www.rwandan-flyer.com

12/02/2012

Global chains, direct flights and a state-of-the-art conference centre will bring yet more visitors to a capital in demand.

Rwanda’s drive to become a conference hub is gaining speed with the anticipated entry of two global hotel brands in 2014.

Rezidor, owners of the Radisson brand, and Marriott are expected to open hotels by the end of this year, improving the country’s competitiveness.

The Kigali government had projected revenue from conference tourism to reach $40m by 2012, but the shortage of high-end accommodation denied the capital the competitive edge enjoyed by Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam.

Serena Hotel is currently the only five-star facility in Rwanda.

The completion of the $300m Kigali Convention Centre (KCC) – a facility that will house the five-star Radisson Blu with 292 rooms, an information technology office park and a conference hall that can seat 2,600 people – will improve Kigali’s performance in the service sector and also attract tourists and boost revenue.

Though the KCC might not open until 2015, the Radisson Blu is scheduled to open for business by mid-2014.

Building on experience

“Rwanda has attracted many international events and conferences, and now we are strategically positioned as a destination for conferences, which need the right logistic and accommodation in order to be relevant in the global arena of events and conferences,” says Hubert Ruzibiza, the head of services development at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).