Expression of Interest (EOI)

Tourism Product and Capacity Development in Rusizi, Musanze, Nyanza and Rubavu Tourism Destinations

Reference Number: 83457842

Publication date: 17.01.2024

Introduction

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federally owned international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. The GIZ Office in Kigali covers GIZ’s portfolio in Rwanda and Burundi. GIZ Rwanda/Burundi implements projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union and other commissioning authorities in the following priority areas: Sustainable Economic Development; Good Governance; Climate, Energy and Sustainable Urban Development; Digitalization and Digital Economy; and regional projects in the Great Lakes Region.

1. Context

Rwanda aspires to improve standards of living for all its citizens in the Vision of 2050. The Country is aiming to become a middle-income economy by 2035 and high-income economy by 2050. The Vision will be implemented through a series of seven-year National Strategies for Transformation (NST1), underpinned by detailed sectoral strategies that are aimed toward achievement of the SDGs and the Africa Agenda 2063. The NST1 came after the implementation of two, five-year Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategies—EDPRS (2008-12) and EDPRS-2 (2013-18), under which Rwanda experienced robust economic and social transformations. The growth averaged 7.5% over the decade to 2018 while per capita growth domestic product (GDP) grew at 5% annually. However, the rate of unemployment and underemployment is still prominent. With strategies like the NST 1 (2018-2024) and the Private Sector Development and Youth Employment Strategy (PSDYES), the Government of Rwanda is promoting skills development and the creation of off-farm jobs.

The Programme Skills Development for Economic Transformation (SD4T) as part of the priority area “Sustainable economic development, training and employment” of the Rwandan-German Development Cooperation, is supporting these efforts. Skills Development for Economic Transformation with the objective of pro-employment growth in Rwandan light industry is aligned with the principles of inclusiveness, productivity and environmental sustainability and is being implemented between January 2023 and December 2025.

The Programme aims at employment-intensive growth through strengthening the capacities of key sectoral institutions; improving the quality of TVET measures; increasing the performance of companies and enhancing women’s economic participation.

As one of the largest and most successful private sectors and the largest contributor to Rwanda’s export value, GIZ is building on previous achievements by continuing to support tourism. Due to its impact and size, tourism works as a motor for other sectors by increasing demand in manufacturing, conservation, agriculture, and other services.

The GIZ SD4T programme aims to achieve sustainable tourism development by implementing a comprehensive strategy to hand over tourism interventions to partner districts through a local destination management model. The programme focuses on empowering and engaging local communities, stakeholders, and authorities in the decision-making process, fostering ownership and accountability at the grassroots level. By providing capacity-building programs, knowledge transfer, and technical support, the programme enables districts to develop their unique tourism potential while preserving their cultural and environmental assets. Through a participatory approach, the GIZ SD4T programme ensures that local communities are actively involved in planning, implementing, and monitoring tourism activities, fostering a sense of pride and responsibility for their own destinations. This model ensures that tourism development is in line with the needs and aspirations of the local population, leading to long-term sustainable growth and benefits for the communities and their environment.

Rusizi District

Rusizi District is one of the seven districts of the Western Province in Rwanda, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. Rusizi is a secondary city to Kigali which is critical to unlocking social and economic potential amongst creating decent jobs. The district is fortunate to be part of the Nyungwe Tourism Destination Management Area and have Nyungwe Forest, a National Park with a diverse fauna and flora that attracts many tourists. Rusizi District intends to be an outstanding green city in Rwanda. 

The district is also surrounded by Lake Kivu, which serves as a tourist attraction as well as a stimulus for business growth owing to fish trade and other associated industries. The district has several accommodation facilities ranging from big four-star hotel to small guest houses as well as conference and meeting facilities. Rusizi is also proud to have the current second largest airport in Rwanda and is intending to extend the airport to support tourism. 

