The Travel and tourism sector was one of the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving not only companies but also tourism-driven economies severely affected by shutdowns, travel restrictions and the disappearance of international travel.

Despite the spill-over effects however, several countries including Rwanda, are gradually experiencing recovery from not only travel and tourism, but various sectors of the economy.

This is according to Clare Akamanzi, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) Chief Executive. Akamanzi made the pitch on Tuesday, January 17 while addressing investors, business leaders, among other participants who are devising means of shaping global politics and business at this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Rwanda’s delegation also includes the Minister of ICT and Innovation Paula Ingabire, who was also recently appointed to the Board of Trustees of the forum, Minister of Environment Jeanne D’Arc Mujawamariya as well as Minister of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Ildephonse Musafiri.

She was appearing among the panelists to discuss the theme traveling again, differently. Also on the panel, hosted by Richard Quest, was Arkhom Termpittayapaisath, Thailand’s Minister of Finance as well as John Holland-Kaye, the Chief Executive Officer at Heathrow airport.

"One of the participants here in Davos is the Group CEO of Etisalat Hatem DowidaR, a telecom company in the Emirates. Two days ago, I was reading a review that he did on Rwanda, where he spent a week for Christmas,”

"And he is the kind of tourist we are looking for in Rwanda. Unlike other countries, we are a small, eco-friendly country, we are a low volume high yield tourism strategy.”

For Rwanda, Akamanzi said, the approach has worked, adding that the country is gradually surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

"It starts with the product you are offering. In Rwanda we have national parks which are the most premium products. And so protecting them for long-term tourism is extremely important.”

While the country is still open to backpackers, Akamanzi said that Rwanda is not investing its strategy, marketing and promotion targeting that group.

"We spend most of our resources targeting the people that we think are high yield.”

"Now the reason for that is we think of what these people want, they want safety, they want cleanliness, they want organization, they want infrastructure, and we do our best to give them that quality so that they can pay for it.”

As it stands, she pointed, visiting mountain gorillas for an individual costs $1,500 a visit, but exclusive trekking goes for $15,000.

"We are now talking about a 21 per cent increase in revenue compared to pre-pandemic earnings, and the people opting for exclusive trekking have gone up almost by 10-fold.”

"When we collect more revenues from the tourists, the communities benefit more. Because 10 percent of what we make goes to them, and this has proven that by this approach they are better custodians.”

Diversifying products

Reacting on the idea that tourists could be spending a shorter period of time in the country due to less touristic packages, Akamanzi said that the government is working with renowned conservationists to turn the tide.

"The government has worked with renowned conservationists to reintroduce and rehabilitate the other national parks. You can actually see the Big 5 in Rwanda today.”

The challenge today, she asserted, is how to engage tourists in other activities and spending longer in the country. For us it has been diversifying what can be done in the country.

"One of them is to get them to learn the history of the country. A country that experienced its darkest past 28 years ago, during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. How do you actually come from a fragile state to a thriving state?”

"The other one is food and hospitality, meaning more restaurants, more cuisines, more experiences, more tours within the city, so you have urban tourism not just the gorillas.”

Sports tourism destination

And maybe the final one, Akamanzi reiterated, has been the sports tourism which has been a good niche for Rwanda.

When Rwanda, inked a number of sports deals, Akamanzi said the world was "in a shock”, a situation that has since changed.

For instance, a mega deal with Paris St Germain and Arsenal are increasingly positioning the country as a sports tourism destination on the continent, she said.

"The NBA does its Africa league in Rwanda, we are hosting the FIFA congress in March this year, and I think that boldness shocks the world, the world takes notice, and we start yielding from it.”

For Thailand Minister Termpittayapaisath, the country collected a quarter of its pre-Covid-19 levels last year, the most collected since 2019.

He said Thailand expects $20 million in 2023.

"Tourism accounts for 12 per cent of our GDP. We have learned to open our doors to all tourists.”

"Some people say that we are over reliant on the tourism industry but I think tourism has a very big impact on the grass root economy,” he added.

Energy transition

"Many of the places which are benefiting from tourism are also suffering from climate change, which we really need to face,” said Heathrow’s CEO Holland-Kaye.

"We collectively need to play our part in tackling this, not just the government level, company level, everyone should be involved.”

While aviation is not the biggest contributor to climate change, Kaye said that it remains a significant one.