WTTC Global Summit 2023_ Shaping a Resilient and Inclusive Tourism Future
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NewsTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:13 I'm delighted to share with you that we will hear from global economist Justin Urquhart-Stewart,
00:19 climate activist Inenza Umoza Grace, and footballing legend Didier Drogba.
00:26 If anyone knows about Chelsea Football Club in the UK,
00:30 he's probably one of the best players that we've ever had, and he comes from the Cote d'Ivoire.
00:36 We have more than a thousand people attending the summit in person,
00:40 and thousands more joining virtually, and we have about 45 countries represented.
00:48 Many of them are brought ministerial delegations,
00:51 and we also for the first time have two heads of state coming, two existing heads of state from the region.
00:59 Over the next few days, we will be launching a groundbreaking report
01:04 featuring the potential of travel and tourism in the African continent,
01:10 and there will be a separate press conference to announce that report.
01:15 And we will also be launching our latest report on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
01:22 [Music]
01:32 Welcome also to the WTTC Global Summit.
01:38 For the first time being convened on the continent of Africa and here in Rwanda,
01:45 so we are very, very delighted to be the first host of this incredible summit on the African continent.
01:53 And so for us, that means that this is an African summit.
01:58 It's not a random summit alone,
02:01 because today we celebrate a milestone that has taken 23 years to happen.
02:10 And so we are very glad that you came in large numbers, members of the media fraternity,
02:16 because this is important to us.
02:18 Tourism, you see, has brought Rwanda closer to the world, and brought the world closer to Rwanda.
02:27 And we are delighted that you will play a role in continuing to enhance that major contact
02:34 that our country has with the world.
02:36 Tourism in Rwanda has come a long way,
02:39 and we want to hope that you will also be able to enjoy and witness this by yourselves.
02:47 Over 30 years ago, there was no tourism sector to talk about,
02:53 because we had not made the sufficient investments,
02:57 we had not made the kind of interactions with the private sector to grow the tourism sector.
03:04 Since then, Rwanda has embarked on a journey driven primarily by conservation efforts
03:13 to grow nature-based leisure tourism,
03:17 which now continues to be our largest foreign exchange partner for the country.
03:23 In fact, it also employs more than 200,000 people in the tourism sector directly,
03:34 and probably more than 500,000 indirectly.
03:39 The tourism sector also plays a critical role in building bridges for foreign direct investment.
03:48 We know that many of our foreign investors who come to Rwanda to start their business
03:55 initially start as investors,
03:58 because they would not have known about Rwanda and the business opportunities had it not been for tourism.
04:05 And so, by continuing to promote our tourism sector indirectly,
04:11 it also helps us to enhance the growth of the private investment into our country.
04:18 In fact, it has also helped us to understand more the business needs,
04:24 and helped us more to understand better policies and regulations and administrative processes
04:33 that have made Rwanda one of the easiest places to do business in Africa.
04:40 In fact, by international rankings, we are second.
04:46 And so, it's not surprising that year on year, Rwanda continues to be the fastest growing economy on our continent.
04:55 So, we want to make sure that by participating in this WTTC Global Conference,
05:01 you will also witness what is going on in the economic transformation of our country.
05:08 But as Julia said, it shouldn't all be work.
05:12 We hope that you have some fun.
05:14 We are here to host you, to make your stay in Rwanda enjoyable,
05:20 and indeed to make it a memorable experience so that you can come back,
05:25 but also that you can go as an ambassador for Rwanda and tell others about the story of your experience here.
05:33 [Music]