Local Tourism Players Applaud AfDB’s Support
Local tourism and hospitality sector players have welcomed the initiative by African Development Bank (AfDB) to support diversification of tourism business, saying it will help make the industry more competitive and attractive. Commenting on the development, Osborn Kinene, the Rwanda Eco-Tours chief executive, said diversifying the tourism industry presents industry investors and other stakeholders, including communities surrounding tourism sites and national parks an opportunity to expand offerings and attract more visitors.
While speaking during the World Tourism Day celebrations in New York last Wednesday, the African Development Bank (AfDB) president, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said the continental funder was renewing its support for the tourism industry, focusing on projects that seek to promote diversification of tourism on the continent. The annual event is organized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Rwanda Development Board projects the tourism sector to generate about $444 million in 2017, up from $404 million recorded last year. Meanwhile, Adesina has called for strong public-private sector partnerships geared at supporting and promoting sustainable tourism development in Africa.
He added that Africa’s tourism and travel industry can serve as an engine of progress for socio-economic transformation. Adesina challenged Africa’s tourism and travel industry players to work together and bring up innovative ideas and initiatives that will help revolutionize the sector.
He added that the cultural and creative industries, such as textiles, fashion, food, culinary, arts and film present huge untapped potential that could help boost tourism on the continent, and create jobs and spur incomes of communities.
Read MoreHop, skip and jump: Sampling RwandAir’s East African network
In contrast to a lot of other airlines, rapidly expanding on the back of massive government pride programs or compulsively delving into opulence way beyond the spirit of their initial charter, RwandAir seems to earnestly reflect the new-found optimism of the country without exaggeration. Just as Kigali is a neat and well-groomed city rather than a hollow, high-rise metropolis, so the national carrier is a relatively small, but impressively well-oiled machine – and nowhere is this more apparent than from a customer’s perspective.
As a foreigner with a professional network spread over East Africa, I clock up quite a few days on the road in the region yearly. However, the unpredictable nature of the entertainment industry makes it infeasible to rely on solely one mode of transport when moving around – as is the case for most travel here. In addition to this, I’m an aviation geek, and my travels in the region more often than not find me at an airport, ready to sample yet another airline offering more or less comfortable flights at a more or less competitive price point. Of course, coaches are cheap and reliable, but when time is of the essence, you can’t beat flying – and nothing beats the thrill of roaring down the runway before seeing the lovely landscape unfold below you, at least in my book.
A few days of meetings and networking in Nairobi recently, gave me the opportunity to sample some of the very newest aircraft trawling East African skies. With an average age of around 6 years, RwandAir really does have a thoroughly modern, eco-friendly and efficient fleet. New planes, however, are no match for flaws in other aspects of customer experience, so I was very interested to see how the crew and facilities stacked up to their impressively fresh aircraft.
Flight: EBB-NBO
Date: 9th March 2017
Aircraft: 9XR-WQ, 737-800, delivered Nov. 2016
Duration: 1 hour
Entebbe Airport is compact and easily navigated. The staff are sometimes very friendly, at other times very formal and cold. In other words, not the greatest airport in the world, but far from the worst. I had a late morning flight out, which is a time of day when Entebbe does not receive fully-laden flights from far-off destinations and everything moves at a leisurely pace. Such was the case on this lovely March day: check-in went smoothly, as did the passage through immigration before the departure lounge revealed itself fairly empty. boarding had not yet started, so I enjoyed a cup of coffee along with the free WiFi offered by the airport.
After having gone through the pre-boarding and subsequent wait, I was happy to board the almost brand new 737-800 aircraft. It had the “new plane smell” that I all too infrequently experience, but so much the better on the few occasions I do get it. The 3-a-sideslim leather seats made for excellent leg room, and with around a 50% load, there was ample room to recline the seats and lift the arm rests, making the amount of personal space very generous. A very smartly dressed, efficient crew made sure we were all properly strapped in for an on-time push-back and taxi. Shortly after takeoff, they were there, offering drinks and making ready for a meal service. And what an impressive meal service! In addition to some very tasty chicken, we were served a roll of bread –with butter and cheese– and cake for dessert. Hot food on a 1-hour hop is not something you can get for free back home (and for economy passengers, they hardly even stock snacks), so this was a very pleasant surprise. The drinks were also kept coming, and before I could say chin-chin to my seat neighbor, we were approaching JKIA and Nairobi. Clearing immigration was a breeze, and I met my ride outside easily.
