STORY: Rwanda promotes quality, safe hotel dining to enhance tourist experience
DATELINE: June 25, 2023
LENGTH: 00:04:24
LOCATION: Kigali
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Rwanda's tourism, kitchen and food processing
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JEAN BOSCO MULINDI, Director of the RSB Product Certification Unit
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): HERMAN MONDISHA, General manager of Lake Kivu Serena Hotel

STORYLINE:

In recent years, Rwanda has emerged as a top tourist destination, captivating visitors with its stunning landscapes, diverse wildlife, and rich cultural heritage.

As the country continues to welcome a growing number of travelers, it has recognized the crucial role that high-quality and safe hotel dining plays in elevating the overall tourism experience.

The Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) and Rwanda Development Board (RDB) recently embarked on a nationwide campaign to sensitize hotels to ensure high-quality and safe hotel dining, enabling tourists to experience a culinary journey that leaves an indelible impression and fosters memories that extend far beyond their travels.

Jean Bosco Mulindi, director of the RSB Product Certification Unit, told Xinhua in an interview that Rwanda is positioning itself as the hub for services, hospitality, and international conferences, and anyone that visits Rwanda should expect to have safe and quality food.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JEAN BOSCO MULINDI, Director of the RSB Product Certification Unit
"It is very important for these hotels to serve safe and quality food to ensure that our visitors are happy not only for the beautiful places we have but also the quality and safety of the food we serve. Compliance with standard requirements is a journey. Even though we do have 17 hotels already certified, but we do also have more than 60 (hotels) which are in the process. So what we have done, we, first of all, built a capacity for these hotels to be able to comply with the standard requirements. And we are planning to extend more to make sure that not only the hotels, but also other services, institutions and enterprises, dealing in catering services are certified."

Herman Mondisha, general manager of Lake Kivu Serena Hotel in Rwanda's second largest city of Gisenyi, said the establishment ensures the safety of everything served to its customers, following a rigorous process to prevent any contamination throughout the entire value chain.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): HERMAN MONDISHA, General manager of Lake Kivu Serena Hotel
"The last three years, I think from 2020, the nation insisted on good food programs. The food chain is handled to support tourism. Tourism is one of the key factors in the economy. From 2020, up to now, we have undergone a process, where our unit was involved in training through RSB. We noticed that there are a few things we were doing them right but there are gaps. And we really appreciate that the government's push for these programs so that we can be satisfied and to ensure that our clients who come here are safer."

Rwanda's tourism revenues rose to 445 million U.S. dollars in 2022, up 171.3 percent from the previous year, according to the latest RDB figures.

The country attracted about 110,000 visitors to its national parks in 2022, an increase of 142.4 percent from 2021. Rwanda aims to increase tourism receipts to 800 million dollars by 2024.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kigali.
(XHTV)