RUTANA August 4th (ABP) – As the number of foreign tourists visiting Karera Falls, a tourist site located in Shanga zone, Musongati commune, Rutana province, increased in the first half of this year compared to that of last year, that of Burundians who go there has dropped, the head of natural monuments in eastern Burundi, Mr. Désiré Manirakiza, told a check by ABP on Wednesday August 2, 2023 during an interview.
Mr. Manirakiza said that those sites receive more visitors during the dry season than during the rainy season. At the end of the first half of 2022, three hundred tourists were welcomed compared to four hundred this year, which made it possible to collect more foreign currency than last year. In the same period of 2022, there was no currency in the boxes, but this year, two thousand US dollars and two hundred and eighty euros, are available in the boxes, he said.
Regarding the Burundians who visited this site, there were already two thousand three hundred in the aforementioned period in 2022, against one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-three, this year. This caused the drop in the revenue in Burundi francs from fifteen million last year to eight million this year, Mr. Manirakiza said.
That official, however, deplores the poor condition of the road leading there, pointing out that small cars have difficulty getting there.
He called on the media to publicize those beautiful sites for both national and international audiences. He also called on the government to rehabilitate that road, which will allow an increase in visitors.