Mumbere crowned King of Rwenzururu

By Raymond Baguma
and John Thawite (New Vision)

A National conference for leaders of cultural institutions is coming, President Yoweri Museveni said at Mumbere's Coronation.

“We restored these kingdoms but we have not discussed with them in detail how they should work in harmony with the Government,” the President explained.

He was was speaking at a ceremony where he recognised the Obusinga (kingdom) of Rwenzururu and King Charles Wesley Mumbere.

During a ritual at a palace in Kasese, the President laid his hands on Mumbere’s left shoulder and then addressed the kingdom’s parliament.

Mumbere ascended to the throne on October 19, 1966. He succeeded his father Isaya Mukirane, who had launched the Rwenzururu armed struggle against the Toro kingdom. Thousands of loyalists turned up at the Kilembe Golf Course to witness the event, which also marked 43 years since Mumbere ascended the throne.

The regional Police spokesperson, Elly Matte, estimated the crowd at 60,000 people.

Museveni said traditional institutions were restored in areas where the people demanded them. He said Ankole kingdom could not be restored because the people rejected it.

He said the people of Kasese had shown love for their monarchy in line with Article 246 of the Constitution, which allows the restoration of old kingdoms and creation of new ones.

“I have proof the people of Kasese wanted Obusinga. The proof was based on a resolution passed by Kasese district council, elders and other people who sent me signed resolutions. So, I have come to show the Government support for this cultural institution.”

He said the involvement of traditional institutions in politics was detrimental to the culture of the people. He noted that cultural institutions should avoid creating tension among the different communities.

He cited Bundibugyo district, where the Bamba were opposed to the Rwenzururu kingdom and promised to discuss with Mumbere how the Bamba and Bakonjo could peacefully co-exist.

“Handle the issue carefully so that you do not create tension out of a new cultural institution,” he advised Mumbere.

“The Bamba told me clearly that they don’t want to be associated with the cultural institution. Nobody can be forced to support a cultural institution against their will. They should not worry because the centre of the institution is in Kasese, where there is consensus,” Museveni added.

He thanked the residents of Kasese for supporting the Government to defeat the ADF rebels. He said cultural institutions were vital in preserving culture and promoting indigenous languages. He urged the Rwenzururu kingdom to fulfill this role.

He said the king would start getting a monthly stipend and promised him a vehicle and a palace.

He urged the Rwenzururu people to embrace the Government programmes in agriculture, the universal primary and secondary education, mass immunisation and the HIV/AIDS prevention campaign.

Mumbere assured the President that his kingdom would work closely with the NRM government.

“Obusinga will always be non-political and implement its activities in a cultural manner, as culture transcends politics.”
The king’s speech was disrupted by a downpour, which forced people to flee for shelter.

The king appealed to his people to abandon armed conflicts which have characterised the cultural institution. “I ask all Banyarwenzururu to return all sorts of weapons to the armoury,” he appealed.

He said the kingdom would focus on education, health, roads, clean water and sanitation.

The coronation was attended by a delegation from the DR Congo led by the minister of culture and arts, Esdros Kambale. It included the Congolese ambassador, Charles Okoto, and MPs.

There were also delegations from across Toro kingdom.

UGANDA: Bwindi, Where Gorillas Come First

By Mike Ssegawa

Travelling is like falling in love. You can get swept off your feet by a new place you've visited and in the process, build an attachment to it never to be forgotten. Having been to Bwindi in Kisoro last month for the first time, I can conclude I'm in love. I am not a well travelled person.

Travel is one of those subjects I am not comfortable talking about because apart from Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia, I have not visited any other place outside dear Uganda. For me, Arusha is the most beautiful town in East Africa and Maasai Mara the most sacred animal sanctuary. But Bwindi is the place I fell in love with nature.

