Rosette Chantal Rugamba is a prominent figure in the travel and tourism industry with close to the three-decade experience. She began her career in the industry in the UK with EuroStar before moving to Uganda to work as a sales and marketing manager at British Airways. Rugamba later returned to her native Rwanda to spearhead the revitalization of the Tourism Industry as Director General of Rwanda Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN) and later as the Deputy CEO of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
During her tenure as the Head of Tourism and Conservation in Rwanda from 2003 to 2010, Rugamba was tasked with revitalizing tourism as a key economic driver for Rwanda following the 1994 Tutsi Genocide. Under her leadership, the number of tourists in the country grew from 13,000 to 790,000, and tourism became the number one foreign exchange earner. Rwanda also won Best African Exhibitor at the ITB-Tourism trade fair for four consecutive years.
Rugamba is the Founder and Managing Director of Songa Africa, a Tourism and Business Conservation Consultancy firm and Luxury Tour Company based in Rwanda, operating throughout East Africa. Her company has become a beacon of hope for those who believe in the power of tourism to support conservation and community development.
Apart from her work with Songa Africa, Rugamba is an Aspen Fellow – Ali East Africa class of 2010. She is a member of the UNWTO – Global Ethics Committee (2017-2021) and also served as Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on sustainable tourism in Africa from 2010-2017. Her other responsibilities include serving on the Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) and the African Parks Network board.
Rugamba is also the President of Tourism in the Women’s Chamber of the Rwanda Private Sector Federation. Her other passions involve mentoring young girls, supporting local communities, and gardening. Rugamba studied strategic marketing in the UK and holds a BA in Political Science and Sociology from Makerere University. She is the author of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)’s Sustainable Tourism Strategic Framework – a basis for developing a regional tourism strategy and policy.
Rugamba’s remarkable achievements and dedication to the conservation of nature and sustainable tourism in Africa have earned her numerous accolades and recognition. She is an avid traveller who believes travel should be amazing, exciting, intriguing, rejuvenating, and memorable.