Rwanda was elected to join the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) for the first time during the 66th Meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for Africa.

The UNWTO is the agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

After receiving 14 votes out of a possible 20, Rwanda joins Ghana, which received 17 votes, Nigeria (15 votes), Namibia (12 votes), Tanzania (12 votes) and DRC (11 votes) for the Executive Council’s 2023-2027 term.

In addition, Rwanda is now part of the working group for the setup of the Tourism PanAfrican Fund together with Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Zambia.

The UNWTO Executive Council acts as the Governing Board of the organisation and takes all necessary measures and decisions linked to global tourism development.

It works directly with the Secretary General and the Council members meet at least twice a year during their four-year tenure.

After the election, Michaëlla Rugwizangoga, Chief Tourism Officer at the Rwanda Development Board, noted:

“We’re very pleased to join the UNWTO Executive Council. Rwanda’s mandate will focus on African integration by promoting intra-African travel, sports tourism, sustainability and nature-positive tourism.”

The Annual General Assembly of the UNWTO will take place in Uzbekistan on 16-18 October 2023.

Algeria will welcome the 67th Regional Commission for Africa meeting in 2024.