An evaluation of the tourism value-chain as an alternative to socio-economic development in Rwanda, Africa

Abstract

Tourism is a leading industry in the service sector on a global level, as well as a major provider of jobs and a significant generator of foreign exchange. Tourism is probably one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the global economy. During the period between 2006 and 2012 international tourist arrivals worldwide grew at an average annual rate of about 4.0 per cent. In 2006 there were 846 million tourists, and in 2012, 1.04 billion. The tourism industry consists of various stakeholders, and tourism demand is met by the joint efforts of these players. However, there appears little attempt in tourism management literature for developing areas proposing frameworks or models for integrating local community inputs, which could assist tourism companies to evaluate and manage a tourism value chain in poor third-world countries. This article considers the usability of the (tourism) value-chain as an alternative to socio-economic development in Rwanda. The specific findings on a tourism value-chain, discussed in this article, are extracted from a questionnaire survey done in 2009 in Rubavu, one of Rwanda’s destinations with a flourishing tourism sector, using questionnaires and secondary data.

Keywords: Economic development, pro-poor tourism, tourism, value-chain impacts, Rwanda.