Gorilla Naming Ceremony Expected To Boost Tourism in Rwanda

Gorilla Naming Ceremony Expected To Boost Tourism in Rwanda

On Friday September 6th, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) will be hosting the annual 'Kwita Izina' gorilla naming ceremony at Volcanoes National Park, and will be immediately following it up by holding the first ever Business of Conservation Conference (BCC) from September 8th-9th. The BCC was organised in partnership with the African Leadership University, aiming to bring global conservation leaders together to link conservation with sustainable tourism. In addition to this, on September 7th a conservation exhibition focused on the conservation trends and practices will take place and will be open to the public.

On August 23, the RDB also donated 729 cows to communities surrounding the Volcanoes National Park in the Burera, Nyabihu, Musanze, and Rubavu districts as part of the RDB Tourism Revenue Share Programme which was initiated in 2005 and aims to guide investment in the areas surrounding Rwanda’s national parks, and helps to ensure that 10% of all park revenue is given back to the communities.

Since 2005 the RDB has distributed over RWF5.2bn (£4.6m) to 647 community-based projects. These projects have led to clean drinking water, milk, health centres, classrooms, and housing to members of the communities living around the Akagera, Nyungwe and Volcanoes National Parks.