Flight NBO-KGL-EBB
Date: 12th March 2017
Aircraft: 9XR-WI, Canadair CRJ-900, delivered Oct. 2012 & 9XR-WL, De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400, delivered Feb. 2014
Having concluded my business in Nairobi, I was looking forward to another day of flying, this time in two different RwandAir aircraft, both of which were relative newcomers to my own flying experience. I have flown each of these aircraft only a handful of times, and while I am never averse to 737’s and Airbuses, it’s always refreshing to be taken for a flight on other birds as well.
I like JKIA for departures. The modular nature of their main terminal means you’ll never feel extremely crowded, as only a handful of flights are checking in at any one time in the same area as you – as was the case on this day. In fact, the only other departure from Terminal 1C at the same time as us, was an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Addis Ababa, and it seemed that most of their passengers were already through by the time I arrived. It was evident from talking to others I was queueing with, that a fairly large contingent was travelling together, heading to Bujumbura. They were in a good mood for travelling, and I could tell this was going to be an entertaining flight.
Canadair regional jets are definitely smaller than Boeing 737’s, but with the 2×2-configuration, we were all very comfortable. RwandAir does offer a business class product on these aircraft, with a more comfortable 1×2 configuration, but no upgrades were offered to the six seats – of which only one was taken for this flight. The upgrades, however, were not needed. The party bound for Burundi lived up to my expectations, providing raucous entertainment for the 75 minutes the flight lasted. It was all further fueled by the generous servings of food and drink the very professional and pleasant crew offered up throughout the flight.
As we landed in Kigali, our ways parted inside the compact, yet airy departures lounge of Gregoire Kayibanda International Airport. Despite a relatively long queue, my passport was checked quickly, and I had a quick look around before deciding to spend $ 25 on access to the Pearl Lounge for the duration of my stay – which was scheduled to be around 4 hours. The lounge was nice, with plenty of areas to sit and relax, as well as a work area for the large number of business travellers who need to be available or to finish the report that was due yesterday. There was free WiFi in the lounge, and this worked perfectly fine, even though I suspect it would struggle quite a bit if it wasn’t for the relatively few people apparently using it. There was a modest amount of food available, both hot and cold, and while this was all fine, it did not blow me away to the same degree that the service aboard the RwandAir aircraft had done.
After a good session of work, some food and a couple of cold drinks, I was ready to head down to the day’s second flight, taking me back to Entebbe. I did end up sitting in the gate area for a lot longer than I had needed. Oh well, maybe I was a little restless to get back up in the air. As soon as boarding did start, we got on the bus that would take us to the aircraft pretty quickly. There was only one snag, an aircraft chartered by the government to transport soldiers was disembarking along our route, and if you’ve ever been to the circus and seen the clowns coming out of the small car (they just keep coming and coming, endlessly), well, it was a little bit like that. We stood for a good 15 minutes waiting for all the soldiers to exit before our bus driver gave up and took a detour around the scene.
Our DHC-8-400 was very fresh looking, and the seats were the most comfortable I have ever experienced in aircraft of this size. Despite the slight delay getting to the aircraft, this was quickly recovered by an efficient crew, and a fairly light load of passengers. Even on this short 50-minute flight, a hot meal and free drinks was served. The service was very professional and pleasant, as I had now come to expect from RwandAir.
All in all, travelling within East Africa on RwandAir was a thouroughly pleasant experience which I would have no qualms about repeating. I am now also eagerly looking forward to sampling their new long-haul service to Europe. Let me just get my calendar…
The writer is the managing director of East African Records
Read MoreSingita to Open Lodge in Volcanoes National Park
Singita, is set to launch their latest venture on a breath-taking, isolated but contained, 188 acre piece of land, right on the edge of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. Singita Kwitonda will be built to embody the spirit of Rwanda and offer a tribute to the lodge’s namesake – Kwitonda – a great silverback gorilla whose legend lives on in Rwanda and was known for his humility and gentleness. This remarkably positioned site offers a buffer between the farmland of the region and the national park where Rwanda’s iconic gorillas live.
The mountain gorillas of this region are Rwanda’s treasure and have flourished in the last decade, thus the Rwandan government is striving to find ways to increase their habitat. This is where Singita can provide support. Singita is about building sustainable revenue streams to support conservation efforts in Africa, and the government’s objective to grow the gorillas’ habitat aligns closely with Singita’s mission to create low-impact tourism to help preserve areas of iconic African wilderness for future generations. Singita was established in 1993 in South Africa and has set the bar for high-end safari escapes in Africa ever since, balancing a philosophy of preserving and protecting land and wildlife with the wellbeing of local communities. It is this conservation model that Singita is proud to be able to extend into Rwanda.
