30 years after the genocide, the country focuses on high-end tourism

Rwanda is preparing to experience, on Sunday, the commemorations of the 30 years of the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsis: nearly a million people massacred between April 7 and July 15, 1994. 30 years later, the country has recovered, has undergone an extraordinary transformation and today represents the strongest growth in East Africa.

In national parks like Akagera, in eastern Rwanda, near the border with Tanzania, American and European tourists come to observe the animals. “It is the only savannah park in Rwandaproudly explains Bosco, one of the guides. We reintroduced species that had disappeared : the lion, the black rhino, the white rhino…”

Akagera Park is the second tourist destination in the country, rejoices Ladislas Ndahiriwé, the director : “In 2019, just before Covid, we had 45 000 visitors per year. In 2023, we were at 46 000. All the marketing around tourism, for example this ‘Visit Rwanda’ campaign, is really effective.”

This slogan is visible on every street corner in the capital, Kigali, but also on the jerseys of the biggest football teams in Europe : “PSG, ​​Arsenal, Bayern Munich also this year, lists Bruce, owner of a souvenir shop. It’s a springboard to show another image of Rwanda.”

These sporting partnerships are controversial, described as waste by one of the opposition voices. The Rwandan development agency does not communicate the amounts paid to clubs for this advertising, but the government body assures it, massive investments in sport in general are positive for the country. “There was some reluctance at first, because it was a new approachrecognizes the general director of tourism, Mickaella Rugwisangoga. Today everyone agrees that this campaign has enormous positive repercussions for Rwanda. For example, regarding Arsenal, the number of tourists from England has tripled. We are at more than 600 million dollars in revenue linked to tourism, which represents approximately 10% of the national GDP, and 200 000 jobs.”

It assumes the strategy of high-end, even luxury, tourism : “We are not a large territory, in terms of size :26 000 km². As a result, we are in the business of high-end, ecological, moderate-volume tourism.” For example, a foreign visitor must pay nearly 1 400 euros to approach mountain gorillas in the north of the country.

This image of tourist and economic success does not prevent the numerous criticisms from certain international NGOs for violations of human rights.