Rwandan hotels are soon to be rated under the same conditions the regional hotels are classified.

Rosette Rugamba the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said that under the Articles 115 and 116 of the treaty for establishment of the EAC, the country needs to develop the quality of hospitality facilities for visitors within the region in conformity with that of the region.

"The articles outline the principles for cooperation in tourism and wildlife management. In order to achieve the objectives of the community, there is need to develop the quality of hospitality facilities for the visitors with in the region,” she said

Rwanda Development Board (RDB) is now in preparations of conducting a classification of all national hospitality facilities in order to harmonise standards with EAC.

As part of the preparation for classification exercise, 16 assessors from RDB, Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS), Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Health, Kigali City Council (KCC) and the Private Sector Federation (PSF) have been trained to carry out the assessment of the established facilities.

The trained assessors include four members that were trained at the East African level who will also train other assessors at the national level.

According to Rugamba, the purpose of this training is to build the capacity of the national assessors who would carry out the assessment in the country on the basis of the East African standards criteria.

Among the minimum standards in the EAC standards criteria includes occupational permits, valid operating license, drainage, sewage disposal, safe deposit, water supply and fire safety.

The move to harmonise standards in EAC will raise the quality of services and facilities offered to the tourists within the region.

A statement from EAC secretary general Juma Mwapachu stress that, "the standardization and classification of EAC accommodation establishments will help to promote EAC as a single tourist destination.”

The study of classifiable facilities is also being carried out in order to determine those that will be classified. The study looks at whether these establishments meet the minimum standards which are the prerequisite for classification.

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