The Visit Rwanda campaign has been going on for a while now. Whereas Rwanda is not the first country to promote its tourism and investment potentials, it is probably the first “small” country to do so at an international arena previously reserved for rich countries. What even shocked many, me inclusive, was the way Rwanda decided to do it. I am talking about the perfect choice of visibility platform and partners to portray Rwanda’s image. Football has millions of fans world over and to tap from Premier league’s elite clubs like Arsenal FC shows the bravery and resolve of Rwanda’s leadership. But this is not all, many other international sporting events such as Tour du Rwanda, the innaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL), etc. have been held in Kigali with the aim of not only promoting sport but also local tourism and domestic investment. While some Arsenal fans or football supporters as they like to be called were still celebrating the Arsenal-Visit Rwanda partnership, the doubters including a few politicians from the West had started questioning how a poor country can sponsor a rich club. To their surprise, Rwanda’s strategists were not yet done, another mega deal was signed this time with the French League giants Paris Saint-Germain to portray Visit Rwanda logo on their jerseys as well. Yes, in case you are from Mars, PSG is the club that currently employs global icons Lionel Messi, Neymar Junior and Kylian Mbappe. Now, all this cannot be a gamble but a deliberate effort to achieve a certain target which I guess is visibility with a multiplier effect on tourism and investment opportunities. It is at this resultant effect of visibility that a persistent question kept coming to my mind. What if Messi visits Rwanda? Or even better, what if his teammates and fellow celebrities came with him? Are you ready for them? Would Rwanda’s GDP or revenues from tourism immediately skyrocket? How about the pocket change of an individual Keza or Kanyarwanda? Will they see their pockets overflowing with dollars just because Messi has visited Rwanda? The single answer to all these questions is perhaps an unfortunate NO. The truth of the matter is that some other celebrities such as Maria Sharapova, David Luiz, Neyo etc. have come and gone without necessarily leaving significant change to national or individual incomes. In the same way, if Messi was to come to Rwanda, he would probably sleep in a 5-star hotel with his entire entourage and may be visit one national park before flying out the next day. Stars don’t spend long, do they? For the record, no celebrity has left a briefcase of dollars at my door. What then can Keza and Kanyarwanda do to make most out of the Visit Rwanda promotion? Perhaps, I have asked more than I can answer but I will try; a. Work on yourself; If you are into art crafts, entertainment or fashion, make sure you have the best products and service for a fair price. Fair price because even celebrities don’t want to be cheated. You never know which tourist will buy your entire stock or even allow a partnership for future business. b. Do the right thing and be your own supervisor; This is the simplest of expectations and I will explain it with an example. David Luiz was here in 2019 and chances are he has already told Neymar about Rwanda. The mountain gorillas that he saw, the local dish that he liked most, just to mention but a few. However, supposing a certain Keza in one restaurant never returned change to him after his meal or one Kanyarwanda delayed his taxi to the airport or snatched his smart phone. There would be high chances of Luiz discouraging Neymar and Neymar subsequently discouraging Messi from visiting Rwanda. Now, if you behave that way and you have been warming up for the day that Messi would visit Rwanda, just know you successfully managed to keep him at bay. c. General benefits are in the long run; Whereas, some sectors and individuals can quickly and directly benefit from the Visit Rwanda promotion, some others may have to wait a little longer. It will be when RwandAir and local hotels are fully booked, entertainment and tourism opportunities are fully exploited that we shall see a spillover in say employment opportunities or taxes. Lastly, if you are unable to invest and tap from tourists, fix a legal or financial transaction for big investors, don’t curse the day you were born yet. Just by not littering the environment, not engaging in petty crimes etc. you will be attracting Messi et al and eventually you will make your cut either at a car washing bay of tourist vehicles or by supplying elephant grass from the swamp to one or two crafting shops. The writer is an in-house counsel at Rwanda Broadcasting Agency. The views expressed in this article are of the writer.
