The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), a global meetings industry network, has ranked Rwanda and her capital city, Kigali the third most popular destinations in Africa for accommodating international meetings and events.
The rankings, which were released by the ICCA on Monday are based on the number of association meetings taking place regularly (annually, biannually) rotating between at least three different countries and with at least 50 participants.
The association meetings organized by Rwanda included several high-level conferences such as Africa Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), Board Meeting of the Global Fund (BMGF), Annual Tourism Conference of the Africa Travel Association (ATA) and Annual General Assembly of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) among others.
Rwanda is currently hosting over 4000 delegates attending the Transform Africa Summit 2018.
Commenting on the rankings, the Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Convention Bureau (RCB), Denise B. Omany welcomed the position saying that they are working hard to attain more good position.
“These rankings are proof that our MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) strategy is creating value. Rwanda recorded 28,308 delegates in 2017, up from 23,804 in 2016. Tourism is the country’s largest foreign exchange earner and MICE is playing an important role in its growth, bringing in 15% of all tourism revenue,” Omany said.
MICE tourism contributed USD42 million in 2017 and they target to increase it to USD74 million this year.
“We are glad to retain the third position and we are working incredibly hard on attaining an even better position through hosting even more association meetings. With the support of the Government, as well as the private sector, Rwanda has been able to establish herself as a safe, secure MICE destination of choice due to the presence of world-class MICE venues, accommodation facilities, connectivity options and ease of service due to RCB support” Omany added.
According to Rwanda Convention Bureau, Rwanda is a preferred MICE destination due to its simplified visa process that allows nationals of every country in the world to get a visa on arrival for all visitors in addition to its easy accessibility due to the multitude of flight options offering connectivity to Kigali and the rest of Africa though the national carrier, Rwandair.
Rwanda Convention Bureau is the Africa’s latest International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Member. src:Igihe
The Express News
