Rwanda Chamber

Category: News

  • Nyanza Organises New Cultural Festival

    Rwanda’s tourism industry has continued to be diversified with the latest being the introduction of a cultural festival this Boxing day.

    The Nyanza District, home to some of the country’s most impressive historical cultural sites from the former kingdom, has partnered with the National Institute for Museums and others to launch a culture festival held for the first time this year on Boxing Day, December 26.

    Information received from Kigali confirms that the Rwesero Art Museum has been selected as the venue for the inaugural event which according to the source will become part of Rwanda’s annual calendar of festivals.

    Traditional song, poetry, arts, and crafts, alongside traditional food preparations, will form the core of the various activities for the day, aimed to bring closer the country’s rich history to the present day generation.

    The festival targets not only Rwandans but also visitors from Eastern Africa and foreign tourists who are in the country and have the opportunity to stop by and enjoy some of the performances.

  • Tourist Visa Fees Scrapped

    Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda have waived visa fees for foreign residents to allow easy access to the region’s diverse tourism experience.

    According to Yamina Karitanyi, the Rwanda Development Board’s Head of Department for Tourism and Conservation, the waiver was agreed on under the Northern Corridor Integration projects initiative.

    Known as the East Africa Tourist Visa (EATV), foreign residents no longer have to pay the $100 fee for the visa that is valid for 90 days effective December 15, 2014.

    Karitanyi, said the waiver on the single East Africa Tourist Visa was the next step in consolidating and enriching the region’s tourism potential.

    “We are approaching the rest of the world as a unified and rich tourist destination with varied experiences for travellers. We are also positioning East Africa’s tourism assets collectively as part of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects,” Karitanyi said at the weekend.

    She added that joint marketing programmes will be carried out annually and will cover road shows such as the International Tourism Board (ITB) and World Travel Market (WTM) in 2015.

    She pointed out that going forward, the partner states will lobby for a single stand during international tourism marketing events.

    Outlining the modalities of implementation, Karitanyi said eligible foreign residents shall be issued with inter state pass on exiting the host state and visitor’s pass endorsed in their passports on arrival by presenting valid work/resident permits.

    Other immigration procedures and regulations will, however, be maintained.
    In preparing for the joint marketing programmes, she noted that the partner states were already gearing up the teams involved by conducting destination training workshops and disseminating information on the use of national identity cards, student/voters cards and the East Africa Tourist Visa.

    “We encourage the private sector to take advantage of this opportunity to offer unbeatable packages while maximising win-win offers.”

    The just concluded 8th Northern Corridor Integration Summit attended by Presidents; Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Paul Kagame, and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, held in Nairobi last week, also directed Rwanda’s Minister of Infrastructure to convene a meeting of Airline Industry stakeholders and finalise negotiations on the 5th Freedom Traffic Rights on Entebbe-Nairobi-Juba-Nairobi meant to address outstanding issues to reduce the cost of air travel in the region and report to the next Summit that will be held in Kigali.

  • East African Tour Operators Visit Rwanda to Eye New Business Opportunities

    East African Tour Operators Visit Rwanda to Eye New Business Opportunities

    This week, 11 international tour operators with offices in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will visit Rwanda for as part of a Rwanda Development Board (RDB) initiative to increase awareness of the country’s diverse tourism opportunities and generate more tourism sales.

    “The East African Community is an important growth area for Rwanda’s tourism industry”, said Ambassador Yamina Karitanyi, Head of the RDB’s Tourism & Conservation Department. “The goal of this guided trip is to demonstrate to these high-value tour operators that Rwanda is a multi-day destination with a rich selection of cultural and natural experiences.”

    Visiting tour operators will eyewitness that beyond gorillas’ visit, Rwanda offers varied and easily accessible experiences which expand visitors stay thanks to new and well packaged tourism products. There are now more than five globally renowned hotels, and together with the private sector there is a will to transform Rwanda into a high end tourism destination as important tourism infrastructure is being developed.

    The RDB has set an ambitious goal of 10% increase in visitation year-over-year and wants to see tourism revenue increasing at 25% in 2020. The East African market is an essential component in meeting this target. The timing of this particular effort is strategic.

    Rwanda provides an exciting destination for many of the tour operators that are visiting. The country’s perception as a safe and clean destination provides a desirable sales alternative or contemporary products for travel companies that have heavily relied on Safari Bookings and Indian Ocean beach trips.

