BUJUMBURA December 22nd (ABP) – The public-private sector must do everything to sell the image of Burundi, according to the Secretary General of the Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burundi (CFCIB), Mr. Denis Nshimirimana, during the closing of the reflection workshop on reforms and development strategies for the tourism sector, organized Tuesday December 19, 2023 by the Burundi Development Agency (ADB).
Mr. Nshimirimana insisted on Lake Tanganyika, which is the main source of tourist attraction in Burundi, having a coastline that is 160 km from Gatumba to Kabonga in Nyanza-lake commune of Makamba province, with enormous potential.
Mr. Nshimirimana said that Burundi is full of a number of tourist sites which, unfortunately, are not developed. He thus noted a certain number of priorities, in particular a law which governs tourism in Burundi, a public-private partnership and the development of tourist sites.
To overcome all challenges, the secretary general of the CFCIB invited the public and private sector, ambassadors, all people who go on mission and all Burundians who can to publicize the Burundi so that that country attracts tourists.
He demonstrated how today other countries in the region and even those in Africa bring in thousands of dollars from tourist sites. He gave the example of Kenya which, before Covid-19, exceeded the threshold of two billion dollars per year, while Rwanda reached 500 million dollars. Even if performances declined with Covid-19, those countries are recovering today, said Mr. Nshimirimana, who called on Burundi to position itself and develop the tourism sector because, he recognized, that is possible for a country which has Lake Tanganyika whose fauna is very rich, with many species of delicious fish. He also insists on the development of agro-tourism and gastronomic culinary tourism.
The CFCIB Secretary General further revealed that with January 1, 2024, Kenya will no longer require entry visas from all Africans, as will Rwanda. Burundi must follow suit to attract tourists, he hoped, making it known that at the level of the chamber of commerce, they will continue to advocate and sell the image of Burundi.