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 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 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 MoreUS lifts Travel Restrictions on Americans in Rwanda
Travel to northern parts of Rwanda and the Volcanoes National Park for gorillas “is no longer restricted” for Americans, the US Embassy in Kigali has announced in a message to American nationals.
The embassy late last month released a travel advisory urging Americans to avoid non-essential travel to areas bordering DRC – mainly Rubavu. The US embassy had wanted Americans to stay away from those areas following two negligible attacks by Rwandan FDLR rebels on Rwandan soil.
But in a December 06 statement, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) dismissed the concerns. “We would like to reassure visitors that it is business as usual at all our tourism destinations,” said Clare Akamanzi, acting CEO of RDB, in the statement.
Now, in a new development, the US Embassy says all is fine for its nationals to travel to any part of the country.
“The U.S. Embassy alerts U.S. citizens that travel by official U.S. citizen personnel to the Rubavu district, Volcanoes National Park, the town of Kinigi, or the area to the north and west of Kinigi that abuts Volcanoes National park is no longer restricted,” said the Embassy in a December 10 advisory.
“U.S. citizens are no longer advised to avoid the aforementioned areas. There are currently no daytime travel restrictions in place for official U.S. citizens within Rwanda.”
Despite the conflict in eastern DRC that does not seem to go away for years, tourists have flocked to Rwanda year-in-year-out. The country received more than 680,000 visitors last year. A much bigger number is expected to be recorded by end of this year.
Read MoreRwanda : Tourists speak out on Gallup research findings
Tourists in Rwanda also confirmed that their stay in Kigali city and the countryside is mainly marked with a sense of safety and feeling welcomed in the community despite the cultural differences.
“everywhere you go, you find there are security personnel and one of the biggest experiences of safety was one our truck had mechanical problems- the police and residents were there to help” one Mark O’Connell says, “even while walking on the streets of Kigali, I have never had a thought that someone would rob me, unlike in other cities in Africa.
A research report codenamed “‘Global States of Mind’ released by Gallup on October 31, 2012, indicated that Rwanda ranked top of the list of African countries where citizens are least likely to feel safe according to a research report conducted and
Rwanda scored 92percent followed by Georgia 91percent, and Qatar 91percent, while in Africa Niger was the second ranked country at 84 per cent
Responding to the outcomes of the Director General of Rwanda Governance Board, Prof. Anastase Shyaka, on December 4, 2012, expressed satisfaction that the governance approach the country has chosen to apply is working for its people, as reported in the influential Gallup’s World Poll of 2012.
Prof. Shyaka said Rwanda would continue to build on the successes mentioned above in the effort to take good governance to even higher levels.
The research also highlighted issues of widespread corruption in government indicators, in which Rwanda ranked as the second, scoring 12percent, next to Singapore which scores 5percent, in terms of least widespread of corruption.
Read MoreRubavu: Hoteliers Encourage Advertising to Promote Tourism
In a meeting that took place on 26/10/2012, the Rwanda association or hotels, bars, restaurants and lodges in the district of Rubavu advised the people to always show things that they do to develop tourism.
The district of Rubavu is one district with many hotels and lodges but these hotels and lodges are not known because the owners do nothing to advertise them. This becomes a problem to tourists since they will not know where they are going yet there are people to receive them.
Apart from the big hotels, with well-known names, other hotels that do not advertise themselves get few people, and this is because they do less in promoting themselves.
The president of the association of the owners of hotels, bars, restaurants, and lodges, Denis Karera said that “working together as an association is very good and since one person with many people can be able to refer others to someone else because of the good working conditions”.
Karera added on saying that “advertising their work is good since it helps them get known by people yet this is done by few of them. He added on saying that “this together with good service delivery will help them get their customers that visited back. Good service delivery is one thing that is being emphasized by this association in this district”.
The district of Rubavu has a lot of tourist attraction apart from Lake Kivu, and the Congo border, since people with hotels, bars, restaurants, and lodges have other different things they do that promote tourism as said by Beniot Munyakindi an employee of RDB in Rubavu district were they have the mountain of Rubavu that is being prepared for tourism activities and also the one of Nengo that has the history of the world war 2.
Read MoreRwanda : Gazella Safaris in the move to emphasize tourism
A tourism company, ‘Gazella Safaris’ has embarked on emphasizing tourism in Rwandan society especially youth starting in Bugesera district and proceeding to other parts of Rwanda.
Marie Claire Ingabire, Director of Gazella Safaris asserts that tourism is all about relaxation and pleasure but many Rwandans never spare time to eye their country’s treasures.
“It’s not having money that makes whites tour our land, but because they understand the importance of travelling and touring. Even those without a lot of money spend time saving to visit countries tourist attractions,” she narrates.
Ingabire reveals that they have introduced the program to the four schools in Bugesera district that is Nyamata High school, ETO Nyamata, GS Catholique and GS EPR.
“We formed “tumenye ubukerarugendo” clubs, which are responsible for sensitizing other students on the importance of tourism,” she adds.
Assistant Director of Gazella Safaris, Augustin Mudahunga says that Rwandans are not much into tourism just because they do not understand how and what to tour.
“We have different bird species and a lot of lakes in Bugesera district, why is it that Rwandans do not appreciate nature when it’s not expensive?” he wonders
It’s for this matter that Gazella Safaris has embarked on sensitizing all people the advantages of tourism and to start from the attractions available in their areas of residence, Mudahunga points out.
He adds that ever since sensitization began in four schools, students have toured Kigali city before the end of the term.
Gazella Safaris is supported by Rwanda Development Board (RDB) in “Domestic Campaign” program, which aims at promoting tourism among Rwandese starting from Rwanda.
Read MoreRwanda Among African Countries with potential for Tourism Growth
A Research firm – Euromonitor International has identified some African countries that are likely to see strong growth in tourism, and could possibly be lucrative destinations for investors in the tourism industry.
These countries are Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. According to Euromonitor, Rwanda is emerging as a well-known destination on the world tourism map recording a 3% increase of inbound tourists in 2011 to reach 723,000.
In 2011, the majority of tourist arrivals came from other African countries. Arrivals from the African continent were led by the Democratic Republic of Congo(16.5%), followed by Uganda (13.5%) and Tanzania (7.4%). Rwanda’s core overseas markets include the US (3.6%), Belgium (2%) and the UK (1.5%).
According to Euromonitor, Rwanda is also ready to implement the East African Community single tourist visa, which will allow tourists to travel freely across the region.
Tourism is the largest foreign exchange earner with $251 million earned in 2011. The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has revealed that for the first semester of 2012, Tourism revenues have increased by 11% compared to the same period last year in 2011. The tourism sector is estimated to have generated US $128.3m compared to US$115.6m generated in the same period last year.
One of the country’s most popular attractions is its mountain gorillas – which has attracted many tourists in the country and RDB has promoted the activity through the annual Gorilla Naming Ceremony (commonly known as Kwita Izina).
Rwanda is, however, trying to diversify its tourism offering, for example through the 150 metre high canopy walkway, the Congo Nile Trail and bird watching routes.
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