RUYIGI January 12th (ABP) – Private operators in the hotel and tourism sector in Ruyigi province ask the Government to lower the licensing fees of their institutions and the taxes they pay annually for that sector to experience sustainable development in that province.
That appeal was made after an exchange retreat on the content of the new national policy governing that sector in Burundi, organized by the Sectoral House of Hotels and Tourism in Burundi (HTB). The retreat saw the establishment of a provincial consultation and management body in that sector.
As indicated by Mr. Herman Ndayisaba, expert from the sectoral house of hotels and tourism in Burundi, that sector has some organizational shortcomings which cause monetary losses and the place of Burundi is far behind compared to the other country of the East African community. He said that Burundi has tourist assets such as nature reserves and parks, thermal waters and waterfalls. There are also hotel infrastructures that should be harnessed to the maximum, and the related income remains very low compared to other countries in the sub-region.
According to that expert, the role of those trips is to involve all operators, both private and public, so that they add a touch linked to the reality of each province, to the project of the national policy governing the field of hostelry and tourism, before it was adopted and put into practice.
The operators in that sector in Ruyigi recognize the weak points and propose the main solutions to raise that sector and promote sustainable development. Among other things, they proposed that there be a body responsible for regulating and monitoring the entire hotel and tourism sector, so that there is standardization and coordination of all operations in the sector.
According to those private operators, the national body should cooperate with a provincial body for consultation and management of that sector. They asked the Government for training in the hotel and tourism industry, since most people in that sector are young people who sometimes have no notion in the matter and stressed that they should also know their rights and duties.
The adviser to the Governor of Ruyigi in charge of legal issues, Mr. Mathias Sindoraniwe, positively appreciates the step already taken in that province and promises assistance to that body if necessary. “It is obvious that the hotel and tourism sector was not well organized and thanks to this beginning of the process initiated for the establishment of the national policy for this sector, let us hope that our province will also benefit from it. At this provincial consultation body for hoteliers in Ruyigi, we will always be by their side and will help them as much as necessary,” he announced.