I grew up listening to stories about apes, like the clever monkey, the "cannibal" chimpanzee, and the "rapist" baboon. All these apes are interesting animals to watch and available in Uganda. I grew up fighting monkeys that raided our crops; at 10, I saw a chimp at the Uganda Wild Life Centre in Entebbe when my school took us for a tour, and baboons spoilt my appetite on several journeys made along Jinja-Busia road on my way to Kenya. Yet, it was the gorilla I have paid the most to see, and for that, I am not about to let go.

Not that I parted with the $500 for the gorilla permit foreigners buy to have an opportunity to look at one of the world's endangered species. And as a Ugandan, I didn't pay the Shs150,000 locals and East Africans are charged to spend less than one hour with man's cousins. Opportunity struck when Nshongi Gorilla Sanctuary in Bwindi was opened to the public for the first time last month. After a 10-hour drive to Kisoro's chilly hills, memories of a 19-year-old who entered Nairobi for the first time in June at the start of the millennium came flooding back. Like then, I had only a T-shirt on and no jacket in my bag, ignorant of the fact that the place I was going to was very cold compared to central Uganda, a place I was raised and could walk shirtless even when it is raining.

On that fateful day in Nairobi, the temperatures had gone down to 16 degrees, and while people in Europe could be laughing out loud, for me it was too cold for comfort and I had to buy a jacket on the street. Now in Nshongi, Rubuguri Parish in Kisoro District, the same cold bit my body. Without a jacket or warm clothes, I was left with no option but to put on all the shirts I had in my bag. When I looked outside the window, the village boys were playing football shirtless and small children barely wore anything on them. That's how relative life can be.

That evening, we spent the night at Gorilla Safari Lodge, where the Tourism Minister, Kahinda Otafiire, was also a resident. This man is full of jokes, but not even laughter sent the chill away. I was relieved when a fireplace to warm our bodies was hurriedly set up at the minister's request. The next day, we woke up at 7:30a.m and prepared to intrude the gorillas' privacy (the guide said they don't enjoy people's company). Reaching the forest's entry point, there was a sea of foreign and local press. When the guide received the notification on his walkie-talkie that we were free to start on our journey, every one of us (about 30 journalists) dashed into the first part of the forest and stopped at about 200 metres for the briefing.

Kisoro, where the forest is located, is a hilly place. The people there are farmers and make use of the hills and valleys, right.

In Bwindi, the gorillas seem to be more important than human beings; at least their interests come before those of human beings. "If anyone wants to ease themselves, use the toilets here because we cannot allow you to leave your excretion in the deeper forest since it could contaminate the gorillas," the senior warden, Pontius Ezuma, said. The second rule was, "If you have any contagious disease, please stay here, because we don't want you to pass it on to the gorillas."

Our guide, Benjamin Bayinda, who seemed to enjoy every inch of the forest, promised to give us more briefings about gorilla trekking along the way, but first we were warned not to give the gorillas any foods, and each one of us was encouraged to go up with a stick. "You may leave the stick behind at your own risk," another warden joked. Some did go with their sticks. Others didn't give heed to the advice. Two rangers with guns went ahead of us, and the third came behind the group. That's how much protection we needed. Not your ordinary forest!

This forest is not that different from the rain forests you may have been to. As a little boy, I spent four years in Lwanunda, a village four miles out of Masaka town. There, I experienced the pleasures of the forest, but most of them had traces of human activities.

We walked miles to collect firewood, but it was not about the firewood; rather the fun - despite parental warnings that those forests had misambwa (ghosts) - it excited us. We ate fruits, played gogolo (sliding down the hill while sitting on a banana stem), swam in the rivers, swung on the climbing plants of the forest and chased monkeys. This is what I recalled as we trekked mile after mile through Bwindi. The more we went into the forest, the deeper and larger than life it seemed - Bwindi Impenetrable is about 330sq km. Its paths are still fresh, and as I said earlier, loggers or charcoal burners must want to visit this forest. Nothing is touched, save for the Batwa people, who still prefer to hunt animals, among which are gorillas, for food.

