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In 2001, skeptics thought that the notion of building the competitiveness of Rwanda’s tourism industry was laughable. Handicapped by a legacy of ge...
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In 2001, skeptics thought that the notion of building the competitiveness of Rwanda’s tourism industry was laughable. Handicapped by a legacy of genocide and its isolated location in the heart of Africa, most assumed that the country was too dangerous, too far away and too expensive to attract tourists. To overcome the serious constraints facing the tourism sector, OTF Group implemented its 5-Step Process for Industry Development, a participatory and data-driven value chain approach. Six years later, Rwanda’s tourism sector has had a renaissance. Receipts are surging, the mountain gorilla is a world-renowned attraction and the country won first prize at a major international tourism fair for “Best African Exhibitor” in 2007. This case study delves into the details OTF’s use of the value chain approach (VCA) to mobilize the tourism sector and transform it into a cornerstone of Rwanda’s post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation process.
OTF has a long and ongoing relationship advising the government and private sector of Rwanda on the competitiveness of three key export sectors: coffee, tea and tourism. This case study draws on the direct experience of two OTF research team members facilitating the tourism workgroup (TWG), an informal body composed of public and private sector tourism professionals, and the research and analysis the OTF team conducted. While writing the case study, the team also interviewed TWG members to pinpoint areas of relative strength and weakness in OTF’s application of the value chain approach. Both the experience and analysis were customized to address the research questions, which the technical team asked OTF to explore in order to better understand the impact of upgrading Rwanda’s tourism sector in rebuilding its overall economy.
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