Kigali Convention Centre, October 11th, 2017
KIGALI, Rwanda, October 11, 2017/ — Speech of The RT. Hon. Prime Minister, Dr. Edouard Ngirente at the Official Opening of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum.
• Honourable Ministers,
• Chief Executive Officer, RDB
• Chief Executive Officer of Bench Events,
• Distinguished Guests,
• Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning!

On behalf of the Government of Rwanda, I am pleased to preside over, the official opening of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum that is taking place here at the Kigali Convention Centre.
I wish to thank organisers of this Forum for having chosen Rwanda as a venue. I would like to warmly welcome you all to Rwanda. To all of you, especially those who came from near and far, please feel at home. We value your presence a lot.

The Government of Rwanda would like to reiterate its commitment to ensure that this three-day forum becomes a success.
• Excellencies,
• Ladies and Gentlemen,
The African Hotel industry is one of the fastest growing sectors with an estimated contribution of 8% to Africa’s GDP and is projected to rise at 4.9% per year until 2025. For Africa, to achieve this growth target, there is a need to put in place strategies that support investments in the tourism sector.

Under the leadership of His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of the Republic, Rwanda has made significant progress in the tourism industry. This was mainly achieved through the development of tourism infrastructure, especially through the expansion of RwandAir’s routes; and investments in a number of leading international hotel brands. As a result, more jobs were created, especially for the youth.
• Excellencies,
• Ladies and Gentlemen,
This forum has come at a time when African countries are joining effort with various stakeholders to boost the hospitality sector. For Rwanda, it is being organised subsequent to the commitment by the Government of Rwanda to implement its Seven Year Programme, 2017-2024. In this program, we target to double our tourism revenues to USD 800 million by 2024 from USD 404 million.

I therefore urge all participants to this Forum to share experience on good policies; and advise on how well we can grow the tourism sector in Africa and hotel industry in particular.

In this forum, Rwanda is delighted to showcase some exciting new investment opportunities in the growing tourism sector. Officials from Rwanda Development Board are available to discuss further these opportunities.

As I conclude, I wish to assure all investors that investing in Rwanda is profitable. Rwanda is very secure, economically stable and all our laws are business friendly. Our entire legal framework provides a conducive environment for business. The recent 2017/18 Global Competitiveness report that was released by The World Economic Forum put Rwanda on the second position in Africa.

With these remarks, I want to thank, once again, the organisers and participants of the 2017 Africa Hotel Investment Forum for choosing Rwanda as a host. I wish you fruitful deliberations. It is now with pleasure that I declare the 2017 Africa Hotel Investment Forum officially open.

Thank you for your attention.

The new PATA CEO has been confirmed by the Executive Board of the Pacific Asia Travel Association.

PATA has extended the contract of Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mario Hardy for a period of three years commencing January 1, 2018.

PATA Chairperson Sarah Mathews said, “I am delighted that Mario has agreed to continue as our Chief Executive Officer. Under his outstanding leadership, the Association has made considerable progress and I am confident he will continue to lead PATA and support the needs of our members. PATA remains an association dedicated to all its members and will continue to assist them in the ever-evolving landscape of tourism and travel.  Mario and his team are best placed to help drive a continued period of growth.”

Dr Hardy said, “I am delighted to have an opportunity to work with our outstanding management team in building upon the PATA successes of the past three years. We still face many challenges as a membership organisation but our determination to add value to the many benefits of PATA membership is being recognised in the public and private sectors. We shall continue with our primary mission of promoting sustainable and responsibly tourism development throughout the world as we encourage travel to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.”

Mario Hardy joined PATA in 2012 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed Chief Executive Officer on November 1, 2014. He is a past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PATA Foundation, a non-profit organisation with a focus on the protection of the environment, the conservation of culture and heritage, and support for education.

He worked for 26 years in specialised aviation businesses with a focus upon data analytics and technology, occupying leadership roles in Montreal, Vancouver, London, Beijing and Singapore.

In 2016, he received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Capilano University for his philanthropic work in Cambodia where he helped develop a school for underprivileged children and for his support in the development of a Community Based Tourism (CBT) project in Vietnam.

In January 2017 Mario Hardy graduated from the Singularity University, Executive Program on the subject of Exponential Technologies.