Kenya and Rwanda have embarked on a journey to boost tourism in respective countries through a business partnership.
It involves Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA), Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Rwanda Chamber of Tourism (RCT) and the East African Tourism Platform (EATP) who are tasked with the devilment of leisure and business tourism in Kenya, Rwanda and the East African Community as a whole.
This comes after the tourism industry in both countries took a blow due to the COVID-19 pandemic which struck in March 2020.
Since then, tourism revenues have been dwindling drastically even as the situation pandemic enters an unpredictability phase.
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This new arrangement will front both Kenya and Rwanda as the main tourism players in East Africa by marketing them as top tourist destinations in the world.
On the table, both countries through respective representative bodies will address challenges dogging the sector and come up with solutions to solve them with the aim of strengthening tourism.
The teams will conduct a joint marketing campaign pegged in tour and travel in the region.
The private sector will also have a stake when it comes to promotional tours of the key tourist attraction spots in Kenya and Rwanda.
When it comes to packaging, the tour operators will have to sell the two countries as a package. The calendar of events will be shared between both countries to create harmony in the agreement.
The initiative will also incorporate other blocks from the continent to grow tourism in general. The recently launched new Africa Continental Free Trade Area will represent several other African blocks.
With the framework in place, Clare Akamanzi, Chief Executive Officer, Rwanda Development Board remained optimistic that it will lead to bigger and better things.
She maintained that Kenya and Rwanda have the advantage of being popular tourism destinations.
“Kenya and Rwanda are already one of the most popular destinations for the growing regional tourism market and we look forward to having more people visit and taste the unique offerings in these destinations.
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“We are very excited about this cooperation and look forward to working more closely across the board with all the players in the travel and tourism industry as we look to increase tourism revenues and create more jobs within the sector,” KTpress quoted her.
Rwanda is an emerging travel destination which has caught the attention of key investors in the sector.
Kenya Association of Travel Agents CEO Agnes Mucuha on her part stated that it is an opportunity to share knowledge, exchange ideas and resources.
KATA will work on ensuring that travel remains safe for all visitors and that their expectations while in the journey are met.
RwandAir will assist the team on familiarization trips to Rwanda from Kenya free air tickets, Robert Okumu who heads the airline in Kenya said.
For regular passengers, RwandAir will have discounted airfare for Kenyans travelling to Rwanda for tourism purposes.
Rwanda is famed for its many hills which earned it the name “the land of a thousand hills”.
Since the pandemic struck the Ministry of Tourism in Kenya headed by CS Najib Balala has made tremendous steps in bringing the sector back to life.
Though the number of international tourists remains low due to COVID-19 pandemic and travel alerts issued against Kenya, domestic tourism continues to thrive.
