2023:Rwanda earned $620 million through tourism -Report

According to the 2023 Rwanda Development Board’s (RDB) annual report, Rwanda’s tourism revenue increased by 36% from $445 million in 2022 to $620 million in 2023.

With a 124 percent recovery rate from the COVID-19 pandemic’s obstacles, the industry has outperformed 2019 revenues, according to the growth of 1.4 million visitors.

The report notes that this section increased to $47.7 million due to the nation’s efforts to promote domestic tourism.

This increased visitation to national parks generated $35.79 million in revenue in 2023.For example, the Volcanoes National Park saw the largest increase in visitors, up 38%. Akagera National Park saw the second-highest increase, up 24%, and Nyungwe National Park saw the lowest increase, up 10%.

As a result, Rwf2 billion was allocated to various projects under RDB’s revenue-sharing agreement with the communities surrounding the national parks.

These projects included 54 projects related to the agriculture sector, 43 projects related to infrastructure, 8 projects focused on providing equipment for rural shops, housing, and artisans, and 6 projects for community enterprises.

According to RDB Chief Tourism Officer Michaella Rugwizangoga, the growth is the result of strategies to market Rwanda as a distinctive high-end, low-volume ecotourism destination and conservation initiative.

Over the past 20 years, she pointed out, Rwanda has regularly taken part in major international tourism business fairs, such as ITB Berlin, We are Africa, ILTM (Singapore), Cannes, and Virtuoso, where Rwandan travel agencies interact with tourists.

Rwanda’s capacity to attract top hospitality global brands such as One&Only, Singita, Radisson, and Marriott, the promotional role played by Visit Rwanda partnerships, as well as incentive opportunities for local and international investors, are also key factors for such incredible growth.”

The performance of national parks in the first quarter of 2024, according to Rugwizangoga, indicates that they expect continuous growth going forward.

It is anticipated that the next few months will continue in this vein.”We want to continue attracting top hospitality brands, diversify the offerings and products, and offer more leisure products targeted to families.

“The government’s decision to regulate nightlife closing times notwithstanding, the leisure sector of the tourism industry grew by 48% in 2022 and generated $236 million in revenue overall.

It increased by 19 percent to the pre-pandemic level.In 2023, Rwanda’s Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events (MICE) sector brought in $95 million thanks to 160 events that drew 65,000 attendees.

According to the National Strategy of Transformation (NST1), the government’s seven-year (2017–2024) plan outlining plans for achieving its larger picture vision for economic development, the revenue generated in 2023 may bring the revenue target closer to $800 million by 2024 from $400 million in 2017.

Author Profile

Daniel HAVUGARUREMA

News Writer & Reporter at INTO RWANDA
Digital Content Creator and Digital Assets Manager at INTO RWANDA
Social Media Administrator at INTO RWANDA,
Former DCC & Journalist at IGIHE.COM, INYARWANDA.COM, ISIBO TV and THE CHOICE LIVE.

I believe that "Africa is the world's next investment hub"