Dear Editor,

Allow me through your paper to thank the Tourism Office for marketing Rwanda as positioning the country as a leading tourism destination in the region.

My particular thanks go to Chantal Rosette Rugamba, the Director General ORTPN and her team for marketing and turning around this sector to a big employer and revenue earner.

I remember when Rugamba took over the office, tourism used to be among the least revenue earners in the country but today, the sector is leading.

Reports that the number of visitors has tremendously increased from 826,374 in 2007, hitting the 1 million mark in 2008—a 30 percent increase is also encouraging.

Remember this a time the world is facing a credit crunch. Market speculators used to warn that the global financial crisis would hit tourism hard but this has not yet affected Rwanda, partly because what we offer is unique.

This means Rugamba and her team are working tirelessly but they must not tire because they have set the standards that have to be improved if more tourists are to visit Rwanda.

Even the villagers who live near parks speak proud of you and your team for supporting them. You have made them love the flora and fauna.

Those days the community used to destroy the very wildlife that is making Rwanda a world tourism destination. Because the community feels part of facilities, cases of fires and killing of the wild animals have almost stopped.

The few that happen take months and months to be registered. When you visit these communities and talk to them, they will tell you that the health centers at Banda, Ngange and Gasumo serving about 30,000 Rwandans surrounding the Nyungwe National Park were built but ORTPN.

In the revenue sharing programme, ORTPN has also constructed 26 houses for vulnerable families living around the Volcanoes National Park.

Kimironko