Rwanda holds tourism week to boost sector recovery

KIGALI - The Rwanda Chamber of Tourism launched the 2022 edition of the Rwanda Tourism Week on Saturday, which officials said is expected to help boost the sector’s recovery.

Set to run from 26 Nov to 3 Dec, the weeklong event will be marked under the theme “Adopting Innovative Approaches to Boost Intra-Africa Travel as a drive for Tourism Business Recovery.”

“The Rwanda Tourism Week in part serves as one of the strategies to boost the recovery of our industry, enable our stakeholders to showcase their products, and foster partnerships that create more business opportunities,” said Frank Gisha Mugisha, the Director General of the Rwanda Chamber of Tourism.

The week will feature several activities such as a “golf for conservation event”, scheduled to connect the region’s elite businesses with business stakeholders.

It will also involve a Restaurant Week, a promotional culinary event where the public will have an opportunity to taste their best dishes in a variety of cuisines at their favourite restaurant at promotional rates, according to the Rwanda Chamber of Tourism.

About 17 selected restaurants are participating in the promotional campaign in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda.

An exhibition is also planned to take place from 1 Dec to 3 Dec, and expected to attract more than 200 local and continental tourism and hospitality operators.

Rwanda lost 10 million U.S. dollars, or 10% of estimated revenues in 2020, after about 20 conferences scheduled between March and April that year were cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Before wrapping up, this year’s Tourism Week will convene leading African business leaders in Kigali at a forum to share insights on different strategies which can enable tourism and travel to boost the local economy and encourage inclusivity and sustainability and reconnect tour operators, travel stakeholders within the African continent and beyond. Roughly 2,000 local and international delegates are expected to attend.