Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has announced a schedule for the 5th anniversary of the gorilla naming ceremony, which is commonly known as ‘Kwita Izina’. 

Information from RDB revealed that the ‘Kwita Izina’ event will be held on the 20th June, in Musanze district (former Ruhengeri). The event will be a celebration for every gorilla’s birth and the success of efforts to conserve the endagered species.

"We shall celebrate the birth of 11 gorillas that will be given names. We use this event to raise awareness on the plight of this endangered species,” reads the statement. 

This event is also in line with the United Nations (UN)’s declaration of 2009 as the "Year of the Gorilla”.

As the country’s premier tourism event, it is expected to contribute greatly to the projected 1.14 million visitors this year.

These according to RDB, will generate $224 million (Rwf.125.4 billion) of revenues, representing a 4.5 percentage increase over last year’s earnings.

Some of the other strategies are to achieve the targets including the marketing of the newly launched Nyungwe National Park; and the launch of new products such as boat transport on Lake Kivu in Western Rwanda.

The tourism sector will enhance these efforts in a new product called ‘Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism, as well as cultural and bird tourism to achieve the set targets.  

Last year, the internationally renowned event was held in Kinigi (Northern Rwanda). It was mainly focusing at increasing the general public’s awareness on development of tourism and conservation in Rwanda.

A high profile conservation conference was also held with an impressive panel of 150 environmental researchers, policymakers and activists.

Ends