RWANDA TO HOST SECOND EVER COMMONWEALTH SUMMIT IN AFRICA IN 2020
(Posted 26th April 2018)
(Front row seat for President Kagame at CHOGM2018 – Front row seat for Rwanda in 2020)
Following CHOGM2007, which was held in Kampala / Uganda, will the Commonwealth Summit return to Eastern Africa in 2020 when Rwanda, aka the Land of a Thousand Hills, will host the prestigious summit.
Rwanda, unlike Uganda at the time which had to undergo a major transition in the hospitality scene with new hotels needing to open in time for the arrival of the guests from around the world, will be ready as the new convention centre – where the summit will be held – including the adjoining Radisson Blu Hotel have now been in operation for some time.
Additional hotel and meeting capacity has been created over the past years, with the Marriott Kigali already open while the Ramada Suites and Residences are due to open soon.
The Kigali Serena, already in existence for several years, and other globally branded hotels like the Park Inn by Radisson together with locally owned properties like the Des Milles Colline too will be hosting CHOGM2020 guests.
The international airport in Kigali is presently adding yet again greater capacity to cater for larger passenger numbers and national airline RwandAir already flies three times a week to London Gatwick, the number of services likely to increase as the summit draws closer.
Air connections have increased over the years with Brussels Airlines and KLM both flying six times a week to Kigali while Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines too offer daily connections via their respective hubs in Doha and Istanbul.
Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines complete the list of international carriers flying multiple times every day to Kigali, from Addis Ababa and Nairobi respectively.
Rwanda’s standing with ICCA has been that of a rising star and while occupying third position as a country in 2016 together with Kenya and Egypt is the money on Rwanda to claim the third spot in Africa for meetings held alone, when the 2017 data will be published in late May or early June. Kigali as a city in turn is expected to rise to the number two city in Africa after Cape Town, ahead of Marrakech, Johannesburg and Durban as a result of the country deliberately targeting the MICE market which is a lucrative segment of the overall tourism market.
Rwanda turned anglophone after the 1994 genocide and only filed a Commonwealth membership application in 2008 but has since then become a leading member of this club of nations led by Her Majesty the Queen.
Zimbabwe is expected to return to the Commonwealth in coming months under the new government and to take part in the Kigali summit in 2020.