    The international tour operators will visit Kigali, Rubavu, Musanze, Volcanoes National Park, and Nyungwe National Park. The program will conclude with a networking session with local Rwandan tour operators, hoteliers, and tourism service providers in order to create new working business relationships.

    The regional tour operators visit is sponsored by the Hôtel des Mille Collines by Kempinski, RwandAir, Serena Kivu, Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, Republika Lounge, Volcanoes Safaris and Primates Safaris.

  • Residents from 12 Countries to Get Visa-free entry to Rwanda

    Residents from 12 Countries to Get Visa-free entry to Rwanda

    Passport holders of 12 countries across the world will no longer need a visa to travel to Rwanda for short visits from next month, Rwandas Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration said Monday.

    A visa waiver agreement, which recognized growing links between Rwanda and concerned 12 countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, Mauritius and Philippines will be applied where by nationals from these nations will from now on be exempted from entry/tourism visa for a stay of up to 90 days, the official statement said. Among other countries for whose citizens shall get and pay entry visa fee of 30 U.S. dollars are Australia, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Britain and the United States, according to the same source.

    Speaking during an exclusive interview with Xinhua, the spokesperson of Rwandas Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration, Ange Sebutege, said that Rwanda nationals are also expected to enjoy visa-free access to Philippines where by it is expected that each year the number of investors from the Southeast Asian island was expected to grow with the visa waiver in place.

    Meanwhile, citizens from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) will continue getting visitors visa for a stay not exceeding 90 days with no fees as provided by the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Region.

    Rwanda is a member state of the sub-regional Economic Community of the Great Lakes region that also includes Burundi and DR Congo, and members of this regional bloc are bound by the agreement signed in September 1976 dedicated to promote regional integration, particularly free movement of persons, goods, and services.

    The new decision on visa policy and regulations for neighboring DR Congo nationals comes a few months after Congolese authorities has instructed all Rwandan citizens to pay for visa in order to enter the DR Congo.

    By adopting these new set of measures, Rwanda is looking to become a preferred destination for tourists while mobilising large foreign investments in the country.

  • Rwanda’s Gishwati Forest Elevated to National Park Status

    Rwanda’s Gishwati Forest Elevated to National Park Status

    With Rwanda’s keen interest to promote and maintain eco-tourism as one of the pillars of the national economy it was long expected that Gishwati will eventually join the Nyungwe Forest as a new national park, incidentally part of a deal struck between President Kagame and the founder of the Great Ape Trust Ted Townsend some years ago and now become a reality.

    The law that elevated Gishwati-Mukura into a national park was approved during the cabinet meeting that was held on October 15, led by H.E Paul Kagame.

    The creation of a Gishwati Mukura National Park has been a long awaited event and serves to underscore constantly voiced sentiments, that a committed and enlightened government can in fact change the future of a country for the better without trampling on its environment, destroying biodiversity and unsustainable exploitation of the natural resources.

    Nyabihu district administration is excited about the cabinet approval to elevate Gishwati forest to a national park following its geographical location and tourist attractions.

    Angela Mukaminani, vice-mayor for economic affairs in Nyabihu district disclosed that they are happy over the decision to make Gishwati a national park.

    Understandably this development has been kept under wraps for a longer time.

    “We informed Rwanda Development Board (RDB) about the tourist attractions of Gishwati. Many hills, farmlands and forests that attract the attention of people,” she said.

    Gishwati has numerous hills that attract tourists

    Nyiraminani added that guest houses and hotels are being set up to accommodate the growing number of tourists, saying it will promote investment and increase the economy of the district and the country at large.

    Before 1994 Tutsi genocide, Gishwati forest had 280 acres per km2 but after the 1994 Tutsi genocide many Rwandan who returned from DRC settled on one part of the forest reducing its size to 7acres per square kilometer.

    In a bid to restore Gishwati to its former glory, The Gishwati Area Conservation Program (GACP) began in 2007 with the collaboration of Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, and Great Ape Trust to protect the biodiversity of the Gishwati Forest area and stop some of the rapid degradation.

    In the process of protecting the biodiversity of the forest, it was divided into three parts for cultivation, livestock farming and forestry. This resolved the problem of soil erosion that had been caused by the population.

    Gishwati makes the biggest part of Nyabihu, Ngororero, Rubavu and Rutsiro district.