The sound of River Nshongi, which runs through the forest down to Lake Edward through Lake Albert before it joins the River Nile on its way to Egypt, made the quiet forest alive. As we walked through, the guide told us to remain silent since the forest had several animals like elephants that detest human intrusion and would defend their territory at all costs. That warning fell on deaf ears. One hour of walking and the gorillas were nowhere in sight. I had not seen any elephants either. And yet, the paths were slippery.

I was wearing the shoes I bought for my friend's wedding, and here I was, stepping in the mud like the pair cost me a few shillings! We crossed river after river, jumped stream after stream, stone after stone and fallen trees along the path. Then we started seeing elephant dung, a sign the elephants were not far from us. At some point, the guide stopped us. "This is where we met a group of gorillas," he said, showing us the side of the river which looked like a playing field for the animals. He said, "We named the group Nshongi, because we found it on Nshongi River."
The weather in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is so cold; in the evenings, the whole forest is engulfed in fog.

It was time for new instructions: When we meet the gorillas, make sure you keep a distance of seven metres. This is to protect both the gorilla and you. Leave the sticks behind. Gorillas will think you're out to attack them and they will go out to defend themselves. Remain in a tight group. Don't drink or smoke. Keep your voices low. Do not run or turn your back on the silverback. Don't keep eye contact with the gorillas, especially the silverback.

"Do you need to know why it is so important to keep the rules? Well, gorillas however much they resemble human beings, are still animals. This particular group of gorillas has just gone through a habituation process. It has taken the wardens two years to familiarise them with human contact," Bayinda said. He added that the gorillas would do their best to fight, ignore and distance themselves from people as much as they could, till after habituation, apart from the silverback charging whenever it senses a new person, all this is to protect its clan.

Bayinda told us Bwindi was declared by UNESCO a world heritage site in 1994 and the forest contained half of the world's about 720 gorillas. In Nshongi, the habituated group has about 34 gorillas, with three silverbacks and eight black backs. Every gorilla unit is led by a silverback. A male gorilla becomes a silver back at about 14 years and a black back at about 12. After a long lecture in "gorilla-tactics", we moved on, this time expecting the animals to be in the vicinity. But no, we had more miles ahead. We had been told that we were using a track with a lot of bird species. I wasn't interested in birds, though I saw very few of them. The guide also told us that forest kobs were in plenty. I saw none. Tracking gorillas is not a thing for the faint-hearted.

Three hours into the forest, I started to ask myself why I had come. I was afraid I would fail to reach the place gorillas had relocated to that morning. My heart was skipping, but I moved on. I was looking forward to something special, so I persevered. Sometimes the only way up was to dig one's fingers into the soil to find a firm root, holding on to trees or the person above to pull you. Somewhere between the hills, we could hear the female colleagues we had left behind groaning. Despite their falling several times, they made it.

The forest continued far above our heads, and the river, we could see, was nowhere near its source, at least for me to declare, "This source has been discovered by Mike Ssegawa". After three and half hours of nonstop trekking, the guide announced that the gorillas were close by. We were divided into three smaller groups of 10. "The gorillas hate to see many people at once," the guide reminded us. The first group went up. The rest of us sat on the stones, waiting for their 15 minutes of gorilla-love. Seven minutes later, Warden Ezume said there was a strong smell of gorillas. I didn't smell anything however. And he was surprised. Two minutes later, he got a signal that the gorillas were on their way down in our direction. We had to change positions, to give them the right of way.

It's nice being a gorilla in Bwindi. Then, I heard the first gorilla sound. One girl shouted, "There it is", but I didn't see a thing, though the trees were shaking about 100 metres away. Minutes later, I saw black animals disappearing into the thick bush. It was my first glimpse of the gorilla, but I told myself if this was what I had come to see, then it was a raw deal. As I thought that, I think the gods of Bwindi got angry and without any warning, sent a heavy downpour. I did not have a jacket on me. And my camera was not well protected, not forgetting my non-safari shoes which until now I had managed to safeguard from severe damage.