Rusizi is endowed with tourism potentials and believe these can create employment hence transforming the economy of the district. This is intended to be achieved through the development of a tourism development plan that will guide the tourism in stakeholders’ coordination, tourism products development and diversification, marketing as well as the capacity building for the service providers.

Nyanza District

Nyanza District, located in the Southern Province of Rwanda, is a historically and culturally rich region that holds significant potential for tourism. This area is known for its cultural heritage, natural beauty, and historical sites.

Nyanza, has developed a strategy for as well as the “Royal Nyanza” brand. One of the standout attractions is the Royal Palace Museum, which offers visitors a glimpse into Rwanda's royal history and traditions. The district is attempting to diversify its tourism offer to attract more visitors to spend an overnight.

Rubavu District

Rubavu is one of seven districts in the Western Province and one of only five districts bordering Lake Kivu. Rubavu is a secondary city to Kigali which is critical to unlocking social and economic potential amongst creating decent jobs The district borders the larger town of Goma in DRC and has one of the most trafficked border crossings in East Africa. Rubavu is recognized as a Destination Management Area in the Rwanda Sustainable Tourism Masterplan.

Rubavu has a strategic location on the shores of Lake Kivu and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Rwanda amongst domestic travelers. Apart from its lakeside resorts and restaurants, Nyamyumba Hot Springs, Rubavu Public Beach and the Congo Nile Trail are some of Rubavu’s most popular attractions. Rubavu’s scenic views makes it a prime venue for weddings and the cross-border trade attracts many business travelers. Rubavu is also the host to several international sporting events each year.

Tourism is already highlighted as a core sector in Rubavu. Rubavu has developed a destination management plan with the aim of increasing the number of international visitors to the district through better coordination, marketing and the development of attractions aimed at international visitors. 

Musanze District

Musanze District is one of 5 districts in the Northern Province and a secondary city to Kigali which is critical to unlocking social and economic potential amongst creating decent jobs. Home to the mountain gorillas, Musanze is the most popular destination in Rwanda for international tourists. Volcanoes National Park offers gorilla trekking, where visitors can observe these rare primates in their natural habitat. Some of the world’s best lodges are in Musanze District where they host upmarket visitors to the national park. Musanze offers a range of other activities apart from gorilla trekking. Hiking the Virunga Volcanoes, Caving and the nearby Twin Lakes are some of these attractions. Musanze also has a thriving network of community-based tourism experiences.

Musanze district aims to keep its place as Rwanda’s leading tourist destination and increase the impact visitors have on the local economy by extending visitor’s stay, marketing and diversifying the destinations offerings.

2. Tasks to be performed by the consultant

The objective of this assignment is to implement parts of the tourism development and destination management plans in the selected districts by developing tourism business opportunities. Some products are identified in the Destination Management Areas of Rwanda’s Sustainable Tourism Master Plan and in local District Destination Management Plans while others need to be identified in close relation with relevant national and local stakeholders.

The consultant is expected to work very closely with the Destination Managers, Districts and local technical committees as well as national actors such as RDB and RCOT.

The assignment is to be conducted by 2 consultants (Lead consultant and Support consultant) who will follow the below process and methodology to achieve this objective with 52 working days for each of them.  

2.1 The consultant is responsible for providing the following services:

2.1.1 Identification and assessment of products

The consultant will be responsible for the development of tours, attractions, and trails across Rusizi, Nyanza, Rubavu and Musanze. The districts have developed local planning documents for tourism. Products to be developed are in most cases already identified in these plans. A selection of priority products to be developed needs to be done in each destination in close collaborations with local authorities and stakeholders as well as review of national, regional and local steering documents. Most of the priority products for development have already been identified and can be found in the section “Development of tourism products”. Guidelines for the development of products can also be found here.

The products vary but mainly focus on developing tours and attractions as well as biking and hiking trails.

