Category: Tourism

Congolese Mai Mai militia have began targeting wildlife killing about 200 Elephants in a period of only two weeks.

The Civil society in Mambassa, 168 kilometers south of Bunia in Ituri (Orientale Province), July 30 accused the Mai Mai militia of exterminating the elephants in the wildlife area in two weeks.

Sources told local Congolese media that the militiamen shot down two hundred elephants in the space of two weeks.

Mangala Martin the president of the civil society of Mambassa, says that elephant poaching is taking place in the villages of Bandisende, Mamopi, Salate, Badengaido, Nduye and others.

“Two hundred elephants in two weeks is a real danger for the elephants,” complains Martin Mangala, accusing and some local leaders of complicity.

The militiamen illegally exploit gold in the chiefdoms of Walese Karo Bandaka and Bombo.

This information has been confirmed by officials of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN).

ICCN partners complain that the World Heritage has become the place of exploitation of precious materials, poaching and logging.

Students from the Akilah Women’s Institute will be among the first to benefit from the opening of the Kigali Marriott Hotel next year, with free training in Marriott’s GCC hotels.

The first group of 14 graduates will begin their training in September, with small groups attending three of Marriott International’s top class hotels for nine months to a year, learning a range of skills that will prepare them for guaranteed jobs in the new Rwanda hotel.

Gary Dodds, VP HR Marriott International Middle East & Africa, said the company was keen to contribute to the community by playing a part in its human capital development.

“We not only wanted to source local staff for our first hotel in East Africa but also to implement our Spirit to Serve programme. Akilah Women’s Institute enables us to achieve that by connecting us with deserving students who are educated and eager to make a difference to their lives and their country’s future development,” said Mr Dodds.

The students’ training would include learning about the core values of Marriott, experiencing the company culture and undertaking essential supervisory skills so that when they return to Kigali pre-opening, they could help train their peers being hired for the hotel, he said.

Akilah Women’s Institute executive director, Lisa Martilotta, welcomed the company’s commitment to employing Rwandan locals.

“We’re thrilled with the opportunities the partnership represents for our graduates to extend their skills and achieve their potential in the world class context of Marriott’s first East Africa hotel.

I’m confident they will rise to the challenge and become an inspiration for other Rwandan students,” Ms Martilotta said.

Training will be at no cost to the students. New Century Development Ltd., owners of the Kigali Marriott Hotel, gained sponsorship for the students’ return air tickets courtesy of Rwanda Air’s chairman and each trainee will also get an allowance of AED 1000 per month, plus accommodation, meals and uniform.

A ‘mother’ figure will be appointed at each hotel hosting Akilah Women’s Institute students to support them in the transition into their new training roles and guide their development.

Students will also be able to keep in touch with each other through conference calls and social gatherings while they are away.

The training is just the start of an ongoing programme offering development opportunities to Rwandan nationals.

It’s anticipated a total of 250 local jobs will be created through the opening of the 254-room Kigali Marriott Hotel in 2013.

Marriott is the first international hotel company to go into Rwanda. It currently operates 3800 hotels globally, employing 160,000 employees.

Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) is a leading lodging company based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA with more than 3,700 properties in 73 countries and territories and reported revenues of over $12 billion in fiscal year 2011.

Masai warriors of Kenya have reportedly fled to Tanzania after they killed six lions in the night of Wednesday.

The lions had allegedly strayed from the Nairobi National Park into a home in Ilkeek-Lemedungi Village, Kitengela killing 28 sheep and goats.

The battle between the Lions and Massai warriors lasted about five hours.

One warriors arm was mauled by a lion during the fearce battle. Two lions managed to escape.

When the Lions attcked a home, the livestock owner raised an alarm and about 50 young men turned up with spears, pangas and swords.

Others came in vehicles and used full lights to herd the eight stray lions into a miniature tomb where the warriors butchered them.

The massai warriors are known to be fearless normads who have traditionally fended off Lions attacking their livestock.

Witnesses said three armed Kenya Wildlife Service game wardens arrived at 3am and for about an hour, they prevailed in vain on the warriors not to kill the animals.

The warriors grew restless waiting for game wardens, veterinary officers with every passing second, and turned on the animals in what they said was “Operation Linda Ng’ombe”.

“We killed them in less than 10 minutes because game wardens were slow to act. Why do they (lions) kill our animals and they are our only source of livelihood?” asked a resident who refused to give his name for fear of reprisals.

The warriors vowed to kill more lions until the government fenced off the park and compensated them for losses running into millions of shillings.

In 2005, a Family of Congolese Mountain gorillas migrated to Rwanda and settled in the Volcanoes National Park.

There has since been an agreement between the two countries to share revenues generated from visits made to families of mountain gorillas that switch residence.

Over the weekend the international conservation community marked the ceremony of naming nineteen baby gorillas at Kinigi in Rwanda.

