Kigali: 2018 served as a key milestone for event creation and management for the Rwandan Convention Bureau. A total 201 events were hosted in Rwanda, notably The African Union Summit, Next Einstein Forum, Mo Ibrahim Good Governance Meeting, as well as the SWIFT African Regional Conference and the Transform Africa Summit to name a few.
In addition, globally recognized events such as the Africa Green Revolution Forum, the GSMA Mobile 360 Africa, Youth Connekt summit and the 5th International Conference on Family Planning which in particular registered one of the largest number of international delegates, of over 3,800.
“2019 looks bright as Rwanda’s calendar of events is listed with numerous notable international conferences. Among them are the Africa Fine Coffee and Exhibition that will take place in February 2019 expected to bring in 1500 international delegates, and the Africa CEO forum that is scheduled for March 2019 bringing together top CEOs from across Africa. Furthermore, we have the Africa Health Agenda International Conference taking place in March 2019. In April 2019 we have the RAM KATHA KIGALI and the Global Gender summit. Not to mention the International Conference on AIDS and STI’s in Africa (ICASA), which is the biggest event on our calendar so far, expected to receive between 7000 – 9000 delegates”, Mukazayire said.
To date, the Rwandan MICE tourism sector has registered USD 52 Million for the 2018/2019 financial year in accommodation revenue generated, with an estimate 35,000 international delegates during meetings and conferences. As a result, associated sectors within the industry, such as airlines, hotels, restaurants and other players in the tourism industry continue to benefit revenue wise.
“The Rwanda Convention Bureau intends to assert itself as key event organizational destination body within not just the country, continent, but globally, as an institution that with the continued support of the Government of Rwanda and key partners, remains confident in its delivery of Rwandan world class event organizational standards”, said RCB CEO Nelly Mukazayire.
The country today boasts a range of world-class conference and accommodation facilities, with the flagship Kigali Convention Centre that opened its doors in 2016, The Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village and the newly opened Intare Conference Arena. A number of four and five-star international brand hotels also opened in Kigali, such as Radisson Blu, Marriott Hotel, Park Inn by Radisson, Onomo Hotel adding to the already existing venue and accommodation hotels like Hotel Mille Colline, Serena Hotel, Gorilla and Lemigo Hotels offering available services to business travelers (approximately 5000 rooms in Kigali in the 2 to 5-star bracket).
As confirmed by the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) Executive Summit during their December 2018 annual meeting, Rwanda is indeed “Incentive ready” 12 board members of the SITE were able to explore Rwanda and learn more about the country’s incentive offerings such as, One & Only – Nyungwe House and learnt more about the upcoming Wilderness Safari – Magasi Camp that is scheduled to open in May 2019 , Wilderness Safari – Bisate Lodge and Singita Lodge.
As it stands, non-governmental organizations and the private sector are the largest generators of international meetings. According to International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), the association market covers a wide range of event types and categories which range from medical meetings, science, academic, trade organizations, and professional bodies to social groupings.
For Rwanda to efficiently implement its MICE strategy and maintain its position as 3rd in Africa according ICCA ranking, RCB is working closely with local associations, NGOs and universities as the channel to international meetings.
“The initiative to host an international meeting most often comes from the local counterpart. That is why RCB also urges Rwanda’s local association-marketplace to be strengthened and will make efforts to raise better awareness of the potential the MICE tourism upholds within their specialty so that they can share tailored information with us at RCB.” – emphasizes Mukazayire. (End)