When the guides said my group was next, I was taking refuge in one of the wardens' raincoat. But I had to go and see the gorillas and went into the rain. And without minding my already wet clothes, Italian leather shoes, or even camera, I went close to the animals. Not seven metres away, but three. It was a fulfilling experiencing.

Now that I had seen the gorillas, I had nothing to lose. Even if it meant walking back to the hotel naked. The young gorillas played around the trees as the silverback ate grass, unmindful of being watched as the cameras clicked. It was like Paris Hilton on the red carpet. We didn't watch the gorillas for only 15 minutes like the others, ours was like forever. No one minded how wet we got. The gorillas too enjoyed our company. I like looking at pregnant women, but the site of a pregnant gorilla I saw eating a local herb, ebbombo, was fabulous too.

After everyone had quenched their thirst, we left, stepping into the river at will, falling like no one cared. All we wanted was to return to the place we would find some warmth. Funny though that no one remembered the rules. We turned our backs to the gorillas and they didn't mind us. We walked down at a speedy pace, this time in groups. The sun briefly found its way through the forest, and just after colleague said, "Wow, this forest is truly gifted by nature", another downpour ensured, ensuring that we exited the forests not bothered anymore about how wet we were.

I had fallen five times. But who was I not to fall? After all, one would imagine military generals most fit, but General Otafiire got his share and he left the forest limping and I didn't! We looked around for our driver, rushed to the hotel, and got into the shower room, where I thought about my achievement of the day. I looked through the window at the forest before me, which was now covered in fog. I thought about the gorillas inside the forest feeling the cold.

I imagined what I could do if I was asked to do the trekking once again, this time, to offer them a fire for warmth. Then I remembered that a cold forest was their part of their life. When I could not see the trees anymore but the fog, it felt like I had left a friend behind in the mist. Trekking had made me connect with the forest, and of course, the gorillas. The impression is not going away any time soon. Bwindi, I am thinking about you.

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro

By TEA CORRESPONDENT

Singer Justin Timberlake and actress Jessica Biel have signed on to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in January 2010. They will be accompanied by rapper Lupe Fiasco and actress Isabel Lucas who are all going with the “Summit on the Summit” expedition a brain child of Ethiopian born singer Kenna.

“I have been training four times a week to get my VO2 (oxygen consumption) levels up to expand my lungs,” Justin told GQ.

In a statement about her decision to climb the more than 19,000 feet mountain to the peak, Biel said, “This is a basic human necessity that needs to be addressed now”.

For Kenna whose father suffered from water borne diseases in Ethiopia as a child, the effort to bring awareness to a world wide danger is something that hits very close to home. “My dad almost died as a child from water borne diseases in Ethiopia and he had talked to me about digging a well there and I thought, ‘I have too many friends who would be concerned with the subject of clean water. May be I can help out,’ “Kenna told ELLE magazine in a recent interview.

The climb will also help raise funds for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Play Pumps International and the Children’s safe drinking water programme.

New Vessels for Kalangala

By TEA Reporter,

KALANGALA district made up of several scattered islands is to acquire two new ferries by June 2010, Deo Nsereko, the resident district commissioner, has said.

Currently, there is only one ferry - MV Kalangala, operating the Kampala-Kalangala islands route.

“The two new, ‘modern and reliable’ ferries will work concurrently with MV Kalangala at the Nakiwogo landing site,” Nsereko added.

He said the ferries would help islanders, to ease the hardships over transport.

“Recently, when MV Kalangala was not working, the movement of people and goods was affected,” noted. MV Kalangala had gone for periodic mandatory docking inspection in Mwanza, Tanzania.

The vessel underwent minor repairs and resumed operations last month.

“The ministry of Transport & Works is committed to maintaining effective transport services in the country,” Susan Kataike, the works ministry spokesperson, said recently.

New Planes For East African Civil Aviation Academy

By TEA Reporter,

THE Government is to buy six new aircrafts for the East African Civil Aviation Academy - that is commonly referred to as Soroti Flying School.

