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Dear Reader,
Welcome to our second newsletter and the first this year. As we said in the last edition, this newsletter is a platform that we are using to give some highlights of key activities that have happened in the previous quarter and we hope this provides you with information about our destination as well.
This quarter we celebrated the achievements we had in 2012 as we once again saw Tourism being the number one foreign exchange earner in the country. With this excitement, we also are conscious that much more is expected from the sector and we now have an ambitious target within our new EDPRS2 to grow close to four folds by 2017.
We are therefore going to concentrate on marketing our different destination and also bringing new products on the market. We will continue to work closely with the private sector through the dynamic tourism chamber to integrate our efforts while improving the level of service in the sector.
We have also introduced a blog by one of our colleagues who shares his stories that are not only very interesting to read but also a testimony of the hard work and dedication that our staff in the park have every day as they protect our beautiful and rich biodiversity.
I sincerely hope you will enjoy this second newsletter and remember that all the achievements we have made and the many more to come, would not have been possible without our readers and visitors.
We continue to welcome feedback from all visitors to Rwanda- many of whom have been and continue to be our best Ambassadors.
Enjoy the reading.
The Drummers, overall best performer in the 2013 FESPAD competitions
We hope you found time to ‘take a break and DANCE’ when the Pan African Dance Festival was taking place in Kigali from 23rd February to 2nd March 2013.
The introduction of awards for participating countries lifted the festival to a higher bar and
it was also a motivation for future participation.
Burundi won in the category of performance, DRC was the best time keeping country, Egypt was the best audience favorite, Namibia won the award for having the best vocals, Rwanda won the award for having the best choreography and finally Uganda won the judges votes.
The total of 4 concerts featuring local, regional and international artists such as Beenie Man from Jamaica, Femi Kuti from Nigeria and Kidumu from Burundi amongst others was an endorsement that FESPAD is truly a Pan African Dance Festival and also continues to elevate the festival to global level.
Rwanda, 3rd Best Exhibitor in Africa Category at ITB 2013
Rwandan stand at ITB Berlin 2013 came in third place in the Africa category of the Best Exhibitor Awards, held by Cologne Business School (CBS) on Saturday, 9 March 2013.
During the days of the trade show (this year 6-10 March) Cologne Business School's assessors visited some 12,000 booths at ITB and assessed them according to numerous criteria such as booth construction, information contents, service quality, friendliness and special effects.
Official Opening of Rusizi Tented Lodge and Day Visitor Center at Akagera
On 26 March 2013, a ceremony marked the joint official opening of the new Day Visitor Centre and the Ruzizi Tented Lodge at Akagera National Park.
These new developments are part of an integrated Tourism Development Plan aimed at increasing park revenue for the park’s long-term sustainability.
The construction of the 14-bed Ruzizi Tented Lodge commenced in January 2012 and was completed in October that same year. Although a well-proven concept elsewhere in Africa, this tented lodge is the first of its kind in Rwanda. In addition to the Lodge, the new Day Visitor Centre at Akagera was completed in March 2013.
Both the Lodge and the Day Visitor Centre were built by Akagera Management Company, which is responsible for the park’s management, working with a team of local builders and laborers.
Counting down to Kwita Izina
This year, on Saturday, June 22, new comers in gorillas community will be given a name.
The Kwita Izina 2013 event like all its predecessors aims to be what great memories are made of. It will be a weeklong event culminating in a naming ceremony.
Please keep on checking for latest updates on Kwita Izina.
The Most Enjoyable Part of My Work!
Last but not least, we'd like to share with you a series of blog posts by Prosper Uwingeli, Volcanoes National Park's Chief Park Warden.
In a series of three blog posts, Prosper shares insights on Gorillas
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