Tours and travel operators from Rwanda have used the World Travel Market, in London, United Kingdom, to market the tripartite nations of Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda as an ideal single tourist destination.

World Travel Market is a leading global event for the travel industry and the three-day event in London closed yesterday.

The annual event serves as a meeting for agents to strategise on the way forward with existing partners but also expanding their horizons in terms of new business contacts.

"A product can be good, but you will never know how good it is until it’s on the shelves. We are telling the world what the three countries have something to offer in terms of tourism,” said Carlo Namatovu, managing director of Terra Incognita Tours.

The travel expo is a meeting where partnerships are reinforced.

It also offers platform for participants to update each other on what has been happening in the industry.

"Over the seven years we have put this travel expo on our top list as a must attend because we get to meet major agents across Europe and the US,” Osborn Kinene, from Rwanda Eco Tours, said.

"Attending World Travel Market pays off, and that’s why we keep coming because it’s also a learning platform.”

Participants share experience on how business is run in their respective tour industry and countries’ potentials, taking into account the differences and similarities in services offered such as how to handle clients, payment systems, and trust from clients, especially when it comes to money transfer.

Tours and travel operators appreciate Rwanda government’s efforts to brand the country because it’s a key tool used to boost tourism, Kinene said.

Many tourists base their decision to visit a country not only because of the available tourism products but also on how secure, stable a country is.

Exhibitors are hopeful that marketing the region as a single and competitive tourist destination will enable it compete with Southern African region.

The Northern Corridor states operate a single tourist visa, allowing visitors access to the three countries for 90 days at $100 payable at first point of entry.

This year, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda were allocated one at the expo stand.

"We have more negotiating power as a bloc, there may be different ideologies but looking at it holistically, we gain more together,” said Stephen Omondi, an exhibition officer from Kenya Tourism Baord.

Emmanuel Nsekanabo, the commercial director at Mega Reservations, an online travel agency, said the London edition of World Travel Market provided a great platform to interact with other travel and tour operators, as well as consumers across the globe.

He also said he managed to establish contacts with world-class firms that provide cutting edge technologies for travel and tour businesses.

"It’s cost-effective because we are able to acquire tremendous experience and access potential business partners from all over the world in one single location,” Nsekanabo said.

Belise Kariza, chief tourism officer Rwanda Development Board, said World Travel Market is a strategic platform that attracts both British and international outbound tour operators which Rwandans can use to showcase the country’s tourist potential

editorial@newtimes.co.rw