Uganda wildlife education centre plans first floating restaurant in East Africa

The first phase of the Shs5 billion Uganda Wildlife project is expected to be complete by September.

The idea of a restaurant on water may, for many, have been a thought for Uganda@100 but no, by September this year, the first phase of this high-end, luxurious facility will be complete.

This is after the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre announced plans to build the restaurant on Lake Victoria, as well as develop a multi-purpose white sand beach on the lake shores. The both shut-eye and eye-popping development will be the first “floating” restaurant in East Africa, according to the Uganda wildlife education centre’s executive director, Mr. James Musinguzi.

Officiating at the restaurant’s ground breaking ceremony in Entebbe last Friday, the Minister for Tourism, Ms Maria Mutagamba, said the project, to be executed in three phases, would cost Shs5 billion.

“I am aware that under the National Development Plan, the Pier Restaurant and Beach Development project is one of the anticipated outputs of the ministry. Therefore, the ministry pledges continuous support to Uganda wildlife education centre but more specifically this project because the government is keen to see it take off,” Ms Mutagamba said.

The whole project is expected to be concluded within two years, according to Mr. Joel Aita, an engineer from Joadah Consults, the company that made the plan of the facility, which will be called Pier Restaurant. The restaurant’s foundation was laid in 2007 and government has so far contributed Shs615 million.

To address the unpredictability that often comes with construction on water, the Ministry of Works carried out a series of surveys.

“Our design was adequate but you can’t gamble on nature so we needed a series of tests and the results were impressive,” Mr. Aita said, adding: “We needed concrete strength of C30 to be safe here but the Ministry of Works found that our structure was C40 which means we exceeded the standard.”

The restaurant will be divided into four floors, with the first one housing the main restaurant, the second housing 16 rooms while the top floors will be multi-purpose. The restaurant will have a docking area for boats going to various destinations on L. Victoria.

Uganda Wildlife Authority to mark 150 years since Sir Samuel Baker visit

Tourism is one of Uganda’s strongest attractions. Other than the famous silverback gorillas, 1,050 bird species, panoramic views, the Source of The Nile and diverse cultures, Uganda is endowed with a wealth of history.

In line with this, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is planning to celebrate 150 years since Sir Samuel Baker set foot in Uganda.

UWA’s executive director, Andrew Seguya, said preparations have already started.

“We are organizing celebrations to mark 150 years since Baker first set foot in Uganda. It is going to be such a big event and will trigger modern explorers into action,” Seguya said.

He added that they expect revenue from touris m to double in the near future.

“The onus is upon us to market our stunning attractions, like underground forests in Queen Elizabeth National Park and now Sir Samuel’s View,” said Maria Mutagamba, the tourism minister.

“Tourism is destined to be in the lead as a foreign exchange earner for the economy,” she added.

She made the remarks at the Media Centre on Friday while presenting details of Sir Samuel Baker’s expedition, dating back 149 years.

“I have been to the place where Lady Florence Baker (Sir Samuel Baker’s wife) fell so ill that the hosts began digging her grave, but she mysteriously recovered,” said the leader of the expedition, Julian Fisher.

“I am hereby correcting an impression created by some writers that Sir Samuel Baker was the first person to see Lake Albert,” he said.

The author and photographer of repute, Fisher, argued that there were fishing communities with tribal leaders that existed long before Baker’s trip to Africa.

“Guided by residents, he made its presence known to the rest of the world. And this expedition is not the last one, I am coming back to circumnavigate Lake Victoria. I will be retracing Sir Henry Morton Stanley’s route as well. I am sure this will become another attraction for an exodus of tourists to the Pearl of Africa,” he said.

While here, David Baker, Baker’s grandson and his daughter Melanie, read excerpts from the explorer’s personal diaries at MurchisonNational Park recently.

“I feel privileged to be part of this expedition. I have met traditional leaders like Solomon Gafabusa of Bunyoro and Rwot Acana II of the Acholi. I am lucky they speak English today, but I wonder how Sir Samuel Baker used to communicate,” Baker said.

 

Rwanda Government’s efforts to grow tourism sector get boost

A local aviation company has launched an air emergency medical evacuation service targeting tourists, a move that will boost Rwanda’stourism sector.

Akagera Aviation

Akagera Aviation said the service would provide rapid response rescue and medical care to subscribing tourists, who may experience a serious health problem while in the country.  This development will not only boost the tourism and hospitality sectors, but will also enhance the healthcare system in country, sector players predicted.

