Rwanda Development Board has moved to position Rwanda as a destination for ‘wedding tourism’. This was highlighted at the recently concluded India International Travel and Tourism Fair (IITT 2016). At the fair, relayed on Bollywood’s NDTV, an entire session was dedicated to ‘Emerging Wedding Destinations’ with a panel discussion consisting of wedding planners, tour operators, events managers, public relations consultants, among others. During the discussion, Rwanda emerged as an attractive and new destination for wedding tourism. Clarence Fernandes, representative of RDB who was on the panel, highlighted the uniqueness of Rwanda. “There is great new destination appeal and given the high levels of safety and security which Rwanda is well known for, the country could easily attract Indians to come to this new African dawn to celebrate the wedding of their son or daughter,” Fernandes said. The Indian outbound travel market saw a movement of over 20 million people last year, including those who went overseas to celebrate weddings. Wedding tourism is a rapidly growing segment of the Indian outbound travel market. The “big, fat Indian wedding,” as the segment is often referred to, involves a few hundred people who travel to exotic destinations to celebrate an entire marriage ceremony, which, on average, spreads over three to four days. Many destination weddings entail almost a weeklong celebration. Expenditure on such weddings can be as high as $150,000, making such events an attractive proposition. Fernandes said, with over 2,000 Indians who have settled in Rwanda, one could get authentic Indian cuisine in the country. He said Indians should look to the national carrier RwandAir’s planned flights from Mumbai to Kigali, which will make direct connectivity between the two cities when the planned flights begin later in the year or early next year. Minnat Lalpuria Rao, founder and managing director of 7Vachan, a wedding planner company, who was also on the panel, said they would be “absolutely excited to have their weddings in one of the world’s safest places.” Fernandes assured the audience that with visas to Rwanda easily available after a simple online application, coupled with the warmth and hospitality of the Rwandan people, Rwanda could host many Indian weddings in the months and years to come. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