COO of Singita, Mark Witney comments: ‘The favourable environment and government’s commitment to develop tourism have made Rwanda a very attractive conservation development partnership for Singita. For our guests, a once-in-a-lifetime itinerary that includes a seamless transfer between our Serengeti properties in Tanzania and Rwanda covers two of the real ‘bucket list’ items on a seasoned traveller’s list – the Serengeti plains and the gorilla experience of the Volcanoes National Park. We’re honoured to be a part of this opportunity in Rwanda and furthermore extending Singita’s important conservation efforts across this magnificent continent’.
Singita’s established brand in the high-end tourism segment will attract influential world travellers who have a heightened awareness of the plight of wilderness and wildlife in Africa and want to be part of the solution.
Planned to open in August 2019, Singita Kwitonda will offer 8 suites and a villa with magnificent views of the Sabinyo and Gahinga volcanoes. Sustainability is at the core of the construction project. Paul Milton, CEO Singita Private Partnerships, states ‘We ran a sustainability framework in the design stage to ensure that what we are designing is as efficient as possible. For example a thermal analysis was completed in order to minimise energy usage given we’re positioned in a cool and temperate environment’. Great lengths have been taken to engage with specialists to create a light foot print and maximum energy efficiency on so many levels.
Read More10 Things to Know About Gorilla Trekking
Gorilla trekking is one of the best adventure tourist activities in the world. Uganda and Rwanda are some of the world’s best destinations for gorilla trekking safaris in Africa. The Volcanoes National park in Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga National Park in Uganda hosts the largest number of mountain gorillas hence the biggest gorilla trekking experience.
Here are 10 things to know about gorilla trekking in Africa:
- The experience is expensive
Gorilla Trekking is an expensive activity. In Uganda , the permit to see the mountain gorillas cost US$ 600 while in Rwanda it costs US$ 750. To that note therefore, many clients find it hard to pay for gorilla trekking permit, Air ticket, Visa and so on. - The trekking requires maximum level of fitness – many people likes gorilla trekking but experience is strenuous and it involves climbing mountains and sloping down, crossing rivers and moving through slippery trails among others.
- Some forests habour dangerous insects, animals and reptiles. The fact that Gorilla trekking is conducted in Forested areas, trekkers stand higher chances of getting Malaria from Mosquitoes, Sleeping sickness from Tsetse flies among others. However, we advise all our clients to move with mosquito repellent.
- Gorilla trekking is tiresome – trekking involves moving through the forest while searching for the mountain Gorilla and the time to meet Gorillas in unpredictable and some times takes a full day.
- Gorilla permits are on a very high demand and are booked in advance yet some clients prefer paying on arrival. Any delay to pay for the permits can make a client miss trekking when all gorilla permits are sold out.
- Gorilla permits are non refundable -once the client has paid for the gorilla permit and misses to come on the safari then, the Uganda wildlife Authority (UWA) OR Rwanda development Board (RDB) will not make refund by can only allow rescheduling.
- Gorilla tracking starts early morning yet some people find it hard to wake up early especially on cold days. Early in the morning, Gorilla trekking trails are filled with fog and dew which hinders visibility and smooth walking to meet Mountain Gorillas.
- Gorilla trekking is strictly done under instructions – only one hour is given to stay with Gorillas, No flash cameras, 7 metres distance must be left between Gorillas and the trekkers among others. Some people are not used to strict instructions.
- Gorilla Tracking is Safe!
Many travelers think that gorillas are violent creatures and thus can cause harm to human beings. However, gorillas are peaceable animals unless provoked. once you follow the set gorilla watching rules, you will definitely enjoy the company of these great apes safely. - There are strict rules to gorilla tracking that follow ecotourism. Children below 16years are not allowed to trek Gorillas yet some parents prefer trekking Gorillas with their children. Only one hour is allowed to stay with Gorillas –some clients find it less to maximally view gorillas and take photos.
How to Avoid Car Rental Nightmares in Rwanda
Currently car hire in Rwanda has become popular trend of travel in the land of a thousand hills. When it comes to the ground transportation fraternity, organised travel can easily be attained if you decide to work with car rental agencies. This is normally used by independent travelers on a self drive car rental in Uganda. Remarkably, renting a car in Uganda has been so useful to visitors traveling to Uganda since they are convenient, safe, and reliable to take the travelers at any place they are practically or still be un-farmiliar with.
