Jason's Travels

I'd like to say that everything on the Rwanda press trip was magical and went off without a hitch. If I said that, though, I wouldn't be entirely truthful. It wasn't all gorilla treks in the mountains. There were some things that happened, or rather didn't happen, on the trip that really put a sour taste in my mouth. And it hasn't gotten any better since my return to the States. I'm saddened and angered by this, but I also believe I've learned a valuable lesson.

I received an itinerary (left) from my contact at Racepoint Group, the public relations organization acting as our group's point of contact for the trip to Rwanda. Everything seemed good, so I agreed to go. I booked my flight, got my vaccinations, and tied up other loose ends in order to make it happen. It was all at a hefty personal cost, but I felt it was worth it since some amazing opportunities were being presented.

The flight and vaccinations were all my financial responsibility as I said, but the in-country expenses our group was told would all be handled by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). They were to act as our host, and as such they'd pay for everything with the exception of souvenirs and alcohol. I felt that was fair when I agreed to the press trip, but shortly after our arrival problems began to surface.

With the exception of our hotels, everything seemed good at first. But then, we were told by our RDB guide that things like coffee and soda would no longer be covered for the rest of the trip, or there'd be a one drink maximum. Various other minor expenses we were apparently accountable for, like tips for porters on the gorilla hike, also began to pop up. The costs weren't substanial, but it was the first indication that we were mislead.

The second indication came when we arrived in the border town of Gisenyi on Lake Kivu. That's when the first item on our itinerary, a tour of the city, was scrubbed because of time. In a post-trip interview with Racepoint I was questioned why the gorilla trek took so long. It was because of the length of our hike that the city tour didn't happen, or so I was told. As I reflected on the trip during my 45 hours straight of return travel, I concluded that it was simply because of poor planning since there was no way the gorilla trek could have been completed any earlier.

Regardless, missing the city tour wasn't a huge blow to the trip. There were some things that would have been nice to see, like the Primus Brewery, but the trip wouldn't be a flop without it. That, instead, happened on the next two days, the last two, of the trip. We missed two big items on the itinerary due to the poor pre-trip planning. And had I known that the evening trek to see the Colobus monkeys, and the canopy walk through the Nyungwe National Park wouldn't happen, I probably would not have have agreed to go on the trip.

So, three big items on the trip didn't happen, and we were shorted on the Igitaramo Festival by arriving late to Ruhengeri after our drive from Kigali. About the only thing that did go completely right was the Kwita Izina and World Environment Day celebrations, but that was in large part to a language barrier that benefited us. Our RDB guide left us shortly after our arrival and gave us no assistance while we were there. The only reason why interviews with President Kagame and actor Don Cheadle happened were because of our own persistence.

But, still, the day went right and things were good at that point. Unfortunately everything else went downhill, particularly on that last day as we drove back to Kigali for our flights. The canopy walk at the Nyungwe National Park didn't happen because construction on the walk actually isn't complete. So we briefly stopped at an overlook, and instead filled the time with a visit to the Institute of National Museums of Rwanda, the national museum. And that was hardly a worthwihle substitute since, even though we were on a government sponsored trip, we were unable to take photos inside.

Our group consistently complained to representatives of Racepoint Group upon our return about the shortfalls of the trip and how we felt we were mislead with the itinerary. Our RDB representative told us while we were on the trip he told them that it couldn't happen, and insisted that they didn't listen to him. But Racepoint passed the buck back to RDB saying it was their itinerary and their responsibility.

The group, myself included, requested compensation be made for our flights since only approximately half of our itinerary happened. RDB, having taken over the talks from Racepoint, said it was impossible to compensate us financially, but that they'd provide an all-expenses paid return trip to Rwanda for all of us if we could go in a certain time frame. Two of the five of us said we could go, which helped alleviate some of the bitterness, but the days came and went without a flight or hotel booked.

The return trip didn't happen, and we are once again in contact with RDB for compensation that probably will never happen. At least I'm not going to hold my breath for it. Their head of tourism and conservation, Rica Rwigamba, says that, "as an institution in charge of tourism promotion, it does totally contradict (their) purpose" to have negative press trips. "We do not...mislead anyone intentionally. Things may go wrong and they do go wrong sometimes, but we always aim at positively addressing those." Yet the return trip she promised on behalf of RDB and the government of Rwanda never happened, much to the further financial detriment to some members of the group.

So what's the lesson learned? It's simple: Don't take a half-paid press trip to a politically unstable country who has a public relations outlet trying to spin them into something they're not, no matter how interesting or beautiful it may appear. Without a doubt there are still problems in Rwanda, and I naively looked past them. I was blinded with excitement by the itinerary we were offered. It all seemed too good to be true. And, as it turns out, it was.

Read this article in The Guardian to understand more about the current issues in Rwanda.