Business
New hotels and infrastructure raise Kigali’s game in Rwanda
Marriott under construction in Kigali, Rwanda
Global chains, direct flights and a state-of-the-art conference centre will bring yet more visitors to a capital in demand. Rwanda’s drive to become one of East Africa’s conference hub is gaining speed with the anticipated entry of two global hotel brands in 2014.
Rezidor, owners of the Radisson brand, and Marriott are expected to open hotels by the end of this year, thereby improving the country’s competitiveness. The Kigali government had projected revenue from conference tourism to reach $40 million by 2012, but the shortage of high-end accommodation denied the capital the competitive edge enjoyed by Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam. Currently, Serena Hotel is the only five-star facility in Rwanda.
The completion of the $300 million Kigali Convention Centre (KCC), a facility that will house the five-star Radisson Blu with 292 rooms along with an information technology office park and conference hall that can seat 2,600 people, will improve Kigali’s performance in the service sector and also attract tourists and boost revenue. Though the KCC might not open until 2015, the Radisson Blu is scheduled to open for business by mid-2014.
Building on experience
Hubert Ruzibiza, the head of services development at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said, “Rwanda has attracted many international events and conferences, and now we are strategically positioned as a destination for conferences, which need the right logistic and accommodation in order to be relevant in the global arena of events and conferences.”
While the service sector currently accounts for 47% of gross domestic product, the government plans to increase this to 55% in 2020 to make it the leading job creator in the economy. As Ruzibiza explained, “Such an entry [of five-star hotels] in our market represents a huge opportunity for job creation, with more than 70% of jobs created in Kigali for the past 10 years in the services sector.”
In 2012, total revenue from tourism climbed to $281 million up from $251.3 million in 2011. According to statistics from the RDB, making it the country’s top foreign-exchange earner. In 2013, the sector generated $217 million between January and October, which represents a 4% increase over the same period in 2012. The government said it is targeting annual revenue of $860 million by 2017.
Training Center
The limited availability of skills also poses challenges for the service sector and as a result, the Kigali Marriott has set up a training center for its staff. It is hosting some 30 employees attached to its brands in the Middle East. The hotel had been slated to host the 49th annual meeting of the African Development Bank group and the 40th meeting of the African Development Fund in Kigali in May, but the opening has now been delayed until December 2014.
Demand for hotel space has surged in recent years with an increasing number of tourists, expatriates and businesses seeking regional expansion. However, the number of hotel rooms available, currently estimated at 6,500 rooms, is insufficient to meet rising demand.
“Improved availability of accommodation and connectivity means that Rwanda can attract more conferences it is not attracting at the moment. Kigali can be made a preferred destination by making accommodation affordable and available,” argues Solomon Adede, deputy CEO of New Century Development, which owns the Kigali Marriott.
Furthermore, Rwanda is also counting on the aggressive expansion of its national carrier RwandAir to boost its ability to host conferences. At the moment, the airline is purchasing more aircraft and launching new routes and more direct flights to the country. This is in addition to the launch of more directs flights to Kigali by airlines including Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airlines in 2013 and 2012, respectively.
As of now, Brussels Airlines had been the only international airline operating direct flights from Europe to Kigali before KLM started its flights in 2010.
Source: The Africa Report