On the same note However, self driving in Rwanda can be disastrous if you are never careful. This can be validated by you hitting the internet and see how some customers complain about them due to the high costs they land in after using the car rentals as some car rental companies hire cars to customers without insurance coverage and pretend to have. Not well services and there are also overwhelmingly hidden fees that are not explained to the customer before hire.
So we are here to enlighten you on how to avoid Rwanda car rental nightmare:
Know what car suits your travel needs.
Continuously, most people make a mistake of under estimating the need or finding out what car best suits the needs of their travels and just go for expensive car rental yet there are those cheap cars in Rwanda purposely for a specific need. Say adventure, business car rental or corporate car hire. Example if you are going for a Rwanda gorilla safari, ask yourself which car suits the tour, read about the terrain of the Virunga volcanoes and know in detail which car maneuvers the terrains. Vehicle with high ground clearance would perfectly fit your needs.. The most recommended cars for safaris are the Toyota land cruisers, Toyota RAV4s and the Nissan patrols reason behind is these are sport utility vehicles with 4WD with reasonably high ground clearance vehicles. On the other hand if you are going for a city tour around Kigali city and the neighboring towns of Musanze, Huye or Karongi with about two persons,best recommended use a compact car.
Book a car rental in advance
Like the old saying goes, The early bird catches the worm and this works well in Rwanda car rental business due to the high demand and growing car rental demand and yes, in the high tourist seasons. If you start searching and booking your car rental earlier than the date you intend to travel, you have the time to look for a best car rental as you have all the time to search and also bargain for better offers getting the best car rental deals. There is always room for you to control the car rental deals in that you tell the car rental company whatever you want in the car rental service that is the size of the car, specification and the prices
Ask for the disclosure of all the prices included in the car rental package
In every business on the internet, there are always attractive prices displayed on the websites and there are always additional costs behind the enticing price on the internet. So you have to play your part and tell the car rental company in Rwanda to stipulate each and every expense you may incur while using the car rental services in Rwanda. Some of the hidden costs are fuel refill fees, early return fees, limited mileage, road taxes, and airport parking fees. So make sure all these are included and explained to you in the car rental clause and the car rental agreements so that you can easily budget for your car rental in Rwanda.
Ask if the car rental in Rwanda is comprehensively insured
It’s a mandate from the government of Rwanda that every car rental in Rwanda must be insured against third party, comprehensive insuarance is recommended and yes never hire a car in Rwanda without comprehensive insurance because if you land in trouble and in cases of damages, all the costs caused will be apportioned onto you. Very much recomended make sure that has third party insurance and comprehensive insurance where by the car is covered against all cost it may cause while traveling.
Considerably following the above advice well, you are more likely to avoid the nightmares that may be attached to Rwanda car rental and definetly enjoy your self drive car rental in Rwanda.
Read MoreWhat Makes Rwanda the Best Gorilla Trekking Destination
Rwanda is a small nation which is situated in East Africa. Similar to its neighbor Uganda, Rwanda has no seaport. It’s occasionally alluded to as a place where there is a” thousand hills” because of a lot of hills that occupy the country. This little nation is blessed with a lot of breathtaking natural life which has made it to out-contend numerous other countries. The most known is the uncommon mountain gorillas which has made Rwanda extremely prominent in relation to tourism destinations; countless jet into this little nation to have a look on these amazing primates.
Mountain gorillas are considered as endangered species just found in three nations which are Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tracking/trekking these gorillas is exceptionally wonderful in all these three nations that possess these creatures since gorillas are habituated to human standards and they can be trekked safely in their natural habitats. In any case, as per confirmations given by trekkers who have the opportunity to track in both nations they give everything to Rwanda as the best gorilla safari destination on the planet. Numerous factors prove this among which incorporate;
Its immediacy favors many would prefer not to go for extend periods of time. From Kigali International Airport to volcanoes national park a protected park for these mountain gorillas is only a drive of around 2-3 hours to Kinigi park central station. This implies even a one day Rwanda gorilla trek is possible. One who arranges a one day gorilla safari needs to leave Kigali city ahead of schedule no less than 3 hours before keeping in mind the end goal to land at Kinigi park central station in time (7:00am) to get short briefings from the park officials about gorilla trekking furthermore to get you apportioned to the guide.
