Rwanda News Agency/Agence Rwandaise d'Information (Kigali)
10 June 2008
Kigali — Rwandan mountain gorillas are so precious that they have attracted tourists representing about 92 nationalities out of the worldwide total of 240, Director-General of the Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Parks - ORTPN - said this week.
Ms. Rosette Rugamba said last year alone, the ever increasing number of tourists coming to Rwanda to watch the gorillas brought in some $7 million (about Rwf 3.8 billion) in receipts. The entire tourism sector garnered some $42.3 million.
Officials from ORTPN were on Sunday at a public discussion in preparation for the Kwita Izina - gorilla naming - Ceremony due June 21 and expected to attract hundreds of international guests.
Some 150 Conservationists, researchers and development partners are also planned to converge for a high profile conference on June 19. Numerous activities have also been lined up including cultural festivities.
The ceremony of giving a name to a new born baby commonly known as "Kwita Izina" has been part of the Rwandan tradition for centuries. This will be the fourth year in a row that such a function is organized.
Ms. Rugamba said for the same year, about 40.000 tourists visited the country.
However, according to ORTPN, these figures do not reflect the exact numbers of tourists. In collaboration with the National Institute of Statistics, the agency plans to review how its data is collected.
Available information indicates that visitors have come largely from North America and Europe.
The endangered mountain gorillas - about one third of the 750 mountain gorillas only left in the world - still survive in the Virunga Massif, a chain of volcanic mountains linking Rwanda to the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Uganda.
The mountain gorillas still survive mainly thanks to the renewed efforts of the national conservation authorities and the local populations of the three countries. Various international NGOs have also engaged through advocacy towards the protection of mountain gorillas and their active role in conservation.
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