After the gorillas, what's next for Rwanda's tourism and hotel industry?.

"Rwanda, known as the Land of a Thousand Hills, is nestled in central Africa, adjacent to Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's best known to luxury travelers as one of the three natural habitats of the endangered mountain gorilla species.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the destination recorded a total of 1,632 ,000 international visitors in 2019, with a 10-year CAGR of 10% between 2009 and 2019.

According to the Rwanda development Board, the tourism and hospitality industry contributed 13% of GDP in 2019 with USD65 million generated from the MICE segment.

The growth of the MICE business is largely due to the high level of safety and security. The average length of stay (ALOS) of East African countries arriving in Rwanda via flights for business purposes was 5.24 days with an average daily expenditure of USD 152 in 2019.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo was the main international source market, representing 54%, followed
by the Burundi market in 2019. The biggest source market outside Africa was the United States, which totaled 40,167 visitors in 2019, and are most notably bucket-list luxury travelers.

There are only four 5-star hotels in Rwanda, namely, Kigali Marriott Hotel (254 keys), Kigali Serena Hotel ( l 48 keys),
Radisson Blu Hotel (292 keys), and One & Only Nyungwe House (22keys). Rwanda remains in early stage development but given rising infrastructure, is primed for growth."

Rwandan government launched an economic recovery fund of USD 1 00 million in 2020, with half being dedicated to the tourism and hospitality industry In 2022, an additional USD250 million was injected as phase two to stimulate the COVID-19 recovery Regional African visitors are the main market feeder for the country, accounting for 88% of total international visitors in 2019.

The hotel and service sector is facing staffing issues due to the limited availability of trained employees with hospitality and tourism service skills.

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