• The consultant is expected to follow national and local steering documents related to tourism and to meet relevant stakeholders on local and national level to assess which products and how they are to be developed.
• Field visits will be conducted in the districts to assess and in some cases identify products.

2.1.2 Planning of actions

After the initial identification and assessment is done, a detailed plan needs to be written of the intended work to develop the products. The plan should include the methodology for developing the products, how the products is intended to be operated once finished, how the products are to be marketed and sold and who and how the products will add economic benefit.

The plan should include the following:

• Methodology for developing each product
• Budget for developing each product
• Description of how the products are intended to be operated once finished
• Marketing and sales plan for the product
• Potential economic impact of the products

2.1.3 Development of tourism products

Nyanza

View point at Big View

Big view is located on a hill just outside Nyanza and offers a hiking trail and a panoramic view of the town and the surrounding hills. To increase the attractiveness of Big View, a view point with a selfie spot is to be built on the hill. The view point needs to have a platform and an attractive spot for taking selfies while showcasing the Royal Nyanza Brand.

Dark room dining at Gatagara experience – training and conceptualizing.

The Dark room dining experience at Gatagara is run by HVP Gatagara. The cooperative needs support in conceptualizing and developing the experience, training guides and linking it with tour operators and other partners who have access to the market.

Nyanza interactive experience

The new visitors center in Nyanza is developing as a hub for visitors to the Nyanza. As part of their mandate to coordinate and sell tourism activities in Nyanza the visitors center is to develop an interactive experience for visitors which will showcase Nyanza’s current and past culture and history.

City tour for Nyanza

A city tour in Nyanza would enable visitors the possibility to stay longer. A concept needs to be developed and a group of local guides needs to be trained to conduct the tour.

African art’s museum guided tour

The African arts museum in Nyanza is a collection of interesting arts and cultural artefacts from Central and Western Africa. The owner gives a very interesting tour of the museum when he is available. To make the museum accessible to more, more guides need to be trained to execute the guided tour at the museum. In addition to this, a self-guided audio tour needs to be developed.

Rusizi

Hiking, biking and quad bike trail from Rusizi to Cyamudongo Forest

In order to make Cyamodongo forest available to more visitors, a trail from Rusizi to Cyamudongo forest has been identified. The trail needs to be mapped and marked, guides need to be trained and when ready coordinated with other actors such as tour operators.

Rusizi Guided City tour

One of the main tours in Rusizi has been identified as a guided city tour which brings visitors to some of the main historical and current landmarks in Rusizi. The tour needs to be conceptualized and local guides trained on how to execute the tour.

Urban hiking trail through Rusizi with viewpoint

In order to make Rusizi more attractive for visitors a short, urban hiking trail is to be developed. The hiking trails should connect to some of the most visited tourist hotels and lead to a viewpoint of the city where a selfie spot and a platform is to be developed.

Nkombo Island Tour

Nkombo Island on Lake Kivu is one of the most unique and interesting islands for visitors. The concept of a boat tour to the island with visits to local attractions and communities needs to be developed. A group of guides need to be trained on how to execute the tour.

Rubavu

Upgrade of Rubavu Hot Springs

Rubavu Hot Springs, together with Mount Rubavu and Rubavu Public Beach has been identified as a priority product with the potential to be developed into attractions accommodating international visitors. This is reflected in the Rwanda Sustainable Tourism Plan, Kivu Belt Sub Master Plan and Rubavu Tourism Destination Management Plan.

Currently, the hot springs consist of two warm springs which spill into two separate pools, made by sacks filled with sand. The hot springs are managed by COOPLAKI, a local cooperative who gives massage services and mud baths. There is also a service nearby offering food and drinks.

Upgrade of Rubavu Hot Springs requires training of the COOPLAKI cooperative and staff in food handling and service management.

Musanze

Hiking and Biking Trail

Musanze District and Volcanoes Destination Management Area is Rwanda’s primary tourist destination. In order to get more visitors to stay longer new products need to be developed for the adventure market segment. A hiking and biking trail leading to a viewpoint where a selfie spot and a view platform is to be developed.

