The Pearl of Africa Tourism expo in Kampala, Uganda, closed yesterday with Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and RwandAir winning excellence awards.

The expo is an annual tourism event in the region organised by Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) to bring together travel agents, tour operators, hoteliers, destination managers and other service providers along the tourism value chain.

RDB and RwandAir won the best tourism board exhibitor and best airline, respectively.

"This Award gives pride to Rwanda as a tourism destination but it also challenges us to keep Rwanda on the world tourism map and work harder to make destination Rwanda more competitive,” said Philibert Ndandali, the RDB representative.

The awarding criteria includes product showcased, branding of stand, hospitality at the stand, entertainment for visitors, and give-away promotional materials. 

"We are so happy for the award. It is a clear manifestation of our mission to provide the best, safe and reliable services in air transportation and making RwandAir the airline of obvious choice in the markets we serve,” said Ada Mugyenyi, the RwandAir’s country manager for Uganda.

The third Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo also attracted tourism stakeholders and other service providers in the tourism sector from both the East African region and the international community.

In Rwanda, tourism remains the top foreign exchange earner having generated $367 million in 2015.

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