The 2015 International Tourism Market (ITB) which takes place every year in Berlin in the German capital, Rwanda has won two prizes as the best African and world prize in the exhibition. According to Yamina Karitanyi, Tourism Officer at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), this year’s International Tourism Market (ITB), Rwanda was seconded by Kenya, and Tunisia came third.

Other African countries that appear in the top 10 are Namibia, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Gambia and Seychelles. This year, the ITB attracted 186 countries and nearly 200,000 people.

According to Karitanyi, Rwanda’s rich history, culture, diversity and experience in wildlife attract many people to Berlin. “This year we focused on attracting potential customers to Rwanda via our private sector. We are very happy to have won these two awards, the best African and world exhibitor in 2015 in Berlin. This will increase the confidence of our tourism in the international market”.

Karitanyi invited other Africans to visit Rwanda’s stand to share the experience. “It is time for Africans to know more about their neighboring countries. As we want to link continental travel, this is an opportunity to explore Africa. Tourists can have a single visa valid for three countries including, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda,” she added.

The Rwandan tourism sector has seen remarkable growth in recent years. Last year (2014), the number of tourists increased by 9%. The number of tourists increased from 1.14 million to 1.2 million Tourism revenues increased from $296.4 million to $303 million. RDB said it has plans to increase these revenues to $860 million by 2017.

ITB is a platform that gives countries around the world an opportunity to showcase their tourism products to the world. The exhibition takes place every year in Berlin, Germany.