After tracking you go back to Kigali/accommodation or meet your departure flight back home. So if you don’t prefer long drive choose gorilla tracking in Rwanda. So in the event that you don’t favor lengthy drives, pick gorilla tracking in Rwanda. To access Bwindi national park or Mgahinga gorilla national park in Uganda it needs you to drive for around 7-9 hours which is a lengthy drive for the individuals who don’t favor long excursions.
With regards to viewing and photography, Rwanda takes it all, when contrasted with the impenetrable forest of Bwindi Impenetrable National park and the Virunga national park of DRC. Mountain gorillas of Rwanda ordinarily feed on the bamboo trees and short grass which makes viewing and photography clear, so this component has made Rwanda to be positioned as the best gorilla safaris destination to most particularly the individuals who don’t want to penetrate the thick forests of Bwindi and Virunga woods in DRC. Despite the fact that, you ought to note that it’s not a guarantee for easy viewing since they are wild creatures, the one you think simple to see may turn to be difficult and vice versa so you should be well prepared for the activity, tracking time is unpredictable it can go from 1-8 hours in the jungle while searching for them since meeting them depends on where they spent their last night from.
However much Rwanda gorilla permits are the most costly when compared to gorilla permits of Uganda (650) and DRC (450), it’s the most sold and done tourism activity in Rwanda. A gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda costs US$1500 for every individual for every trek, this has earned the government of Rwanda a considerable measure of income gathering subsequent to more than 80% of travelers to Rwanda come particularly to track gorillas. Meeting these giant apes in their natural habitat deep in the forest is a life time moment that comes true.
Rwanda houses half of the remaining mountain gorillas and all live in volcanoes national park all prepared to get guests and this implies 88 individuals visit gorillas on the regular schedule and in every gorilla family just eight individuals with gorilla permits are permitted to visit these chimps. The one hour you’re permitted to stay with these gorillas while observing and in addition taking photography is viewed as an amazing minute in life exceptionally hard to overlook. For any Rwanda gorilla safari tour book with us, we will take you where you have not yet gone to.
Read MoreRwandAir Now Flying Directly to Brussels
Successful code share agreement signed between RwandAir and Brussels Airlines.
In a move poised to bring greater convenience and connectivity to their customers, RwandAir the national carrier has signed a code share agreement with Brussels Airlines on flights between Kigali and Brussels. This in effect means that the national airline will now sell tickets directly on flights to the European city of Brussels. The flight in turn will be operated by the Belgian carrier. This way, RwandAir perfectly penetrates the Belgian market and Brussels Airlines reinforces its position on the African market.
The deal which was successfully concluded after fruitful negotiations between both airlines has been in effect since Tuesday 31 March, 2009. For RwandAir, this code share agreement presents a much needed penetration into the European market. This agreement does not only mean a direct connection between Brussels and Kigali, but it also offers numerous possibilities for connections to other African and European destinations through Kigali or Brussels.
The new partnership between the airlines comes at a time when the global aviation industry is under tremendous pressure to remain competitive amid recessions and economic crisis witnessed on the international scene. As an emerging fast growing economy in East Africa, Rwanda stands to benefit from this agreement due to greater accessibility to Europe and the opening up of a direct link to the heart of Africa.
The commercial deal between RwandAir and Brussels Airlines enables the national carrier to sell 10 seats in economy class as a marketing carrier on all 3 weekly flights between Kigali and Brussels, operated by Brussels Airlines. This offers RwandAir clients the flexibility of booking online or buying tickets through any of the Rwandair offices in Eastern or Southern Africa and fly out to Brussels direct from Kigali on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. This agreement also reinforces the presence of Brussels Airlines on the Rwandan market.
RwandAir is actively going through internal and structural changes geared towards offering elevated customer service and safety in its operations. The airline is looking forward to more such alliances that will ensure greater access to worldwide destinations for its long haul journeys.
Read MoreLake Kivu Kayaking
The Serena Hotel has introduced a new water sport package for its clientele at Kivu Serena in Gisenyi. Various people have been talking about Gisenyi as agreat tourist destination which l agree without any doubts , because of the well built hotels along the shores , white sandy beaches and great scenery with a cool and quite relaxing environment. Lake Kivu the main attraction had very little to offer for holiday makers and tourists because they were only limited to swimming in the lake and sun bathing. The introduction of Kayaking and wind surfing adventure sports at Kivu Serena has added value to Gisenyi as tourism destination. In this Article we shall introduce to our readers what Kayaking means and in future editions we shall review Kayaking Lake Kivu.