Agro Tourism Experiences

Develop 2 agro tourism experiences in Kinigi showing how local products are developed and processed. The experiences are to be developed in cooperation with local organisations and cooperatives, enterprises such as SACOLA, RDB, as well as Volcanoes National Park.

2.1.4 Guidelines for the development of products

Hiking, biking and quad trails

All trails to be developed need the following minimum requirements:

• Signpost at the beginning and end/or summit of trail stating the name and length of trail as well as other relevant information.
• Directional sign posts indicating directions at the main junctions
• Painted directions throughout the trails
• Mapping of trails using GPS and saved as gpx, kmz, kml, geojson or another relevant file format
• Linking the trails to guides and tour operators
• All materials used should be locally made and manufactured as far as is possible.

Once the trails have been developed, the trails are to be demonstrated to relevant stakeholders such as guides, tour operators, hotels as well as other important actors such as RDB and Districts.

View points and selfie spots

3 view points and selfie spots will be developed at selected locations. The construction, design and choice of material should be done in collaboration with SD4T experts in manufacturing and wood value chain. The exact design and approach will vary between the various locations, but have the following minimum requirements:

• Platform or levelling of area at chosen location
• Signpost and or strategic display of destination brand
• Swings, bench or other infrastructure for selfies
• Concept document describing: intended target group, length and difficulty of hike
• All materials used should be locally made and manufactured as far as is possible.

Tours and community based and accompanying of guided tours and CBTEs

As some of the products will be guided tours and community-based tourism (CBT), the consultant will conduct training and mentorship of these products through a series of sessions which will involve meetings with targeted community members, guides and trainings.

The mentorship process for CBTs should aim at upgrading them to a suitable level of meeting the guidelines for community-based tourism and being able to sell their products/services to tourists. Practical sessions should dominate the training sessions to provide them with direct practical experience in tourism and operations and service delivery. This step will involve (but not limited to) individual mentorship sessions based on the national guidelines, showing best tourism practice examples as reference, advisory services at the individual level, accompanying them in implementing the changes.

At the end of the mentorship the consultant will make sure the mentored community-based initiatives have:

• Management plan
• Cost-benefit sharing schemes
• Suggestions for packages in tour plans/packages
• Enough training in performing the service offered to tourists.
• Been linked to other potential tourism actors (Local hotels, tour operators, guides...)
• Information and guidance for access to finance

2.1.5 Product testing and reporting

For all products, the consultant will use mock exercises to assess the effectiveness of the developed and mentored products and the level of offering tourism services to their potential customers. This will consist of organizing field visits and assessment done by stakeholders and other partners together with some volunteering tourists, hotels and tour operators. The consultant will use their feedback to identify the gaps and improve where necessary.

• The exercise should be led into actual activities and considering tourists’ perception.
• The consultant will work with communities and guides to see how they put into practice recommendations provided by the experience testing team.
• At the end of this step, the consultant will provide a list of products ready to be sold and marketed to potential tourists.
• The consultant will also provide recommendations for the business sustainability approach for the developed products.

2.2 Final Report

The report is to adhere the following structure:

1. Executive Summary
2. List of identified tourism business potentials and recommendations for further developments.
3. Situation of the selected CBT initiatives and tours before mentorship
4. Mentorship and accompanying process.
5. Improvements made after mentorship.
6. Business sustainability approach to be adhered by the developed initiatives.
7. Recommendations for further developments in the mentored initiatives

In addition to the reports required by GIZ in accordance with the AVB, the contractor submits an inception report clarifying the process and methodology he/she will use.

Certain milestones, as laid out in the table below, are to be achieved during the contract term:

Period of assignment: from February 2024 until August 2024

3. Concept

In the tender, the tenderer is required to show how the objectives defined in Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed) are to be achieved, if applicable under consideration of further method-related requirements (technical-methodological concept). In addition, the tenderer must describe the project management system for service provision.

