The past week has been an exciting one for Rwandans, especially those in the tourism sector, and tour and travel operators in particular, thanks to the reintroduction of lions in Akagera National Park.

The reintroduction of seven lions in Akagera National Park comes 15 years after the last lion was seen in the park. The development puts Rwanda in position to compete with other national parks in the region like Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda and Masai Mara in Kenya.

Joseph Birori, the chairman of Rwanda Tour and Travel Association, said reintroduction of lions (brought from South Africa) in Akagera National Park is an added value to tour operators ‘menu’, noting that the country has been relying on other national parks in neighbouring countries.

Lions have been on top of the must see list for many tourists visiting Rwanda and their reintroduction is a milestone for the country’s tourism sector.

Birori said the development is a great stride for the country, adding that it will boost tourism revenues.

"We can now proudly recommend Akagera National Park to tourists because anyone visiting a savanna national park expects to see lions.

Osborn Kinene from Eco Tours said the presence of lions in Akagera is like an icing on a cake "because it complements other efforts towards tourism diversification and it will make Rwanda compete ably with other regional national parks”.

"The progress is timely as we try to encourage domestic tourism as well, especially for school children because it is every child’s dream to see a lion,” Kinene said.

The sustainability of Rwanda’s tourism is banked on diversification, and efforts are being made to add more activities and products on what the country has to offer. Rwanda earned $293 million from tourism in 2013.

Over the last decade, leisure and adventure tourism have risen dramatically mainly due to tourism experiences on offer.

Kirenga Kamugisha, the chairman of Rwanda Tour Guides Association, said visitors to Rwanda had to go to other regional parks to see lions, noting that the reintroduction of the big cats is good for sustained sector growth.

Rwanda’s tourism sector continued to grow in the past few years, positioning itself as one of the key sources of foreign exchange for the country.

Last year, the sector registered 9 per cent increase in number of visitors to Rwanda, from 1.14 million visitors to 1.2 million visitors.

business@newtimes.co.rw