Rwanda Sustainable Tourism Policy Case Study
Cornell STAMP Presents Policy Case Study in Rwanda for Leaders & Educators To Debate & Define Next Generation Policies
October 26, 2023, The Cornell Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program (STAMP) leads a workshop on tourism and conservation policies for African leaders and professors in Kigali, Rwanda on October 31, 2023 at the African Leadership University (ALU). The case was written by Mark Milstein, Megan Epler Wood, & O’Shannon Burns and will be published in 2024.
Megan Epler Wood, Managing Director of the Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program (STAMP), at the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, at the SC Johnson College of Business states,
“Cornell STAMP has completed research for a case study on the policy mechanisms which led to creating a high value, low volume national tourism economy in Rwanda. The balance between tourism and conservation has been maintained via government policies, and the mountain gorilla population of Rwanda has benefited from these policies increasing to a new population high of over 600–due to the many individuals, NGOs, and businesses that contributed.”
“Mountain gorillas are a rare conservation success story that demonstrates tourism’s positive contribution to conservation,” states senior author, Cornell Clinical Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, Mark Milstein. The case will include a short overview of Rwandan history, the Rwanda Development Board, and tourism in Rwanda as well as the role investments play in local communities, the challenges of conservation tourism and the new Conservation Company concept.
This invitation-only workshop precedes the World Travel and Tourism Council Summit, in Kigali, Rwanda between November 1-3, which Cornell STAMP and SC Johnson College of Business leaders will attend as part of their work on the Hanga Ahazaza grant program which provided educational training for professionals in the hospitality and tourism sectors. The case research and hospitality training program were made possible with support from the Mastercard Foundation.
Case and Workshop for Rwandan Educational Leaders on Conservation and Tourism Policy
The Rwandan government works to advance and redesign current policy mechanisms to meet the demands of the 21st century. To develop the case, the Cornell STAMP program reviewed and interviewed national, regional and local stakeholders to understand their thoughts on current and future policies that impact conservation and tourism throughout the country.
Cornell STAMP aims to provide training and support to up-and-coming hospitality leaders as they manage the tension between tourism and conservation. Therefore, this case is designed as an educational tool to be used by professors in educational institutions throughout Africa and the world. Thirty professors from Rwandan institutions will convene for the workshop in Kigali to enhance their research and teaching programs in sustainable tourism, biodiversity conservation, park management and other business and leadership disciplines. The workshop will equip local educators to use the business case study method, which immerses students in real world decision-making processes.