Edith Mwanje, the East African Community affairs ministry permanent secretary, said this during a regional workshop for central Uganda leaders at Hotel Africana in Kampala last week.

She said the procurement of the new planes would be done under a three-year capital development project designed by the Government to rehabilitate the academy.

The six computerised single-engine planes would cost sh4b. The first batch of the aircrafts arrives this financial year, she added.

The single engine Cessna 172 aircraft has modern aviation technology. Which, Mwanje said, would equip and acquaint the pilot students with the required aviation skills.

The school has 58 privately sponsored students using the old Cessna aircraft manufactured in the early 1960s.

The academy was built as a training school for the British Overseas Airways Corporation to train British pilots in tropical flying techniques. It was later used by the East African Flying Academy to train pilots from the former community.

“Since the collapse of the East African community in 1977, this school has been neglected. However, with its revival, plans are under way to renovate it at a cost of US$900,000 (about Ush 1.73b),” Mwanje added.

The project also includes renovation of the old buildings and acquisition of new computers.

$3m Grant from US to Save Lake Victoria and Mara River Basins

By Trek East Africa Correspondent
Nairobi, Kenya

A three year funding agreement between the East African Community and the United States Agency for International Development is expected to ensure that the Mara River Basin is properly managed so as to avoid environmental degradation. The Mara River Basin eco system is considered a new wonder of the world.

Under the agreement signed two weeks ago, East Africa Community’s Lake Victoria Basin Commission is expected to implement the Mara River Basins 2009 Bio diversity Action Plan that was recently adopted by the EAC Ministers.

Aimed at addressing threats to bio diversity hotspots in the Mara River Basin, the projects implementation will involve Kenya and Tanzania government agencies where the $3 million grant will be provided under US Aid Africa’s Tran boundary Water for Diversity.

The Mara basin water shed extends from Kenya to northern Tanzania covering areas of Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Serengeti National Park and also makes up part of the eastern rim of the Lake Victoria basin.

This eco systems survival depends on the flow of the Mara River. With less water flowing in the Mara, there is a possibility of less water to drink for wildlife and this could easily lead to human wildlife conflicts.

Rotich, the Deputy Secretary General in charge of Finance and Administration at the East African Community emphasized the importance of the Mara River Basin eco system. He said the intervention on the Mara River Basin was timely, since environmental issues in particular global climate change are affecting all people.

“You don’t have to spend a lot of time trying to convince people about the environmental devastation that is being experienced. Rains are failing, rivers are drying up or getting polluted. We have all contributed to environmental degradation. And now we must do something about it”, he added.

Lake Victoria Basin Commission was established in 2005 as a specialized institution of the East African Community responsible for coordination of activities aimed at sustainable development of the basin.

BAKONZO - BAMBA CELEBRATE BIRTH OF RWENZURURU PRINCE

By John B. Nzinjah

A prince has been born to Iremangoma Charles Wesley Mumbere, the cultural head of the Rwenzururu kingdom. The news was the talk of Kasese town, with local FM radio stations receiving numerous calls congratulating the Omusinga and the Queen.

The kingdom spokesperson, Godfrey Kabyanga, yesterday said: “The Omusinga was present at Kampala International Hospital when the prince was delivered on Wednesday. The queen, Agnes Ithungo and the baby are in good health.”

Many people said this was a double blessing since it comes ahead of the coronation celebrations on October 19.

The Bamba-Bakonzo king will also mark his 43rd anniversary since he took over the Rwenzururu Kingdom after the death of his farther, Isaya Mukirania Kibanzanga.

Kibanzanga was among the Bamba fighters who led a rebellion against the Toro kingdom, demanding independence in 1962.

Single Tourist Visa to be issued by East Africa Member States

By Arthur Baguma

The East African Community plans to start a single tourist visa for the region. The member states are discussing a protocol to create and market the region as a single tourist destination. Member states have started to coordinate their policies in the tourism industry and were establishing a frame work that would ensure equitable distribution of resources. In addition the partner states are establishing a common code of conduct for private and public tour and travel operators, standardized hotel classification and professional standards of agents in the industry.

