Rwandan tourism packages on offer

Rwandan tour packages have been placed on one of China's major online travel-service platforms, which enable Chinese tourists to directly book a tour to the East African nation, the Rwanda Development Board said in a statement on Dec 5.

The launch of the "Visit Rwanda" pavilion on Alibaba's travel arm, Fliggy, followed the launch of the Chinese e-commerce giant's Electronic World Trade Platform in October, which aims to promote public-private dialogue.

According to the memorandum of understanding signed between the Rwandan government and Alibaba under the framework of eWTP, Fliggy and the RDB will work together to promote Rwanda as a tourist destination through a Rwanda Tourism Store for booking flights, hotels and travel experiences and a Destination Pavilion, where Chinese consumers can learn more about Rwanda.

"We believe that the Visit Rwanda pavilion on Fliggy is one of the avenues that will lead to an increase in tourism traffic to Rwanda from China," says Clare Akamanzi, CEO of the RDB, in the statement.

Chair of the Rwanda Chamber of Tourism Aimable Rutagarama says the Rwandan tourism sector is confident that putting tourism prod-ucts on China's online platforms will help the industry efficiently penetrate the Chinese market.

The move will also help the tourism sector earn more profit as intermediaries will be bypassed and commissions reduced, says Rutagarama in the statement.

He urges all tourism businesses to embrace the platform and package their services and products in a unique and innovative way to market Rwanda as an attractive and competitive destination.

Rwanda plans to double tourism earnings in the coming years through sustainable wildlife conservation, the RDB said in September.

Rwanda's tourism sector generated $438 million in 2017, according to the RDB.

Visits to see endangered mountain gorillas living in Volcanoes National Park contribute about 90 percent of tourism revenues from the country's national parks, RDB statistics show.

Rwanda also boasts other tourist attractions such as the Akagera and Nyungwe national parks, and Lake Kivu.