Rwanda partners with French club PSG in battle for tourists

Rwanda partners with French club PSG in battle for tourists
Inside Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) locker room

Kigali, Rwanda | URN | Rwanda has added another European club to promote its tourism and products like coffee by announcing a partnership with French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

The club announced on Wednesday 4th, December 2019 that Visit Rwanda will also be displayed at the Parc des Princes stadium where fans of PSG will be exposed to the country. The club says Rwanda tea and coffee will be served to the fans in the stadium.

Also, the club said “the partnership will also convey Rwanda’s openness to welcome business partnerships from France and across the world.”

In a statement issued on Wednesday 4th, the club said: “Visit Rwanda branding will benefit from premium exposure on the back of the training kit and pre-game warm-up kits of the men’s team and also on the sleeve of the kit worn by the women’s team during their matches.”

In a race to win the tourism crown, Rwanda seems to take wider steps compared to her neighbours in East Africa. Last year, the Rwandan Development Board signed a $39 million deal with English Premier League club, Arsenal, to promote Rwanda as a tourist destination over a three-year period. President Paul Kagame is known to be a committed Arsenal fan.

Rwanda partners with French club PSG in battle for tourists
For three seasons, the Paris Saint-Germain community and the world will have a unique opportunity to experience Rwanda’s breath-taking beauty, creative culture, innovative environment, and modern and distinctive Made in Rwanda products through unprecedented and creative communications. The partnership will also convey Rwanda’s openness to welcome business partnerships from France and across the world.

Despite being the 19th poorest countries in the world, the Rwandan government said that the deal was part of a broader strategy to develop tourism, which in 2017 accounted for about 12.7 per cent of GDP and $400 million of revenue. The country’s per capita income stands at around $700 million.

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Rwanda says it received up to 1.7 million visitors last year – almost the same number as Uganda. Kigali also announced $2 billion had been invested in the country. Rwanda prides itself in the lush green landscapes, the mountain gorillas of the Virunga Volcanos, the Akagera Wildlife Park, the Tropical Nyungwe Forest, Idyllic Lake Kivu, and even genocide memorials.

Both Uganda and Rwanda host the famous Gorilla and their tracking is a premium tourism activity. The country that wins the marketing battle and is aiming at winning the ultimate prize of more visitors. It is not yet clear how much Rwanda paid for the partnership with PSG.