  • Rwanda and Uganda Partner in Tourism Development

    In its commitment to promote East Africa as a single Tourism destination, Uganda has partnered with Rwanda to jointly promote two -way tourism traffic; between the two sister-countries.

    Speaking during the a tourism training conference at Serena Hotel-Kigali, Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwandan Minister for Foreign Affairs said the move which was championed by the Uganda.

    Tourism Board in partnership with the Rwandan Development Board is purposed to defend both the security and business developments of the two countries.

    “People to people relations between Uganda and Rwanda is a very important step to strengthening the tourism sectors of the two economies-both of which come as their country’s biggest revenue earners, contributing over $1b to either country.”

    Mushikiwabo said while addressing over 5,000 celebrants including Ugandan fraternity in Rwanda, High Commissioners and friends of Uganda in Rwanda.

    According to Stephen Asiimwe, UTB Chief Executive Officer, under the merger, the two countries will have healthy tourism exchanges whenever marketing opportunities such as tourism marts and expos arise in the two countries and the Great Lakes Region in general.

    As a result, social-economic problems such unemployment will be effectively addressed because Tourism is the world’s biggest employer, employing at least one of every ten people in its various sub-sectors such as Roads and Transport, Hotel and accommodation among others.

    To aid in this realization, Uganda’s High Commissioner to Rwanda, Richard Kabonero said Rwanda will with immediate effect start by stamping out hindrances that have over the years suffocated a healthy business exchange between the two countries such as the border to border bureaucracies.

    According to Edwin Muzahura, Head of Marketing UTB, the board’s choice for Rwanda was highly influenced by the fact that no other country in the region feeds Uganda with as much tourists as Rwanda.

  • Protea Hotels is Extending to the Shores of Kivu

    Rwanda then becomes the 10th African country to benefit from investments in Protea Hotels services and infrastructure. The boom in Rwandan tourism is allowing Rwanda to become a tourist destination in the region and in Africa. Investors are scrambling in hospitality services and infrastructure. The South African Hospitality Giant “ProteaHotels” is following suit with the construction of a 5-star hotel in the District of Rusizi, in the west of the country, on the shores of Lake Kivu. This hotel of 15 billion Frws, or 22,058,823$, will have 76 rooms and will be completed in 2016 under the brand of “Protea Kivu Marina Resort Hotel.”.

    Thus, “ProteaHotels Group”, part of “Marriott Hotels International”, one of the world’s leading hotels is also building another five-star hotel in the city of Kigali. Other internationally renowned hotels like Radisson Blu, Radisson by Park Inn, Kempinski, Sheraton and Golden Tulip are already in the market for Rwanda’s tourism and hospitality sector.

    Yamina Karitanyi, Head of Tourism and Conservation at Rwanda Development Board (RDB) welcomes this new development. “We welcome investors like Protea because Rwandans will directly benefit from this partnership which will also contribute to Rwanda’s competitiveness, especially in tourism”. According to Karitanyi, “the Kuvu Belt (Kivu Bellt) is one of our priority places for the development of tourism and the diversification of the services we offer”.

    ProteaHotels is a South African creation specializing in hospitality and leisure headquartered in Cape Town. It is the largest hotel company in Africa with over 126 three, four and five star hotels in 10 African countries. The majority of its hotels are in South Africa. Others are located in Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya and Ghana.

  • Rwanda Emerges as a Popular Destination

    Rwanda Emerges as a Popular Destination

    Once blemished by one of the worst cases of ethnic violence that resulted in to the popular 1994 Rwanda Genocide, Rwanda is fast becoming one of the top travel destinations in Rwanda. To many people in the world, when you ask them about Rwanda, the few who know this tiny country know about the genocide than the adventurous side of it. Twenty years after experiencing the genocide, a worst ethnic violence the world has ever seen, Rwanda has greatly recovered and established itself as one of the places to go gorilla trekking though still now the effects of the genocide is still fresh in the hearts of Rwandans.

    The country has steadily emerged as a well-known tourist destination internationally thanks to the existence of the mountain gorillas. Tourists are drawn to Rwanda by its natural and scenic beauty, rich culture, as well as the unique flora and fauna in its national parks, which are home to the giant mountain gorillas. Many travelers have taken safaris into Rwanda to see the amazing gorillas, chimpanzees, genocide memorial sites and experience the unique culture of the Rwanda people.

