Rwanda’s private sector players are making efforts to increase their role in tourism development, an official said Friday, during the closure of a national forum to wrap up the Tourism Week in the capital city Kigali.
The forum convened leading African business leaders to share insights on different strategies which can revitalize the sector badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with a view to boosting the local economy and encouraging inclusivity and sustainability.
“To boost the tourism industry requires collaboration among tourism players to increase the experience of tourists on the African continent,” Frank Gisha Mugisha, the Director General of the Rwanda Chamber of Tourism said.
Ariella Kageruka, the Head of Tourism and Conservation Department at the Rwanda Development Board, said Rwanda’s strategy focuses on attracting players to invest in Rwanda to help restore, promote and protect tourism destinations.
There is a need for more collaboration between African countries as well as easing intra-African travel to boost the continent’s tourism, said Cuthbert Ncube from the African Tourism Board.
Ncube called on policymakers to find ways of avoiding repeated control measures at the different crossing checkpoints to ease movement. An African should be allowed to move across the continent visa-free and this would in turn boost tourism, he added. Enditem
