WORLD TRAVEL AND TOURISM COUNCIL HANDS RWANDA THEIR FIRST GLOBAL TOURISM LEADERSHIP AWARD
(Posted 20th April 2018)
Rwanda has been awarded World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) first Global Leadership Award. The award was presented to Dr. Edouard Ngirente, Right Honourable Prime Minister of Rwanda at the Gala Dinner of the 2018 WTTC Global Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina last night.
The WTTC Global Leadership Award will become an annual award which recognises countries which have not only prioritised Travel & Tourism but have put sustainability at the heart of the sector’s development.
Announcing the award at the Gala Dinner in Buenos Aires, Gloria Guevara WTTC President & CEO said, ‘Much of the world has heard about Rwanda, but mostly about its troubled history. In 1994, it was the setting for one of the worst genocides in our lifetime. But since then the country has gone from bordering on a failed state and a real-world cemetery to one of the most remarkably transformed countries in Africa, if not the world‘.
Rebuilt on a strong foundation of reconciliation and powered by the determination to succeed, Rwanda is now a leader in education and in environmental responsibility. Its economy is robust, helped by a focus on sustainable travel and tourism.
Rwanda last year welcomed 1.556.025 visitors to the country, a new record and up from 1.408.481 in 2016. Travel & Tourism today represents over 13% of the country’s GDP and 11% of employment and sustainability is at the heart of tourism growth. Initiatives to protect the country’s unique Gorilla population, while generating significant income from the visitors they attract, as well as the establishment of national parks to protect the environment ensure tourism growth benefits not just the natural environment but the communities who live and work there.
The WTTC President went on to say it was an honour for her to present the organization’s first ever Global Leadership Award to such an inspiring and transformative country.
Destination information about Rwanda can be found via www.rwandatourism.com