Rwanda thus gave half of the revenues generated from visits made to the family of Congolese mountain gorillas that migrated to Rwanda.

According to Dr. Augustine Kanyunyi, acting director of the International Gorilla Conservation, a family of twenty-three gorillas had migrated to Rwanda in the Volcanoes National Park since 2005.

“We had an arrangement so that the income generated from tourism this family be shared equally between the DRC and Rwanda,” he said adding that each tourist pays U.S. $ 500 for a family visit gorillas.

The same source says that these gorillas are visited every day. But the total amount of the sum has not been reassigned revealed.

A census conducted in 2010 jointly by the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda in the Virunga Massif, the gorilla population there would be 480 individuals (against 380 in the previous census in 2003). This group will add about 300 mountain gorillas of Bwindi Forest.

But since the early clashes between the Armed Forces of DRC (FARDC) and the M23 rebel group in the area of Jomba, in Rutshuru (North Kivu), the mountain gorillas of Virunga National Park have been exposed to crossfire of the warring parties.

According to the director of the park on the DRCongo side, Emmanuel de Merode, it is two hundred gorillas are threatened. This would have suspended tourism which had already begun to grow in the park.

Rwanda’s 2012 gorilla naming ceremony scheduled on 16th June 2012 will attract thousands of people from different parts of the world.

Under the theme “Sustainable tourism for a green economy”, the ceremony aims at recognizing conservation efforts by local communities.

Expected at the Kwita Iziana ceremony include the chairman of International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP).

A series of accompanying events have been organized including; 3Km marathon, schools soccer, tennis, cycling and music performances.

Kwita Izina ceremony is a platform to create awareness about protection of the remaining wild mountain gorillas as well as the conservation of Parc National Du Volcan (PNV).

The Head of Department Tourism and Conservation at RDB, Rica Rwigamba says that since 2005, about 141 mountain gorillas have been named.

In a census conducted in April 2010 showed a 26.3% increase of the mountain gorillas over the past seven years, with an average 3.7% annual growth rate.

Rwigamba explains that the population of mountain gorillas is approximately 800. However, there are over 480 gorillas on the Rwandan side.

Between 2005 and 2011, over Frw1.4 Billion has been expended to support local communities especially improving local infrastructure, water access, schools and handcraft among others.

Growth in tourism revenues would not be possible without the protection of mountain gorillas and conservation of their habitat.

The International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP) is a new grassroots travel & tourism coalition of global destinations committed to Quality Service & Green Growth.

Rwigamba has also assured the public that the Gorillas are safe in their habitat on the Rwandan side despite the ongoing war in the DRCongo.
Early May a Congolese rebel group M23 entered the gorillas’ habitat and set up an operating base at Runyoni, a strategic peak in the Rutshuru territory.

Gun fire, rockets, mortars and anti-aircraft guns are fired towards Virunga park.

However, Rwigamba explains that the damage caused by the war in DRC has not been assessed because Rwandan side does not deploy beyond the boundary although before the uprising, park authorities from both sides conducted joint patrols.

Rwigamba cautions tourists infected with flu and cough not to get any closer to the mountain gorillas, “anybody found sick of cough and flu will be denied access to the gorillas and will be refunded”.

Responding to querries about Poaching , Rwigamba explained that the vice has tremendously dropped since 2005 in the Virunga Park. Most of the former poachers are currently engaged in income generating activities and have since dropped poaching activities.

ICTP is a new grassroots travel & tourism coalition of global destinations committed to Quality Service & Green Growth.

The Department of tourism and conservation at RDB is also working closely with East African tourism platform, Association of Hotels in the region and regional media in a bid to make the Kwita Izina Ceremony a regional concept.

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Zambias leader Michael Sata have been honoured by the UN’s World Tourism Organisation, when they signed an agreement in the no-man’s-land on Victoria Falls Bridge.

The agreement will see the two countries co-host the UNWTO general assembly in August next year.

It is not a formal position, although the UNWTO said Mugabe would receive an open letter like other heads of state who have joined its tourism campaign.

Taleb Rifai, secretary general of UNWTO, said: “By coming here, it is recognition, an endorsement on Zimbabwe that it is a safe destination.”
However, the move has been criticised by political opponents.

Kumbi Muchemwa, a spokesman for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said, “Mugabe is under international sanctions. How do you have an international tourism ambassador who can’t travel to other countries?
Mugabe’s spokesman Rugare Gumbo said that the “situation on the ground in Zimbabwe is not as bad as portrayed”.

Mugabe and his aides are subject to an EU travel ban that prevents him from travelling to EU countries.

Navi Pillay, the UN human rights chief, last week urged Western countries to suspend sanctions against Mugabe and his close aides to give Zimbabwe a chance to implement much needed reforms.

“I would urge those countries that are currently applying sanctions on Zimbabwe to suspend them, at least until the conduct of the elections and related reforms are clear,” she said in Harare after a five-day visit.

