Tourism Sector

The tourism sector is one of the fastest developing sectors of the economy, in the last few years Burundi has witnessed a tremendous amount of development in the sector that continues to show growth projections. The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP was BIF173.8bn (4.8% of GDP) in 2012, and is forecast to rise by 1.4% in 2013, and to rise by 1.8% pa to BIF211.1bn in 2023.

In 2012 Travel & Tourism directly supported 34,500 jobs (1.9% of total employment)

Regulatory Framework

Ministry Of Trade, Industry, and Tourism
The main tasks of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Tourism are the design and implementation of government policy on trade, industry, and tourism, and the development of strategies of promotion and development of these different sectors.

National Tourism Office (ONT)
As the official body representing the Government of Burundi in tourism, the National Tourism Office’s main mission is the promotion and formation of the tourism product, its promotion inside and outside the country, and quality control of services in hotel and tourism institutions. All these actions are aimed to stimulate public and private investment initiatives. Over the last 20 years, the ONT has been moving between the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Tourism and the Ministry of Environment. It has been under the Ministry of Trade since November 14, 2007.

Lake Tanganyika Authority (LTA)
The Lake Tanganyika Authority (LTA) was established in December 2008 by the governments of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia to promote regional cooperation for socio-economic development and sustainable management of the natural resources in the Lake Tanganyika basin.23 The LTA coordinates the implementation of the 2000 Convention on the Sustainable Management of Lake Tanganyika and also coordinates and oversees the implementation of the Regional Integrated Management Program, which focuses on establishment of sustainable fisheries, catchment management, pollution control, climate change adaptations, and monitoring programs. The LTA, in partnership with the French Cooperation (Region Pays de la Loire), Association Burundaise pour la Protection des Oiseaux (ABO), ACVE, and INECN, is beginning a new watershed conservation approach focused on the eight primary rivers that feed northeast Lake Tanganyika in and around Bujumbura, the largest urban center on the Lake.

Ministry Of Water, Environment, Land Management and Urban Planning
The Ministry of Water, Environment, Land Management and Urban Planning was reorganized by Decree No. 100/108 of November 22, 2005

It is empowered for everything that concerns the development and implementation of national policy in the field of water, environment, land management, and the urban sector.

It has the following objectives: