The high-profile female tennis star Maria Sharapova who is in Rwanda for tourism purpose has met President Paul Kagame, an official source confirmed Thursday in Kigali
The visit is part of the partnership dubbed ‘Visit Rwanda’ which the government of and English Premiership club Arsenal entered into in May 2018, due to Sharapova close links with its fans, it said,
The Rwandan government is Arsenal’s sleeve sponsor and Official Tourism Partner.
Under the sponsorship, Arsenal completed a three-year deal worth $39 million deal in May last year with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) which will see them promote the country on their kits.
Estimates by Rwandan officials indicate that before the deal was signed, 71 percent of the millions of Arsenal fans worldwide did not consider Rwanda a tourist destination.
But at the end of the first year of the partnership, half of them considered Rwanda a destination to visit.
Official reports by RDB indicate that revenue from Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park increased by 25 percent in 2018 to $19.2M from the previous year from the sale of 15,132 gorilla permits during the same period.
Prior to the increase of permit price and other initiatives focusing on promoting the country tourism sectors, 22,219 were sold, raking in $15m in revenue in 2019, reports said.
Sharapova became the world No. 1 for the first time on August 22, 2005, at the age of 18, becoming the first Russian female tennis player to top the singles rankings.
She last held the ranking for the fifth time for four weeks from June 11, 2012, to July 8, 2012.
Her 36 singles titles and five Grand Slam titles—two at the French Open and one each at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open—rank third among active players, behind Serena and Venus Williams.
CU/as/APA