“The air ambulance service will cater for tourists in cases of medical emergencies, where evacuation via ground ambulance is not possible,” Bonita Mutoni, the Akagera Aviation commercial manager, said at the launch of the initiative at Mille Collines Hotel in Kiyovu, Kigali on Monday.   The airline has partnered with King Faisal Hospital, the Rwanda Tour and Travel Association and the Rwanda Development Bank to offer the service.

Tourism is currently the country’s biggest foreign exchange earner, having generated $232m (about Rwf153.1b) by October 2012 compared to $204m over the same period in 2011. The government is working on various ways that could help Rwanda become the top tourist destination in the region.

The government has, for example, carried out a customer care awareness campaign to improve service delivery in the services sector. It is also working on a plan that will expand the medical and cultural tourism sub-sectors.

Thirty hotels in Rwanda to be rated this year

 
Umubano is one of the hotels to be rated mid this year.

The exercise, by the board’s tourism department, is one of the measures aimed at ensuring that local hotels meet regional and international standards to improve service delivery in the hospitality industry.

“We are currently examining particular hotels that qualify for this year’s rating, considering their facilities and quality of services offered,” said Emmanuel Werabe, the RDB tourism and quality assurance head.

Other parameters include safety, environment and hygiene standards. Rwandan hotels were operating without any rating until 2011, when RDB came up with the initiative that saw 31 hotels rated that year.

This saw Serena Kigali Hotel and Dubai World Nyungwe Forest Lodge rated as five-star hospitality establishments. Lake Kivu Serena, Hotel Mille Collines, Lemigo Hotel and The Manor Hotel were rated as four star hotels.

RDB said the second, rating slated to take place in May, would be based on the East African standard certifications.

“What we want is to improve on what our hotels are currently doing, but this has to go hand in hand with improving the standards of our hotels if the hospitality industry is to develop,” he said.

Werabe noted that hotels that will be rated in May are those that did not get a chance to be rated for not qualifying among other reasons. They include Orange Courts and Umubano Hotel, both in Kigali. The hotels were not rated because they were upgrading their facilities at the time.

Hotels which were rated in 2011 will be ranked again at the end of this year. RDB officials said those that will not meet standards would have their status downgraded.

Dennis Karera, the Rwanda Hotel and Restaurant Association chairman, recently called on RDB to consider only hotels which have subscribed to the association in the forthcoming rating.

Hoteliers have largely ignored the association.  For a hotel to join the association, it pays Rwf100, 000 membership fee and an annual subscription charges.

A five-star hotel pays Rwf1.5m.

The records that this paper obtained showed that out of the 247 hotels that had been identified, only 30 had joined the association.

Seychelles and Rwanda to develop new areas of cooperation in tourism

Seychelles and Rwanda are set to open up new ground for partnership in the tourism and culture arenas. Both countries agreed on the drafting of a proposed Memorandum of Understanding for tourism and cultural exchanges. The newly-designated Rwandan High Commissioner to Seychelles, Dr. Ben Rugangazi, has expressed his willingness to work with the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St.Ange, to develop new areas of cooperation in tourism and culture between both countries.

Dr. Ben Rugangazi made this pledge during a courtesy call to Minister St.Ange at his offices at the National Cultural Center in Victoria. Dr. Ben Ruganzazi said that Rwanda has watched closely Seychelles’ heightened progress in crystalizing its tourism industry as the pillar of the economy. He said that to develop the country’s natural parks, hot springs, and unique gorillas earmarked as tourism amenities, Rwanda would need to follow the Seychelles expertise to showcase itself as a valuable tourism destination.

In the proposed drafting of the Memorandum of Understanding Dr. Rugangazi said he would establish the broad line upon which Seychelles and Rwanda could showcase their diversities. The Seychelles Minister for Tourismand Culture, Alain St.Ange, on his part said that Seychelles and Rwanda can benefit strongly from each other, but needed to work together to make it happen.

“I believe that as Africans we should rally together and showcase to the world the diversity that exists in Africa. There’s a lot that we can do together. How we can move forward is something that we alone can decide, but this avenue of Africa–Africa cooperation remains the way forward,” said Minister St.Ange.

Seychelles is set to celebrate the third edition of the “Carnival International de Victoria” on February 8-10, 201,3 and the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St.Ange, invited Rwanda to showcase its culture and people at the Carnival.