How Rwanda Tourism and Hospitality sector is recovering despite the existence of Covid19
Global tourism crashed to historic low levels as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic. This spelt out a catastrophic scenario for African countries that generate a large proportion of their GDP (estimated US$170-$253 billion) from the tourism sector. Rwanda is firmly one such nation. Prior to the pandemic, Rwanda was excelling in Africa and becoming a sought after destination with a diversity of experiences to offer. In 2019, tourism contributed 13% to Rwanda’s GDP and was the biggest single source of foreign currency. The economic impact on countries like Rwanda that rely heavily on tourism was very significant with almost half of all tourism-related jobs on the continent lost as a result. As the global tourism industry slowly recovers, Rwanda has also embarked on a journey to recovery.
Tourism slow-down
The start of the COVID pandemic necessitated reductions in travel amid fears that tourists and travelers spread the virus globally hampered the tourism sector for doing many small economies. When Rwanda announced the discovery of the first case of the virus, the government acted swiftly in imposing lockdown measures, prohibiting movement in order to curb the spread of the virus.
In the months of the lockdown in April and May, Rwanda saw a drop of 100% in the number of international tourists. In 2020, total visits declined by 47% and overall Rwanda’s tourism revenues declined by 35%. Rwanda’s transport sector, led by the aviation sector, is estimated to have contracted by 20.5% in 2020 following increased global travel restrictions and the imposed government lockdown.
Arguably, 2020 was the worst year of the pandemic due to the novelty of the conditions in which businesses had to operate and the reduced number of visitors sending shock waves through the economy. In addition to the lockdowns and travel restrictions, Covid-19 measures were put in place which included a rigorous testing policy and quarantine periods that were to be paid for by the tourists. This likely prevented some travelers from leaving their home countries due to the additional cost of travel.
Opening up
After a rocky 2020, Rwanda began to slowly open up with safety strong measures in place for travelers and to curb the spread of the virus. Upon arrival, all travelers in Rwanda are required to present a negative The only accepted test is a SARS-CoV 2 Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) COVID-19 certificate performed within 72 hours of departure. Rwanda was included on the European Union’s list of 'epidemiologically safe' countries for travel in which boosted tourism briefly in 2020.
As a true indication that Rwanda is on the path to recovery, 2021 also saw Rwanda host the high profile FIBA AfroBasket league. In the tournament, sixteen national teams from across Africa played to be crowned the continental champions. All matches were played in the world-class Kigali Arena which was built in 2019. This indicated one of the major signs of moving from green tourism to expanding its sports tourism sector.
Due to the successful rollout of vaccinations, travel restrictions eased in the second half of 2021. Domestic restrictions also began to ease with bars and nightclubs that had remained closed for most of 202 and 2021 being given the go-ahead to reopen slowly. The easing of restrictions offers tourism and hospitality players a glimpse of hope and a road to recovery although the uncertainty during the pandemic has been high.
For example, the most recent global wave of Omicron infections has led to some additional restrictions around the world and in Rwanda. Despite this, Rwanda is fully open to visitors and most tourism activities are going on at the moment. Travelers arriving to tour the national parks are not subject to the 3-day mandatory quarantine imposed on other visitors and returning residents.
Road to full recovery
Rwanda has developed a solid recovery strategy that prioritizes the development of domestic and regional tourism. As international travel proved to be unstable, domestic and regional tourists have become highly crucial to increasing the strength of the tourism sector and protecting jobs. The government has tried to use the domestic industry to try and get the industry to revive as there’s still much uncertainty in global travel. Locals are encouraged to visit the main attractions around the country through various promotional campaigns and special offers.
One such initiative was the discounted rates for gorilla trekking in the Volcano National Park. The gorilla trekking, one of Rwanda’s most popular tourist attractions, suffered losses that heavily impacted the sector. According to the Rwandan Development Board which oversees tourism activities losses have been as high as US$120,000 per day. The price of the permit to see the gorillas for domestic tourists fell from $1500 to $200 for Rwandan national and East African member states.
Nearly every part of the tourism value chain has been impacted by the losses experienced in the overall industry. Hospitality, transportation services, and tour operators to mention a few were heavily impacted by the lack of tourist activity. There’s been a lot of emphasis placed on the national Covid-19 national recovery fund which is used to support the recovery of the local economy. The government also pledged to support the recovery of small businesses in the tourism sector in the second phase of the fund implementation strategy.
Conclusion
Nearly two years after the first case of Covid-19 was discovered in Rwanda, it is becoming clear that that the challenges that have been brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic will have a long term impact on the tourism sector Rwanda still has a long way to go to recover from the effects of the pandemic. However, looking ahead into the future and beyond the losses suffered, Rwanda is paving a way to regain the momentum that the tourism sector has built up and come back stronger. We might be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with new and innovative approaches to tourism as well as a revival of the sector, not leaving small businesses behind.