A collective policy for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wildlife and other tourist sites in the region is also in pipeline.

“They include harmonizing policies for the conservation of wildlife within and outside protected areas, exchanging information and adopting common policies on wildlife management and development, coordinating efforts in controlling and monitoring encroachment and poaching activities,” information at the EAC states. The policy encourages joint use of training and research facilities and developing common management plans for trans-border protected areas.

These developments are good news to East Africa tourism potential. From some of the world’s finest beaches to unique wildlife sanctuaries East Africa is a tourism hub. In Uganda the unique wildlife sanctuaries East Africa is a tourism hub. In Uganda the unique Bwindi National Park home to some 340 mountain gorillas, the Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth National Park are also preferred sites for tourists. In Kenya, the magnificent Maasai Mara reserve, among 48 wildlife parks and reserves, including the amazing Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks attract tourists both local and international. In Tanzania, the world famous Ngorongoro crater, the breath taking spectacular Serengeti plains, wildlife conservation areas and Mt. Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest mountain are just the tip of the ice berg of what Tanzania can offer tourists.

Apart from the scenic attractions, East Africa has a lot more to offer. Hotel and beach tourism is at its peak. The region offers a large number of historical sites spread through the region. It boasts of interesting traditional culture, the Makonde sculptures and Akamba wood crafts as well as the Uganda Kingdoms, cultures and tradition. The Olduvai Gorge in the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania is the site of discoveries of the traces of early humanity.

There is, however potential for development, expansion and promotion of East African tourism, taking into account on going development of tourism and other potential of the lake Victoria basin. The world’s second largest fresh water body is shared by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

The number of tourists to the East African region increased significantly between 1995 and 2002.In Tanzania the number increased from 285,000 to 550,000 while in Uganda it increased from 160,000 to 254,000. In Kenya there was a slight decline from 896,000 to 838,000 but the figures rose to one million in 2003.

Currently the three countries attract more than two million tourists. The figures indicate a vibrant trend of the tourist sector in East Africa. With joint promotion of the industry, tourist visits in East Africa are expected to double in the near future. In 2005, the East African Community countries launched the plan for joint tourism and wildlife development including joint marketing and promotion of East Africa as a single tourist destination.

Starting with the Internationale Tourismus Borse (ITB), Berlin 2006, the tourist boards of East African countries participate in international trade fairs under one roof, the East African Village exhibition area. On going activities aim at developing both short and long term measures in the joint promotion and marketing of East Africa as a single tourist destination.

The plan and strategy for joint development and promotion of tourism envisages steady growth due to stable political and peaceful conditions prevailing in the region coupled with modernization of infrastructure, transport and communications facilities and links to all parts of the world by major world air lines and ocean cruises.

TOURISM: RWANDA’S MAJOR FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNER

By George Kalisa

Rwanda’s experience shows that the road to total liberation of the people has neither been straight nor smooth. Faced with the challenge of improving the lives of Rwandans in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, President Paul Kagame has met barriers ranging from political to economic ones, a high ranking government official has said. The international perception of the country was a major hold up to efforts to the liberation of the Rwandans from all forces that denied them human dignity. The world knew Rwanda for the genocide.

However Kagame and his government have triumphed over a sea of problems and Rwandans are already reaping the fruits of Kagame’s vision says Rosette Rugamba, the deputy chief executive officer of Rwanda Development Board in charge of Tourism and conservation.

The enterprising President looked at tourism as a potential sector in reconstructing the economy hence the re launch of the industry in 2003 on two definitive fronts – domestic and international tourism.

Domestic tourism focused on creating a culture of appreciation of the intrinsic value of and benefit of the sector to the economy while international tourism positioned Rwanda as a high end destination that put conservation and the environment first.

Rugamba adds that the security and stability in the country spur growing investment in the sector.

