Extra Rwandans are travelling inside the nation, however rising home tourism has but to translate into mass participation, with journey nonetheless extensively perceived as an costly exercise reserved for international or high-income guests.
Figures from the Rwanda Growth Board (RDB) present that home visits to the nation’s nationwide parks elevated by 8.1 per cent in 2025 to 59,270, up from greater than 54,000 the earlier yr. Home tourism income additionally elevated, though at a slower charge of three.5 per cent to $821,093.
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The expansion comes amid broader enlargement within the tourism sector, which generated $685 million in income in 2025, a 6 per cent enhance from 2024, based on RDB’s 2025 report. The nation recorded 1.49 million customer arrivals in the course of the yr, up 9 per cent.
Whereas worldwide tourism continues to account for a lot of the sector’s earnings, home journey is turning into more and more vital to the sustainability and resilience of the trade.
“Rwandan visits to nationwide parks elevated by 8.1 p.c in 2025, from greater than 54,000 in 2024 to over 59,000. Nonetheless, participation stays restricted relative to the inhabitants,” an RDB official mentioned in responses to The New Instances.
The official who most popular to stay nameless as a result of they don’t seem to be the official spokesperson for the establishment recognized the notion that tourism is principally for worldwide or higher-income guests, the general value of journey packages and competing family priorities among the many greatest boundaries to home tourism.
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However tourism professionals say affordability is just a part of the problem.
Cyprien Nshyimiyimana, a tour information at Nyungwe Nationwide Park, mentioned restricted data about tourism and nature additionally impacts how Rwandans expertise and worth journey.
“The difficulty can’t be checked out from only one angle. There’s the difficulty of economic means, which everyone knows about, however there’s additionally a lack of know-how and understanding about sure issues,” he mentioned.
Nshyimiyimana mentioned many Rwandans visiting locations corresponding to Nyungwe are inclined to give attention to leisure actions corresponding to the cover stroll and zipline, with out essentially displaying the identical curiosity in understanding the atmosphere round them.
“Rwandans, for probably the most half, are inclined to take pleasure in leisure—the enjoyment facet of travelling. Not many individuals go into nature eager to study vegetation or medicinal vegetation,” he mentioned.
He believes tour operators have a task to play in altering that mindset by making instructional and cultural experiences an even bigger a part of their itineraries.
“Tour operators have a variety of work to do. They actually need to take a position closely in educating folks as a result of leisure shouldn’t be the one motive for travelling,” Nshyimiyimana mentioned.
“However culturally, Rwandans haven’t historically been very inclined in direction of that.”
He mentioned the scenario is progressively altering, notably amongst youthful people who find themselves turning into extra accustomed to travelling and introducing their households to the expertise.
“Many locations have already been visited by youthful generations, though there’s nonetheless a spot on the subject of older folks,” he mentioned.
“Older persons are starting to grasp the worth of travelling as a result of they now journey with their households, and their youngsters introduce them to travelling from a younger age.”
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Akagera Nationwide Park accounted for the biggest share of home park guests in 2025, receiving 32,932 Rwandan guests, or 55.6 per cent of all home park visits.
Nyungwe adopted with 18,515 guests, whereas Volcanoes Nationwide Park obtained 7,699.
The nation’s 4 nationwide parks collectively recorded 155,394 visits in 2025, a rise of three.2 per cent, with home visitation rising strongly whereas worldwide visits remained broadly steady.
Development was not uniform throughout the parks, nonetheless, with Nyungwe recording a 22.8 per cent enhance in visitation.
RDB believes a part of the reply lies in making tourism really feel much less like a standalone luxurious exercise and extra like one thing that may be integrated into on a regular basis life.
The company has more and more linked tourism promotion to actions that already entice Rwandans, together with sports activities, wellness, holidays and group occasions.
One instance is the Tembera u Rwanda initiative, which has been used alongside occasions such because the Kigali Worldwide Peace Marathon, Automotive Free Day, the Nyungwe Marathon and Umuganura to encourage residents to discover locations across the nation.
In the course of the Kigali Worldwide Peace Marathon actions in June, for example, influencers taking part within the initiative shared experiences from Nyandungu Eco-Park and Fazenda Sengha.
Different activations have related sports activities and wellness with visits to locations corresponding to Nyungwe, whereas an Umuganura-linked activation highlighted cultural heritage, nature and lakeside recreation on the King’s Palace Museum in Nyanza, Nyungwe and Nkombo Seashore.
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The importance of such initiatives, nonetheless, goes past promotion.
They level to a attainable shift in how home tourism is marketed—from merely asking folks to “go on vacation” to connecting journey with actions they already interact in, corresponding to exercising, spending time with household, attending cultural occasions or taking weekend breaks.
RDB mentioned the nation additionally must broaden the home tourism provide past its best-known nationwide parks.
Alternatives embody city and lakeside recreation, cultural and heritage tourism, mountain climbing, biking, tenting, meals and artistic experiences, sports activities, occasions and wellness retreats.
That diversification is already seen in a few of the new merchandise coming onto the market.
Nyungwe Nationwide Park, for instance, launched a zipline and cord course in 2025. The 2 merchandise attracted greater than 6,000 guests inside six months of launch and helped drive a 22.8 per cent enhance in visitation to the park.
Nshyimiyimana mentioned tourism operators ought to reply to altering pursuits by growing itineraries that mix recreation with studying and exploration.
“Tour operators might want to put together itineraries that embody all these experiences,” he mentioned.
RDB can also be increasing the tourism portfolio by way of 5 new city parks in Kigali, constructing on Nyandungu Eco-Park. A zipline and ropes course has additionally been launched in Nyungwe, whereas an eco-park is deliberate for Musanze.
The company is encouraging tour operators and motels to answer rising curiosity by growing aggressive packages focusing on households and company teams.
Is tourism inexpensive for the typical Rwandan?
Value stays one of many harder questions dealing with home tourism.
For instance, the 2026 Akagera Nationwide Park tariff lists the entry charge for a Rwandan/EAC citizen at Rwf15,000 per individual for someday. A household or group journey can shortly turn into costlier as soon as transport, meals and actions are added. The park, nonetheless, gives a 20 per cent group low cost for teams of greater than 20 Rwandan nationals.
In Nyungwe, Rwandan/EAC residents pay Rwf10,000 per individual for a one-night park entry, whereas actions corresponding to chimpanzee monitoring value Rwf25,000 per individual. The park additionally gives annual passes, together with a Rwandan/EAC household go costing Rwf205,000.
Such prices don’t essentially imply tourism is inaccessible, however they illustrate why the worth of an entire journey—not merely the doorway charge—can decide whether or not a household chooses to journey.
Nshyimiyimana, nonetheless, mentioned Rwandans already profit from preferential pricing at many locations.
“In relation to costs, there’s equity for Rwandans as a result of they’re given reductions wherever attainable. In contrast with what foreigners pay, you may see that there’s a degree of equity within the pricing for Rwandans,” he mentioned.
The larger problem, he argued, is making certain folks perceive what they will achieve from travelling past leisure.