“Sanctions should be entirely suspended for people to entirely focus on economic issues that need to be addressed.”

Mountain gorillas at Virunga Mountains are at risk following the current war in eastern DR Congo.

According to Emmanuel de Merode the director of the Virunga Park, the mountain gorillas are the star tourist attractions “but since the fighting broke out on May 15, the tourists stopped coming”.

The virunga mountain park is shared between Rwanda, Uganda and the DRCongo. This place is a natural habitat for the mountain gorillas.

Most affected is the area of the Virunga mountains overlooking the towns of Jomba and Bunagana close to the Uganda border which are home to 200 of the endangered primates.

The ongoing fighting is reportedly between DRC forces and rebels of the M23 rebel movement. Thousands of Congolese have been displaced, especially in the Rutshuru district of North Kivu province.

The park director said three out of five patrol sectors affected by the fighting have been evacuated leaving the gorillas without care and exposed to the crossfire of the belligerents.

The Virunga Park – formerly known as Albert national park – was created in 1925 during colonial rule and is famous worldwide as one of the very few remaining refuges of the mountain gorilla.

However, since 1996, the park has also been home to various armed groups behind the instability in eastern DR Congo.

Some of the human intruders have not shied off from killing the apes for commercial purposes.

To many in Rwanda a hotel might not strike them as a home away from home. Its prudent to observe a proper hotel etiquette always during your stay at the hotel. Here is a list of the top 10 things not to do when checking in to a hotel.

From treating the staff correctly to keeping your cool, you’ll be sure to have an even more enjoyable escape by using this checklist.

1. Don’t yell at the staff. Ever.

2. Don’t tell anyone your room number. (A desk agent should point to your room number, and not announce it to the world.)

3. Don’t get bent out of shape when the night desk agent asks to see your “new friend’s” identification. Additionally, do not let a hotel employee into your room if they do not have an I.D.

4. Don’t blame hotel staff for stealing your stuff. My personal experience is that the guests eventually find 99% of the items that guests report stolen from their rooms. However, it is your right to ask the manager to call the police to file a police report.

5. Don’t order from room service if you notice the pages are dirty and torn.

6. Don’t use the bathroom washcloths to take off your makeup or shine your shoes.

7. Don’t throw anything in the room garbage if you don’t want the hotel staff to know about it.

8. Don’t abuse the privilege of late checkout. If you really need one past 1:00 p.m., ask for the manager.

9. Don’t leave your luggage unattended in a hotel lobby – even for a second.

10. Don’t be embarrassed! Call the hotel after you’ve checked out, and they will send your forgotten stuff. Just like they would send your baby blanket back to you.

Last week birding tour guides were awarded certificates after three weeks of training at Kitabi College of conservation and environment management at Nyungwe.

The event took place at Serena hotel. According to the chairman Tourism Chamber Edwin Sabuhoro, the three weeks study were aimed at training tour guides gain capacity on meeting and interacting with birds.

“Some of them see the birds, know them and hear them but did not have extra knowledge about them. The main essence was to train them to get more experience and represent the country’s purity in cultural tourism to increase revenue”, he said.

“Where there is tourism there is guiding”, said Manzi Kayihura chairman Rwanda Tour and Travel Association under tourism chamber.

“Guides had to get more knowledge on how to manage the needs of clients to have standards in every aspect of tourism; birding is very important in the tourist target market and requires high capital to improve the quality.

There are tourist organisations around Nyungwe which creates a high experience and it requires high capital to improve the quality,” said Manzi.

One of the students and a tour guide Noura shabamungu said, “it was enjoyable learning more on birds though it required more material.

This is going to increase the number of tourists who have been going to neighbouring countries. We have acquired general knowledge about Rwanda and customer care reactions,” he said.

The Rwanda Development Board in partnership with Google, commence a mapping exercise with the objective of increasing access to information and visibility of Rwanda’s tourism attractions on the web.

This event dubbed Rwanda Tourism MapUp from March 23rd to 24th 2012, started with team’s road trip from Kigali where key touristic features were mapped and continued to Musanze and Rubavu whose attractions were also added to the Google map list.

The Head of Tourism and Conservation at RDB, Rica Rwigamba said that Rwanda is proud to be the first African country to work with Google.

“Citizen mappers and tourism operators to systematically map all tourism facilities and attractions to increase discoverability through search engines.
Today, more than ever, more tourism destinations are chosen through online searches and recommendations by other travelers,” she said.

The Rwanda MapUp brought together 40 participants including professional mappers, GIS experts, university students as well as tourism operators to map all the major tourism features in Rwanda.

As stressed by the Sustainable Tourism Development Master Plan for Rwanda, the internet is now firmly established as the most important means of communication in the global travel industry.

Estimations state that around 70% of travel decisions are made using websites to research information and Google Maps is identified as the major one.

This exercise will be held regularly so as to preserve the accuracy of the maps.