENYA'S PARKS HIT 3.5M VISITS — DOMESTIC NOW 60%
KWS reports park visits up to 3.5 million from two million, with domestic tourists now 60% of the total (DG Prof Erustus Kanga, 31 July); the 2028 target is five million.
🎯 So what: The growth is domestic and shilling-priced. Hold a resident rate and a weekend/school-holiday product — this volume is home-grown, not just long-haul.
🏷 Bush | Kenya | Confirmed

4️⃣ RWANDAIR ADDS A 4TH KIGALI–EUROPE ROTATION
From today (1 August), RwandAir lifts Kigali–Paris CDG–Brussels from three to four weekly, adding a Sunday and holding it through the winter season (aviation press).
🎯 So what: More Sunday inbound from two European feeder markets — align Kigali arrival-day availability and gorilla-permit lead times to the new frequency.
🏷 City & Bush | Rwanda | Reported
━━━━━━━━━
📡 RADAR
• 12 Aug — US DRC/Ebola entry restrictions next decision point (Nairobi, Brussels, Dubai named transit corridors; Kenya itself not restricted)
• ~14 Aug — EPRA Kenya monthly fuel review; effective 15 Aug
• 28 Aug — Zanzibar hosts World Travel Awards Africa Gala (first time; a beach-hotel demand date)

💬 Whose August rate card already reflects the new utility numbers — and whose doesn't?

🔗 This edition on the web: https://eahospitalitypulse.com/editions/pulse-2026-08-01-morning.html
— EA Hospitality Pulse | Daily intelligence for city, bush & beach properties