Rwanda Development Board (RDB/Tourism) has embarked on a campaign to promote use of financial benefits from tourism to effectively reduce poverty levels in the country.

In a power point presentation titled; ‘Role of tourism in poverty alleviation in Rwanda,’ Emmanuel Warebe a senior official in RDB,  revealed the strategies already in place to ensure that the poor get a share of the foreign exchange earned through tourism.

"We introduced revenue sharing scheme in 2005. Five percent of park revenues are offered to communities as incentives for conservation,” he disclosed.

The primary beneficiaries to these revenues are communities leaving near the national parks.

Werabe also disclosed that $546, 278 as a fraction of earnings from tourism have so far been ploughed back into the society to support community projects. 

Tourism is the highest foreign exchange earner for the country.  In his presentation, Werabe projected that by 2010; tourism is expected to reach a target of $225m and direct employment of 490, 000 people.
 
Werabe made the presentation at a workshop that focused on pro-poor tourism, and it had brought together various stakeholders in the tourism sector from across the East African Community.

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