“The journey of the tourism sector in Rwanda started with the vision of our President six years ago. We are now harvesting six years of solid investment in destination tourism positioning, continuous improvements in the product backed by unwavering government support. With out doubt, the peace and security we enjoy in this country have been enabling factors,” Rugamba said.

Rugamba says although they have achieved many successes, Rwanda has not yet realized its dream tourism industry, adding that more innovations are needed.

“While we celebrate where we are today, we all believe that we still have a long way to go. The year on year growth is testimony that we are doing something right as a nation, “Rugamba said in an interview.

In 2003, only 16,000 visitors went to Rwanda compared to 980,577 in 2008. By June 2009, 440,000 visitors had been to the country. The increase in the number of visitors has meant increase in revenue and expansion of tourism infrastructure and tour operator agencies over the years.

Revenue upped from $8m in 2003 to $209m in 2008, while hotel rooms increased from 650 to 4,256.

Currently, Rwanda boasts of 189 hotels compared to just 30 in 2003. Besides being the number one foreign exchange earner for three consecutive years, the sectors competitive performance globally has improved ten fold the country’s image.

For the third time Rwanda was this year voted best African exhibitor at ITB Berlin, the worlds largest tourism trade fair. It was also voted among the “Top 10” tourism destinations in the world by Lonely Planet (2009), a travel guide in the United Kingdom. Early this year, Rwanda mountain gorilla trekking was ranked among the top green travel experiences in the world by the latest Rough Guide’s publication, 500 New Ways to see the World.

Rwanda’s gorilla experience was also listed in the publication Unforgettable journeys you must take before you die by Steve Watkins and Clare Jones as one of the 50 things you must do before you die.

The influx of international celebrities into the country is evident of growing tourism. These include; Jack Hanna (world’s conservation icon), CNN founder, Ted Turner and Catherine Crier.

Gorilla naming ceremony: it is one of the sector’s land mark innovations and one of the most recognized conservation events on the world tourism calendar.

Kwita Izina, as the gorilla naming ceremony is locally referred to, was launched in 2005 by Kagame. A total of 105 baby gorillas have been named since Kwita Izina ceremonies started. The annual ceremony has attracted high profile people locally and internationally, including Hollywood celebrities and world renowned conservationists. Kwita Izina is a celebration of successes in protecting the mountain gorilla and the environment it lives in.

Over $2m has been raised through the event and has been spent on supporting the communities that live outside the mountains of the Virungas.

Rugamba says Rwanda expects tourism revenues to hit $278m by 2012, adding that in the offing is a 10 year master plan, an initiation that will take the sector to greater heights.

New Products: Central to Rwanda’s tourism strategy has been the development of new diverse products. They include avi tourism, Nyungwe National Park, Akagera Savannah Park and conference tourism.

In 2008, we launched the birding product (avi tourism) at the birding fair in UK, says Rugamba. Rwanda hosts over 700 bird species of which 44 are endemic to Rwanda. It is anticipated that birding will contribute 10% to Rwanda’s tourism receipts by 2010. The Nyungwe forest trails are offering nature hikes and an opportunity to see over 13 primate species, including chimpanzees.

By the end of the year, two lodges will be opened in Nyungwe and the canopy walk will be launched in the heart of the forest, the first of its kind in Eastern Africa.

The government is currently restocking and up grading accommodation facilities in Akagera National Park.

Rugamba discloses that a 20 seat leisure boat will be commissioned on Lake Kivu in October. The boat will enable tourists to visit islands on the lake.

Commenting on conference tourism, Rugamba said; “Our fastest growing product has to be conference tourism. Rwanda has become a much sought after destination for multi sectral, regional, continental and international conferences. In the first half of 2009, 189,857 (43%) of the visitors who came to Rwanda came for business purposes. In 2010, we hope to have set up a convention bureau to manage and coordinate conferences”.

Rugamba added, “With Rwanda becoming part of East Africa, we shall continue to work on promoting East Africa as a single destination and working on fast tracking of the East Africa single visa. The East Africa standards are already in place and Rwanda has started preparing the hotels for classification”.