Rwanda is aiming to attract more Middle Eastern travellers from its attendance at the International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM 2019) in Tel Aviv on February 12 and 13.

IMTM is the largest professional tourism fair and B2B event in the eastern Mediterranean, attracting delegates from 50 countries, with 1 720 exhibitors, 235 hosted buyers and 18 250 trade visitors.

The Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the Rwandan Embassy in Israel and a number of Rwandan tour operators are present at the Visit Rwanda pavilion, where visitors have also been getting a chance to sample fresh Rwandan coffee and tea.

Eugene Mutangana, RDB Acting Head of Tourism and Conservation, said: “RDB’s participation at this show for the first time gives an opportunity to reach the most widely travelled group of people in Mediterranean region.”

In addition to meetings with key travel businesses, RDB hosted a seminar with 70 tour operators promoting Rwanda as a premier business and tourism destination in Africa, whilst building awareness of the country’s diverse experiences for both leisure and business travel.

Ambassador of Rwanda to Israel, Joseph Rutabana, concluded: “Rwanda’s participation in Israel’s leading travel show presents a good opportunity to tap into a fast-growing market of tourists. Israel as a country registers over 1.7 million trips abroad annually with an average of 13% annual growth.”