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Tourism explosion in Rwanda: A lifetime experience
Rwanda does not pay lip service to fight corruption

Tourism explosion in Rwanda: A lifetime experience

Time to hit the ground. A hilly, well-lit cityscape welcomes us. But there were no busybodies. Kigali was asleep. A COVID-19 induced curfew ensured that. The streets were wet with drizzling as our courtesy bus meanders us through the city to the Marriot Hotel.

We were quickly checked in and dispatched to our hotel rooms. Technically, our quarantine had begun. We were not to step out. Anything we needed had to be room-serviced. After a five-hour flight, dinner was a must.

My phone call was picked on the first ring. With the guidance of the restaurant staff, I ordered Caesar salad, sautéed Nile fish with mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes. Forty minutes later, I received a knock on my door. I masked up and opened to see an equally masked waiter with a service trolley. My dinner was rolled out to me. It was while thanking the waiter that I realised I hadn’t ordered a drink. Ouch pressure!

That was how I settled in this much-talked-about country. The next day and the rest of the week were filled with crisscrossing the country with driver guides, visiting tourist sites, inspecting hospitality facilities and meetings with tourism trade professionals.

 Rwanda is extremely clean. From the capital to the remotest towns. You will have to look very hard for litter.

I was in Rwanda courtesy of a familiarisation tour organised by their embassy here in Accra. Our team was made up of tourism practitioners across the trade, caterers, tour operators, tour guides, hoteliers and tourism writers. Also leading the team were members of the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority.

I shall share some of the experiences in subsequent editions but for now, let us put the trip in perspective. The aim was to expose Rwanda’s tourism and investment offerings to the Ghanaian public. The idea is to boost trade and tourism between the two countries.

There is a second leg of the programme which allows a similarly formed group of Rwanda’s visiting Ghana to assess how they can also engage us in business.

During our stay, the team visited The Volcano Mountains Park, a half-day Gorilla tracking expedition at a height of up to 3000m above sea level. That is an experience of a lifetime as very few individuals ever can afford to do it twice.
We also toured Ginsenyi township. Gisenyi is a popular commercial Rwanda/DR Congo border town situated near Lake Kivu, Rwanda's largest lake. Here we see Congo at such a close range.

At Akagera National Park which shares a boundary with Tanzania, we came face to face with giraffes, zebras, elephants, hippos, buffaloes and a host of other wildlife. And that river safari was marvellous!Between every two concrete walls, there are trees, shrubs, well-manicured hedges and lawns.

Finally, that gruesome yet inspiring dark history of Rwanda as experienced in the National Genocide Museum and the Museum for Campaign against Genocide.

At this juncture, I would like to share some of the observations made by a member of the team, Ashford Banibensu who is a seasoned tour guide.
1. They exhibit good agricultural methods, especially terrace farming along the hills.

2. No sight of bush burning.

3. The people are friendly, welcoming and very ambitious. Focused on improving their lives.

4. All motorcycles /bicycles used for commercial purposes are easily identified. The riders wear uniforms and carry only one passenger. Both rider and passenger wear a protective helmet.

5. Rwanda is extremely clean. From the capital to the remotest towns. You will have to look very hard for litter. You will find none. Not even a toffee wrapper.

6. Rwanda is very green.

7. Between every two concrete walls, there are trees, shrubs, well-manicured hedges and lawns.

8. The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) is a one-stop place for doing all business in Rwanda. Very effective with the sole mandate of developing Rwanda.

9. Rwanda does not pay lip service to fight corruption. You hardly see the police on the roads. But there is discipline and order.
My personal verdict after the tour of Rwanda has led me to two key insights - intra African tourism is viable and developing the tourism product in Africa is possible. For seven whole days, I saw firsthand, how excellent road networks led to tourist attractions and how those attractions were well managed.

Now and then, you would find members of the visiting team readily sharing key business points and other sectors of trade between the two countries.

All I can say is that after this lovely experience of an African country, I feel proud and convinced that we will get there whenever that is. Meanwhile, having experienced all the above, I cannot wait to have another round of beautiful Rwanda.

Writers E-mail: [email protected]

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