Utalii wa Rwanda wazidi kuongezeka

[MK254]

As Rwanda started rebuilding after the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, tourism was considered one the economic pillars that would not only bring in much- needed foreign exchange, but also change the image of hopelessness that the international community had of the country.

The government worked on restoring peace and security in the country, and especially secured the Volcanoes National Park in Musanze district, Northern Province, the home of the endangered mountain gorillas.

“Rwanda was difficult to sell in the first years that followed the end of the genocide because tourists out there perceived it to be dangerous. The genocide gave Rwanda a very bad image abroad,” said Greg Bakunzi, who started working as a tour guide in the country in 1997 and is currently the founder and managing director of travel concern Amahoro Tours.

Two decades later, things have completely changed and the country is now an established tourist destination.

Rwanda’s tourism sector has enjoyed tremendous growth in the past 15 years, growing from a sector earning $62 million a year sector in 2000 to $303 million a year in 2014 — a boom that has been driven by the country’s economic and social revival. Tourism is currently the country’s highest foreign exchange earner after tea and coffee.

Bakunzi attributes this to security, good infrastructure and sanitation.

“Bad transport infrastructure and insecurity tend to keep tourists away; in Rwanda, all these components are fine,” he said.

Kenya, on the other hand, which has traditionally had a very successful and lucrative tourism sector, has suffered from the effects of insecurity at its Coastal circuit, which has almost killed off the sector.

According to the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), 1.17 million tourists visited Rwanda last year, mainly drawn by the prospect of seeing mountain gorillas, especially the silver backs — an endangered species found in the Volcanoes National Park.

The majority of tourists to Rwanda come from the US, India, Britain, Belgium and Germany. American tourists contribute 20 per cent of Rwanda’s total tourism revenues, according to RDB.

The revival

To kick-start the sector after years of stagnation, the government began by aggressively marketing the mountain gorillas, which are only found in the Virunga chain of volcanic mountains that straddle Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Gorilla trekking is considered a unique product and is sold to tourists at a premium of $750 per permit per person (Uganda charges $600). However, Rwanda’s pride is in the ability for one to do the gorilla trek day and fly back home, which is impossible for Uganda.

In 2005, RDB introduced the Kwita Izina festival as a highlight of the tourism year. This is an annual baby gorilla naming and conservation ceremony aimed at creating awareness of efforts to the critically endangered species. This festival has inculcated community ownership of gorilla tourism.

Since the inception of Kwita Izina a decade ago, RDB says the country’s mountain gorilla population has grown from 370 in 2005 to about 514 in 2015 and is the country’s biggest tourist attraction. Rwanda earns $10 million annually from gorilla tourism alone, RDB says.




http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/Rwanda-tourism-grows-beyond-gorilla-trekking-/-/434746/2766380/-/14m0yx2z/-/index.html

 

[Daudi Mchambuzi]

Big Up Kagame.