As we mark World Tourism Day I look back and smile because this year has been my best as a local tourist. I have taken the bus to Gisenyi, taken another one and gone up to the Rwanda-Burundi border, there’s no cuisine I thought of and did not find. And while at that, I ensured I did not spend more than I could afford.

During my early encounter with a tourism advocate, Dr Carmen Nibigira, she emphasised the need to travel and its importance. Not that I was hearing of it for the first time but the few hours I spent with her made me reflect and take the decision to travel, especially here at home. I started by leaving the city and going to places that would cost no more than Rwf 3000 in fare. 

Travel broadens your mind, it enables you to see a world you never thought existed, it teaches you about other people’s way of life, helps you plan for your future. A lot of us don’t travel because we do not plan, when we see tourists from outside the country we assume they have a lot of money, which is far from the truth. All they did was plan ahead and save. Some of them actually travel after retirement using a whole lifetime’s savings. Whenever my friends and I plan a trip, say three months ahead, and decide how much every individual will contribute, it works out more easily than when we wake up and jump on a trend or bandwagon; the latter is likely to leave anyone with regrets because not enough time was taken to actualise it. 

Here in Kigali I have come across tour and travel companies that organise trips for individuals or groups of people, a trip that would normally cost Rwf 50, 000, could cost Rwf 30, 000 because the negotiations were done for groups and it’s more affordable. The beginning of change in anyone’s life starts with them moving out of an environment they are used to, out of their comfort zone! Remember a time when housemaids used to be gotten from the rural areas? Many would take a while to adapt but once that part was done they would ask to be enrolled at a tailoring school, they would in most cases learn a new a language to be able to communicate with the children they looked after, learnt new recipes and how to keep a home clean. They learnt how to cross city roads or shop grocery and life would never be the same for them. Even when the job was no more and they had to return to the village they stood out, because they had experienced a new and different way of living. The Swahili have a saying that he who hasn’t t asted food prepared by another person would think their mother is the best cook, the lesson there is, for you to experience a difference you must get out of a zone you’re used to. 

Plan a trip out of town this weekend to a place not very far, you can choose to sleep there or come back the same day, trust me, the Monday after will feel heavenly. Your energy, passion and hope for the future will be renewed. 

Happy World Tourism Day 2019, a toast to ‘Tourism and Jobs: a better future for all.’