FOREWORD - RWANDA CHAMBER OF TOURISM

WELCOME TO REMARKABLE RWANDA

A foreword by Aimable Rutagarama, Chairman of the Rwanda Chamber of Tourism.

Rwanda is no stranger to conservation, but over the last few years the country has fully invested in sustainable tourism. By substituting volume with value, we’ve reduced the pressure on our natural resources and national parks, whilst transforming the country into a high-end destination for conservation lovers with a magnificent array of eco-lodges and sustainable experiences. Rwanda is among the world’s leaders in conservation, with approximately 9% of the land protected by national parks, from the largest, Nyungwe National Park, to our most recent addition, the Gishwati Mukura National Park. We’re one of the few countries in Africa, and the world, to have abolished plastic bags altogether, and we’re proud signatories of the Montreal Protocol.

Since the turmoil of genocide two decades ago, Rwanda has emerged as one of the world’s safest countries, ranking as Africa’s second safest country in Gallup’s 2018 Law and Order report. In terms of sanitization, our capital city, Kigali, is regarded as one of the cleanest in the world, while the country as a whole has proved itself a pioneer of gender equality: over fifty per-cent of ministers in our legislative assembly are women. We also continue to make advances in technology, with 4G connectivity widely available, and we have witnessed significant government investment in a range of modern facilities, including the Kigali Convention Centre, that did not exist only four years ago. The country boasts excellent road infrastructure, and impressive air connectivity to destinations including Amsterdam, Brussels, Dubai, and London. Removing these obstacles empowers private sector involvement, and has enabled Rwanda to gain official recognition as the second-easiest place to do business in Africa, with business registration taking just six hours. All this and more makes Rwanda a standout tourism destination.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought unforeseen challenges to Rwanda’s tourism sector. The Chamber of Tourism has been working to support businesses, and has played an effective role in transmitting government health and safety guidelines to members from all our associations, articulating the importance of washing hands, wearing masks, and implementing social distancing. With the aid of the Rwanda Development Board, our advocacy work has secured the allocation of 50% of the government’s Economic Recovery Fund to the tourism sector, helping to sustain business operations and retain employees. Our ‘new normal’ requires us to find alternative ways of doing business, and we’re now emphasizing to our members the importance of strategic marketing, strengthening our connections with consumers domestically, regionally and internationally.

Looking to the future, Rwanda has set some ambitious development strategies. The country’s Vision 2050 aims to attain upper-middle income status by 2035, and high income status by 2050, which translates into achieving high quality livelihoods for all Rwandans. Tourism is key to the realization of this vision: the sector has created over 150,000 jobs in the last two years alone, and our continued success will, to a large extent, determine the future of the country as a whole. The tourism sector is the biggest earner of foreign exchange in the country, and revenues from tourism represent 21% of Rwanda’s total exports and 44% of our service exports. With this in mind, there remains much to be done, and we will continue to champion policies that guarantee future investment. With that, and Rwanda’s vigilance in tackling the pandemic, we’re confident that despite uncertainty, we remain on track to ensure that business recovery continues in a positive direction, and to create an excellent environment for tourism to flourish in Rwanda.

The Rwanda Chamber of Tourism is a coalition representing the interests of private sector actors within tourism and hospitality. Comprising the Rwanda Hospitality Association, the Rwanda Tours and Travel Association, the Rwanda Association of Travel Agencies, the Rwanda Hospitality and Tourism Educators Association, the Rwanda Community-Based Tourism Association, and the Rwanda Association of Safari Guides, the Chamber is mandated with advocating for, and reinforcing, an enabling business environment within Rwanda. Through its commitment to accountability, transparency, and a member-orientated service, the Chamber works to bring about profitable and sustainable tourism businesses, and to secure the country’s prosperity. c

www.cot.org.rw

Mr Aimable Rutagarama The COT Chairman