Challenges of Rwanda Tourism Sector
THE TOP CHALLENGES OF RWANDA TOURISM SECTOR
Rwanda is among the famous tourist destination in Africa and the world at large. The fact that Rwanda has three National Parks (Volcanoes N.P, Nyungwe N.P & Akagera national Park) makes it a potential destination for tourists. Rwanda tourism sector lean on primate trekking: Mountain Gorillas, chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, Golden monkeys among others. The beautiful relief which is made up of Virunga Mountains shouldn’t also be underestimated! However, it’s unfortunate that Rwanda’s tourism sector is facing the following limitations/ challenges:
High population growth, the high growing population of Rwanda is a liability to the tourism sector. The high population has put much pressure on natural resources like forest, swamps, relief and drainage features. It is estimated that the population density of Rwanda is close to 300 people per square kilometre. The big population means that people will often want to partake in the resources in the country's game parks, especially land for agriculture and wood and water resources.
The second challenge is the need to clearly show the link between conservation and economic development. Many people do not appreciate the value of tourism resources and why they should be conserved and yet tourism remains a key source of revenue for Rwanda.
The Insufficient human capacity –there is a need to train more people to take charge of Game parks and their conservation role.
Limited funds- Currently, Rwanda National parks have not yet reached a level of financing them selves. The government has to inject in more fund to fulfill the annual budgets to run the industry.
There is the challenge of ensuring that Rwanda doesn’t deplete its tourism resources by failing to practice sustainable and responsible tourism. The task of protecting the wildlife and their habitat is hard because poaching is still rampant in Rwanda on addition to encroachments of people to the reserves due to high population growth rates.