Note: The numbers in parentheses correspond to the lines of the technical assessment grid.

Technical-methodological concept

Strategy (1.1): The tenderer is required to consider the tasks to be performed with reference to the objectives of the services put out to tender (see Chapter 1 Context) (1.1.1) Following this, the tenderer presents and justifies the explicit strategy with which it intends to provide the services for which it is responsible (see Chapter 2 Tasks to be performed) (1.1.2).

The tenderer is required to describe the key processes for the services for which it is responsible and create an operational plan or schedule (1.4.1) that describes how the services according to Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed by the contractor) are to be provided. In particular, the tenderer is required to describe the necessary work steps and, if applicable, take account of the milestones and contributions of other actors (partner contributions) in accordance with Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed).

Project management of the contractor (1.6)

The tenderer is required to explain its approach for coordination with the GIZ programme. In particular, the programme management requirements specified in Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed by the contractor) must be explained in detail.

The tenderer is required to draw up a personnel assignment plan with explanatory notes that lists all the experts proposed in the tender; the plan includes information on assignment dates (duration and expert months) and locations of the individual members of the team complete with the allocation of work steps as set out in the schedule.

4. Personnel concept

The tenderer is required to provide personnel who are suited to filling the positions described, on the basis of their CVs (see Chapter 6), the range of tasks involved and the required qualifications.

The below specified qualifications represent the requirements to reach the maximum number of points in the technical assessment.

Team leader

Tasks of the team leader

The team leader is responsible for the overall delivery of the project, products developed, identifying and assessing products and managing stakeholder communication. The team leader has the overall responsibility for the advisory packages of the contractor (quality and deadlines), coordinating and ensuring communication with GIZ, partners and others involved in the project. The team is in charge of personnel management, in particular identifying the need for short-term assignments within the available budget, as well as planning and steering assignments and supporting local and international short-term experts. Regular reporting in accordance with deadlines is also part of the tasks. The Team leader might also need to take part in the hands-on development of products and trainings when needed.

Qualifications of the team leader

Education/training (2.1.1):

• Bachelor’s degree in Tourism and/or Hospitality

Language (2.1.2):

• Fluent in English and Kinyarwanda

General professional experience (2.1.3):

• 5 years of professional experience in tourism and hospitality

Specific professional experience (2.1.4):

• 5 years of experience developing new products and or concepts for tourism and hospitality
• 5 years of experience developing community-based tourism
• 5 years of experience working with development of tours and activities
• 5 years of experience implementing concepts in tourism and or hospitality
• 1 year of experience working with working with multi stakeholder platforms
• 1 year of experience from leading stakeholder workshops to gather input
• 1 year of experience working with large international brands
• 2 years of Experience from working with stakeholders in the Rwanda’s tourism sector.

Leadership/management experience (2.1.5):

• 5 years of experience from leading and coordinating teams of experts to deliver projects in the tourism sector

Regional experience (2.1.6):

• 5 years of experience in projects in East Africa (region), of which 2 years from projects in Rwanda

Key expert 1: Tourism Expert

Tasks of key expert 1 

The Tourism Expert should develop tourism products consisting of tours, community-based tourism experiences, attractions, selfie spots, view platforms, hiking and/or biking trails.

Qualifications of key expert 1 

Education/training (2.2.1):

• University degree in tourism, business or similar

Language (2.2.2):

• Proficiency in English
• proficiency in Kinyarwanda

General professional experience (2.2.3):

• 5 years’ experience from business development

Specific professional experience (2.2.4):

• 5 years of experience developing community-based tourism
• 5 years of experience working with development of tours and activities
• 5 years of experience implementing concepts in tourism and or hospitality
• 1 year of experience working with working with multiple stakeholders

5. Costing requirements

Specification of inputs