Kayaking is a recreational sport in which participants use specialized boats called kayaks in a wide variety of waterways. Kayaks are boats which take a number of forms, depending on the function for which they are designed. People can take kayaking trips on the ocean, up rivers, in surf zones, and along white water courses. Participants can often have minimal skills and still greatly enjoy themselves. Some people take kayaks with them when they travel to go kayaking, and others rent kayaks or participate in guided kayaking trips at a destination.
A kayak is a boat with a covered deck and a small hole for someone to sit in. The legs of the sitter are concealed, warm and dry, inside the boat. They were originally designed for use in the Arctic, where cold water spilling into a boat could potentially be dangerous for someone using it. Many traditional kayaks were custom made for the individual user. Kayaks are propelled using double bladed oars, and they can be quite rapid and maneuverable.
One of the most common types of kayaking is recreational kayaking in rivers and lakes, using wide, highly stable kayaks. Because the water is usually relatively calm, people do not need much experience to enjoy this type of kayaking, although preparing them for a spill with life jackets is an excellent idea. More skilled kayakers enjoy ocean kayaking, which involves taking kayaks out onto the open ocean. More complex currents and big waves make this type of kayaking more dangerous.
People also use kayaks to go racing, or to navigate white water courses. Both of these types of kayaking require much more skill, along with specialized boats. Another type of kayak enjoyed by some people is the surf kayak, which is designed to be used in areas with breaking waves. The kayak is designed to be highly stable, and can be used almost like a surf board to ride the waves. Some companies also manufacture inflatable kayaks, which can be packed down to make luggage less cumbersome. Several variations on the inflatable kayak exist, including a version which includes an internal frame to make it more stable and safe for ocean use.The gear required for kayaking is fairly minimal.
At the most basic, a kayaker needs a kayak, a paddle, and a life jacket. For kayaking camping trips, waterproof bags which can be stuffed into the kayak are extremely useful. Longer kayaks often have a separate hatch for stowing gear. Kayak camping is a great way to explore the outdoors from the water, pulling ashore to hike, camp, or eat.
Read MoreDelegates from Germany pay visit to Rwanda
On Monday 10th.Feb.2013, delegates from Rhenanie –Palatinat Province in Germany paid a visit the house of former king of Rwanda Mutara III Rudahigwa as a way of finding out the real life experiences of the former Rwandan king and the culture that existed then.
Different parts of the former king’s house were visited including the king’s bedroom chambers and where he would eat. After visiting different parts of the former king’s palace locally known as Rukali, the of Rhenanie –Palatinat Province delegates to Rwanda were happy for the visit and got to know about Rwandan history since most of them were in Rwanda for the first time.
Reiner Meutsch who led the team of representatives signed in the visitors’ book expressing the excitement they got from the visit they made to the former King’s palace (Rukali) and learning great history from this place.
“We’re glad for this visit and the warm welcome accorded to us by Rwandans” he wrote.
The delegates of Rhenanie –Palatinat Province in Germany came to Rwanda on the 9th.Feb.2013 while visiting different regions of Rwanda evaluating different programs and projects including schools that were built on the partnership of Germany and Rwanda.
Read MoreRwanda : Historical Hotel Faucon to be renovated
The Huye district council has finally resolved on a decision to renovate a historical hotel (Hotel Faucon) and recommended that the process should ensure that historical artifacts, be preserved in the process.
Hotel Falcon is located in the former Butare province (now Huye district) – which was considered as the administrative region of the colonial rulers in Rwanda.
The District Mayor, Eugene Kayiranga Muzuka said on January 28th that the renovation and upgrading project on the hotel will be done in consultation with the Institute of National Museums and the current owners of the hotel. He also said that the project timeline will be discussed on a later stage.
The hotel contains a special room that used to be occupied by Rwanda’s King- Mutara III Rudahingwa and other historical artifacts including rooms that used to be occupied by the Belgian royal families.
The council meeting said that while it is necessary to revamp the hotel among other old fashioned building that are mostly seen in Huye district, the historical aspects and features of the hotel should be maintained.
Residents say that Faucon Hotel used to be the most prestigious and perfect spot for the high class citizens and local leaders (who were known as chefs) between the 50’s and 60’s.
Yohani Batista Sebukangaga, who is now in his early 70’s, says that this hotel is considered to be the symbol of the region and it was also a place where the King of Burundi (King Mwambutsa) used to be hosted while on his visit to Rwanda.
Faucon Hotel is believed to have been constructed in 1943, and it belonged to a Belgian called Faucon. The hotel was set ablaze and rehabilitated in 1962 and sold to local entrepreneurs.
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