    The Goma, Kibuye, Kigali, Gisenyi are the well known places to see in Rwanda. Rwandan wildlife attracts a huge number of tourists every year. The dangerous volcanic mountains preserved by the Volcanoes National Park and the dense tropical forests are the main attractions in the northern part of the country. On the other hand lakes, rivers, valleys and hills dominate the rest part of the country. Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda and Parc National des Volcanoes is the home place for many endangered species. The water bodies of Rwanda are also very famous particularly the Lake Muhazi and Lake Kivu

    Besides that, the Rwanda recently joined the International Council of Tourism Partners. All of these attributes have helped the nation to rank among the top five as it was voted among the; “Top Emerging Destinations” in the Wanderlust Travel Awards 2011. This all means that the country’s efforts to develop travel and tourism in a sustainable way seem to be paying off, so all you have to do is bear witness to what Rwanda has to offer by booking one of the packaged Rwanda safaris today.

  • Rwanda and Kenya Tour Agents Agree to Promote Tourism

    Rwanda and Kenya travel and tour operators have agreed to partner to strengthen tourism in their respective countries.

    The agreement was reached following a meeting between the Rwanda Travel and Tour Association (RTTA) and their counterparts from Kenya.

    Waturi Matu, the East Africa Tourism Platform coordinator, said it was important for tourism industry stakeholders in Rwanda and Kenya to work together, and also identify tourism products that could be jointly promoted.

    “This will help us develop business-to-business deals that can help increase tourists numbers in both countries,” Matu pointed out.

    “It’s a great honor to work with Kenyan tourism stakeholders. We are ready to share our experience and we hope we’ll learn a lot from them as we try to find ways to develop tourism in East Africa,” says Manzi Kayihura, the president of the Rwanda Tours and Travel Association.

    Matu explained that Kenyan tour operators were in Rwanda to find ways on how to remove barriers that were hindering the tourism growth in East Africa. Matu added that the move was in line with the treaty that was signed by East African Community Heads of State to promote the region as a single tourism destination.

    “We’ve been performing well as a region at international tourism fairs, but very little has been done to promote East Africa as a single tourism destination.”Matu said they would also start promoting tourism among East Africans to maximize benefits and revenue from the sector.

    The Kenyan delegation included members of the Kenya Association of Travel Agents, the Kenya Association of Tour Agents. Also in attendance was the East African Tourism Platform.

    The East Africa Tourism Platform was launched in Kigali in July 2012 to reduce obstacles to intra and inter-regional tourism, promote a regional tourism marketing approach and encourage continued human resource development and skills transfer.

  • RDB Set to Grade 30 More Hotels this Year

    The Rwanda Development Board’s Tourism and Conservation Department will grade at least 30 more hotels this year, following the start of the exercise last year. Using the East African Community’s guidelines for grading and classification of hotels and other hospitality businesses, RDB is reportedly committed to play their part in ensuring that standards and quality of tourism establishments in Rwanda are uplifted to match if not exceed those of their neighbors in the East African community.

    Presently only the Kigali Serena Hotel and the Nyungwe Forest Lodge by DubaiWorld hold the coveted 5-star ranking, while a number of other Kigali hotels were graded as 4-star properties, as was the Lake Kivu Serena. A number of other establishments have requested to be put on the list for upcoming inspections to ensure they can also publicly announce and display their star rating once the exercise is complete.

    Those already graded will, however, also undergo a fresh audit to ensure that standards established at first inspection will have been maintained to ensure continued high ranking, also giving others the opportunity to attain a further star, should improvement made over the past two years warrant such a decision.

    “When you were here last time we discussed the very issue of standards. Rwanda is a niche destination, still largely focused on gorilla trekking. The new products launched over the past two or three years, however, have attracted a lot of attention. Hiking is now a regular activity in Nyungwe Forest, Gishwati Forest, and along the Congo-Nile Trail. Birding has become an important additional niche.

    “It is now important to raise our standards so when visitors come to Rwanda as an extension of their Kenya or Tanzania holiday they get the best possible quality, in guides, in infrastructure, and, of course, in hospitality. There is always room to improve, but we have made it our mission to accomplish certain goals sooner rather than later. When the new Marriott will open, it will compete at level terms with the Serena, and that is good for the country as it offers another 5-star choice.

    “Our MICE business is growing strongly, too, and that segment of the market in particular is really very much interested in quality facilities. Rwanda is going places,” said a source in Kigali working at a hotel but, for not being the official company spokesperson had to opt for an off-the-record comment.