Rwanda moves to 7th position in Africa for MICE business

RWANDA SETS SIGHTS ON GREATER MICE SHARE IN AFRICA

(Posted 19th May 2016)

Rwanda, the Land of a Thousand Hills, has in 2015 outpaced many rivals in Africa as the country emerged a surprise 7th in the continental rankings for Africa by ICCA, the International Congress and Convention Association.
Considering that this was accomplished with but one major conference facility available, the Kigali Serena Hotel and Conference Center, will Rwanda’s rivals for MICE business better watch out as the new national convention centre will open in June this year for the upcoming African Union Summit before then hosting additional meetings throughout the rest of the year.
Also coming on line in September will be the Kigali Marriott Hotel which will also offer a number of conference and meeting rooms, boosting the country’s capacity over and above what hitherto existed at the Kigali Serena Hotel.
Said Frank Murangwa, Head of the Rwanda Convention Bureau which is part of the Rwanda Development Board: ‘Having just hosted the World Economic Forum on Africa for the first time, Rwanda has clearly demonstrated its ability to deliver on a global stage. As we are ramping up our MICE strategy, we look forward to attracting many more large-scale events and climbing further up the ICCA rankings‘.
Rwanda last year hosted 27 major conferences in addition to 13 global association meetings including the high profile Interpol General Assembly which brought over 1.000 delegates to Kigali.

In 2016 does the country expect a significant rise of such events,and attending delegates when hosting the African Union Summit, the Global Africa Investment Summit, the Africa Hotel Investment Forum and the associated AVIADEV aviation conference which will directly link hospitality and tourism stakeholders to the aviation industry.
Even on the global stage has Rwanda made progress when rising from number 114 in 2013 to number 78 in 2015, with a further climb up the ladder expected for the current year.
For more information click on www.rwandaconventionbureau.com or visit www.rwandatourism.com