From 21st and 22nd May Kigali will host an e-Tourism Seminar, to be attended by students and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operators. The seminar will pave way for business operators particularly in the tourism sector to do their marketing online.

Coca-Cola East and Central Africa Business Unit will sponsor ten small tourism organisations. This will be the first time Rwandan students and SMEs attend the e-Tourism Seminar.

"We must do all we can to support and encourage our SMEs to harness online opportunities. The growth of Information Communication Technology is key in ensuring competitiveness in Rwanda’s tourism sector,” said Edwin Sabuhoro, the head of the Rwandan Tours and Travel Association.

He praised Coca-Col for their support in sponsoring the SMEs for the e-tourism seminar because the exposure that these students and small businesses will gain from the new ideas and technologies presented at the seminar, will be priceless.

The seminar programme will feature presentations from many of the world’s top online companies, including Expedia, New Mind and Trip Advisor.

"Increasingly people are developing and sharing information through digital and social media (e.g. blogs, tweets, YouTube, Facebook etc...), and Coca-Cola recognizes that new media is a very important communication channel,” said Norah Odwesso, the Public Affairs Director for Coca-Cola in East and Central Africa.

"By sponsoring the tourism sector to attend the E-Tourism seminar we will be helping Rwanda’s youth to better understand and use new and online media to market Rwanda as a tourism destination, Odwesso added.

In East Africa, Coca-Cola has been active online with the formation of special page on Facebook for the COPA Coca-Cola Football Tournament, running across the region.

Ms Odwesso said that although Africa may be the last frontier in the digital space, it is fast catching up and with the coming of the fibre optic cables to East Africa in June. Internet costs will be lowered and broadband speeds will be increased – making the internet more affordable and more effective for many Rwandans.

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